This week, we’re seeing what’s available for five grand or less, if you limit your searches to 2010 or newer and manual transmission only. Today, that search has yielded a couple of little front-wheel-drive crossovers. They may not be as sporty as some other body styles, but they are very practical, and that’s never a bad thing.
Yesterday, our choices also included a Volkswagen, alongside a sporty two-door Honda coupe. I’m checking the vote count a little early, since I’m heading out soon to hear a blonde woman named Taylor sing (no, not that one; this one). As of this moment, it’s almost a dead-heat. I’ll check back later to see if one car pulls ahead significantly.
It’s a tough call for me, too, but I think I’ll take the Golf. The hatchback is the deciding factor; I hate the little mail-slot trunk lids of cars like that Civic. That car should be a liftback; there’s no reason for it not to be.
For better or worse, “normal” car body styles, things we’ve been used to seeing on the road for decades, are slowly fading away. Most manufacturers don’t even offer sedans anymore. And coupes? Forget it, unless you want a Mustang or something. In their place is something called a “crossover,” available in various sizes, with car DNA but a sports-utility vehicle shape. The good news is that, whatever you want to call them, they’re pretty useful vehicles. And the smaller ones were available with manual gearboxes for quite a long time. They’re not common, but they’re out there. Today we’re going to look at two of them, one from Volkswagen and one from Jeep.
2012 Volkswagen Tiguan S – $4,495
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: Vallejo, CA
Odometer reading: 132,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Apparently, the name “Tiguan” is a portmanteau of “Tiger” and “Iguana,” which sounds like a terrifying creature. Hey, at least it’s more interesting than the alphabet-soup naming conventions a lot of automakers resort to. Island Of Doctor Moreau name aside, it seems like a pretty neat little crossover SUV. I rented a much newer Tiguan last year and found it a bit boring, but that one was an automatic. This one isn’t.
I’m finding a lot of vehicles from the same few automakers in my search for modern-ish cheap manuals, and Volkswagen is one that keeps coming up. And I’m happy to see it. This Tiguan features a six-speed manual behind its 2.0-liter TSI engine, driving only the front wheels. It puts out 197 horsepower, which seems like a lot for a grocery-getter like this, but better to have it and not need it, I guess? It runs and drives “excellent,” according to the seller, and it just passed a California smog test.
The interior looks decent, though I can’t tell if that’s a wrinkle or a popped seam in the driver’s seat. There are a few other minor signs of wear and tear inside, but nothing worth complaining about. This car looks like somebody took care of it.
The outside looks good too; all I see are a couple of door dings. It has aftermarket cross-bars on the roof racks, which are a handy thing to have, but personally I wouldn’t leave them on there all the time. I had a set for my old Mazda Protege, and the wind noise from them was awful. I don’t know how people put up with leaving them on.
2017 Jeep Renegade Sport – $4,999
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 1.4-liter OHC inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: Spanaway, WA
Odometer reading: 210,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives, I assume
And here we have a front-wheel-drive, unibody, on-road-only… Jeep? That can’t be right. Yep, it is; love it or hate it, the Renegade is in fact a Jeep, seven-slot grille and all. Yes, it shares its platform with a bunch of Fiats. Yes, it has the ground clearance of a dachshund. But it says “Jeep” right there on the front. And in its favor, I bet it rides a whole lot smoother and gets a lot better gas mileage than your average Wrangler.
Power for this baby Jeep comes from Fiat’s clever MultiAir four-cylinder, which makes 160 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque with the help of a turbocharger. The transmission is a six-speed manual, and while the Renegade was available with four-wheel-drive, this one doesn’t have it. I wish I could tell you how well it runs, but honestly, I don’t know. It’s being sold by one of those dealerships who are more interested in telling you about the financing deal than the condition of the car, so check it over carefully or have a mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection.
This is the base-model Renegade Sport, which still comes with all the stuff most buyers expect, but from the looks of it, cuts corners on materials a bit. I can feel the scratchy texture of that seat fabric through the photo. This is one case where seat covers might actually be an upgrade. It all looks like it’s in decent shape, though, especially given the high mileage.
It’s not a bad-looking little vehicle, I’ve always thought. From the front, anyway. I never understood the Xs on the taillights; are they supposed to look like jerry cans or something? At least it makes it easy to spot in traffic. Oh, and the styled steel wheels on the Sport model came in black from the factory, so you can’t blame a previous owner for painting them. That’s all Jeep’s doing.
These are both officially crossover SUVs, but since they’re devoid of even the slightest hint of off-road ability, all they really are is taller-than-average small wagons. And that’s not a bad thing. They’ve got decent room inside, they should both be fairly fuel-efficient, and the manual transmissions will at least keep you from getting bored. Which one would you pick?
Neither are great, but the VW is an easy choice here. That 2L turbo four is a totally decent engine and the manual should make it a bit more interesting to drive. The Jeep has 70,000 miles more!! No chance that Renegade has more than 40k miles left before it is sent to Davy Jones Locker. The VW interior is much higher quality and ‘only’ 130k miles will make this a reasonably practical and reliable daily.
They both suck, but at least the Renegade is a real color, so I voted for the red thing
I thought it was going to be Taylor Dane.
“…they’re devoid of even the slightest hint of off-road ability, all they really are is taller-than-average small wagons. And that’s not a bad thing.”
I beg to differ.
Huh. Turns out that Renegade manages 24/31 mpg with the stick. 0-60 in 8.8.
That’d do.
My highway record in a 2015 1.4T manual Renegade is 36.5 mpg. That was on a long drive through PA where speeds stayed below 65 due to the limitations of my convoy-mates. Mileage drops fast above 70.
Not sure how much it’d cost to de-Jeepfify that red thing, but I could stand to own/drive it if all the badges went away and maybe some aftermarket front grill?
Deiselgate affected model years 2008-on, so no VW ever for me since that year. Even though I get why the Tigger is getting the votes today.
I’m taking Tom Petty’s advice here.
You don’t,
have,
to drive a crappy Renegade.
You don’t have to drive a crap Renegade.
Whoa! Apparently I’m the crazy one picking the Renegade. I mean, yeah it’s mostly a trash vehicle but at least it had the appearance of… sort of fun? It won’t be super reliable but the Tiguan is basically a fucking death wish lol. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES would I choose a Tiguan of that vintage, and honestly, I can’t believe there’s still one on the road. They were immensely popular around here, and every single one of them is gone.
I’m gonna pick the Renegade. It’s newer and I like the colour better. And I’m more biased against VAG products than I am against Fiat products… and this Jeep is essentailly a Fiat in drag.
a Fiat
It’d be fun to rebadge it thus.
Or give it ALL the badges from all the variations from all the brands and f that basic vehicle
I didn’t think you’d find a way to make me choose a Tiguan but here we are. I had no idea they even came with a stick option since it’s not a vehicle I have any inclination of owning.
You are right about the Renegade jerrycan taillights. This pseudo-offroading-adjacent type of visual language on such a miserable vehicle should be punishable by public humiliation.
I recently had a Jeep Avenger as a rental in Scotland, which is a size down from even the diminutive Renegade. I have wide size 12 shoes, and a couple times over the course of the week I clipped the brake pedal while clutching in. Tightest pedal box I’ve ever experienced in a production car. Otherwise not a terrible car, except possible the worst turn signal noise I’ve ever heard.
Oh my god I hate them both so much.
So of these two piles of shit, which pile of shit would you prefer?
Oh, this isn’t the “Perfect Ride Pick”?
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of picking a pile of shit… Lol
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I guess the “Jeep”
Neither. And I can’t believe both of these made it that far in terms of mileage to start with. Who knew? A Italian Jeep making it past 200k?
Darn it! You’re making me choose another VAG product. I rented a Tiguan in Utah back in 2018 and it was quiet, nice enough to drive and got ~33 mpg from SLC, out to Moab, down to St. George and then back to SLC.
The faux Jeep’s taillights look they inspired that latest BMW abomination’s headlights. I’m not a fan of either. I might have liked the Renegade better without the Jeep badging , stupid grill and lights and more so if it looked like a Citroen Aircross or Peugeot 2008. Neither of which we can get here in the US.
Jeopardy answer:
Mark, what is – “makes a VW Tiguan look reliable.”
this was my reason for voting for the VW, tho tbh it does look pretty nice!
So it’s tough to choose between these two specificity cause they’re both high mileage and unreliable, haha, but if it was lower mileage it’s the Jeep all day. I test drove a stick Renegade once and it was genuinely a complete blast of a little nugget to hustle around, old school hot hatchy with lots of body roll to make you feel like you’re going faster than you are, à la Miata. I’ve driven an auto 1st gen Tiguana and it was fun for a crossover but not mind blowing. At the end I’d rather have Italian fun if I have to deal with a lack of reliability rather than German stoicism, overcomplication, and a lack of reliability… Ever since I drove that little Jeep I’ve wanted to make an Abarth version and take it to Jeep meet ups and confuse people!
Well Fiat or VW, going with the beast I know, the one from Turin.
As for this particular Renegade, I’d remove all the off-roading pretense and Slam it on WattsTM.. I’d probably replace that base uConnect head unit with something carplayish, and probably let the local car stereo shop make it sing properly.
I’ll wrap those tails in red vinyl, and make everyone look at me funny as I scrape up driveway aprons.
Both are awful vehicles.
That’s a lot of money for nightmares.
I’d have to flip a coin, but I’d be secretly hoping for the “jeep”.
The Jeep/FIAT will probably nickel and dime you, the VW will die in a manner that cannot be reasonably repaired, either engine or electronics I figure, I’ve seen both.
As someone with a 2016 Jeep Renegade w/stick in a similar spec as a daily/wintah beatah, they’re not nearly as much of a penalty box as first appears. The 1.4T engine is basically the same as the 500 Abarth, and is pretty fun in boost and sounds decent. It doesn’t handle badly either. It’s basically an italian hot hatch wearing 1000 extra pounds of Jeep cosplay.
I feel like a lot of the *terrible* reputation comes from the dogshit 2.4 and the equally shitty automatic.
That said… over 200k is a lot of miles for these unless you know the service history (religious 5k oil changes are recommended)
Killing the Renegade is peak moronic Stellantis. They’d be selling plenty of them right now if they had like… put an ounce of effort post-launch into it
Especially since there was a hybrid version developed for Europe they could have brought over. Honestly, I kinda like the baby Jeep!
Also, with Jeep & Fiat still under the same umbrella, Jeep should develop a tiny AWD crossover based on the Panda
Tiguan is like a GTI before Ozempic. I have a friend that had two of those, I always liked the way they drove and the interior felt plush compared to a Honda CRV.
But then the next generation was released as a separate model compared to the european model smaller size, decontent and cheaper made.
My choices are between two high mileage, gas turbocharged engines… including one that’s being sold by the “Scooter King of Cali”?
EA888 or not, it’s a gamble for either. And I know the 1.4T in the Renegade better, plus it’s not AWD so I have no SUSW/CUSW PTU’s and RDM’s to worry about, plus I can get parts cheaper. So, the 500L/500X based Jeep it is!
Frankly neither. Both are among the most problematic turds I see in my shop, and it’s not generally due to the owners.
If it were a post apocalyptic situation and I encountered both abandoned and in a similar condition I’d probably take the Renegade as it’s more compact and the number of them I see surviving through some abusive ownership.
I came in set to vote for the Renegade, as I’ve always enjoyed them as rental vehicles, but that many miles makes it easy to vote for the forgettable VW.
Mileage was my determining factor as well, out of principle, it seems even an Italian jeep should have cheaper parts than a VW, but that’s a lot of mileage difference between the two.
Tiguan all day, every day.
I know that modern VW’s tend to need a bit more TLC in the maintenance department compared to most other brands. But compared to an FCA with a Turbo 4, the VW will be far less costly to keep running.
Hard pass on the “Jeep”, the Tig has always been cute (in a tall Golf kinda way)