Tiguan or Qashquai or ?

Looking for a new to me used vehicle. Had Passat estates for the last 15 or so years so got used to VAG group vehicles and working on them. OH drives a Qashquai which I occasionally drive and have found I much prefer the high upright driving position of SUV types as it’s more comfortable for my bad back.

Initially was looking at Tiguans as they ticked the VW box and had the load carrying capacity that I was looking for but then I discovered you can get a Qashquai+2 which beats the Tiguan for boot space.

Budget restricts me to vehicles ten years old and over and there seems to be plenty of either to choose from although the majority of Tiguans available seem to be the 4 motion ones which I would rather not choose.

Anyone know of any reasons to choose one above the other or have any horror stories about either model or make any other recommendations? Cheers!

Drove a quashqi over a weekend a few months ago. A nice drive but it felt like a huge vehicle – much wider than it actually was. I liked the drive on motorways but the winding country roads weren’t nice as couldn’t judge how far from edge so ended up across the middle of the road.

Not a Qashqai.
I got one last year, it was the worst car I’ve ever owned. The electrics on it were incredibly unreliable with parking sensors and lane assist buzzing and screeching every time you drove it in heavy rain. It was still under warranty but Nissan had absolutely no interest in fixing any of it. It drove nicely enough but with the electrical gremlins along with air con issues and another couple of problems I can safely say I wouldn’t have another even if it were free.
It was utter dogshit.

Also, while the specs may suggest it’s got lots of space, it was very limited in the boot due to the shape of it.

I had a couple Seat Atecas that I liked. They are just a Tiguan with a different badge and can be cheaper than the equivalent VW badged version.

Owned a Qashqui for 10 years 14 plate diesel, drives well, 60mpg, zero road tax. It’s a second car so not used much. Engine is good Renault diesel, build quality is just OK and like above a lot of niggles with electrics. Compared to the build quality on my Nissan Navara it’s at best average.

We had a tiguan for a few months after our ford kuga was stolen.

I hated that tiguan with a passion, which is why we got rid after 5 months, I couldnt stand driving it any longer, it was not very refined (we had the diesel engined one), the handling was awful, the interior was bland/drab. The driver assist functions like lane assist were badly implemented and so intrusive. on the plus side nothing went wrong with it, it kind of did the job, but the ford kuga was so much nicer.

We had a 66-plate Qashqai – bought when 3 years old and sold 4 years later. Not exciting but just a good car – I can see why some folk like SUVs. Practical, comfy enough, tons of space, decent economy, cheap VED, reliable (apart from once having issue with the key not speaking to the car – damn electronics). Space under the boot floor for a space saver wheel if you ditch the polystyrene in the false/underboot space. Ours was the family wagon and pretty unloved by Mrs a11y but it survived.

I personally didn’t find the seats particularly comfy but YMMV – I was usually the passenger and rarely drove it, so might differ.

My parents had a Tiguan and have just changed it for a Qashquai. Both hateful things in equal measure but from what I’ve experienced of both, I think I’d get the Tiguan (these are new ones though – the Tiguan was 4 years old when they got rid and they’ve had the Nissan for about 6 months). Just a much nicer car to be inside vs the Nissan, looks (subjective when dealing with white goods metal boxes) win for the VW I reckon. Are there any BMW X1/X3s in budget? Much nicer than either…

Actually scrap that – I’d get another Passat estate. Bad back would be more preferable to either of the above.

I’ve got a Skoda Karoq, so essentially a Tiguan/Ateca, but more dull.  Came from a Touran which was the greatest practical I’ve ever had.
Karoq doesn’t keep me awake at night worrying about it being stolen but it’s a really nice car. 1.5 diesel Sel version. Easy does 60mpg on a steady motorway run.  Very comfortable heated seats. Sel version has the bonus that you can remove all or some of the rear seats to make a (very) minivan. I’ve had three people in it, with three bikes upright in the rear, just the front wheels off.
DSG gearbox has been a revelation, I should have bought an auto years ago.

We have a 12 Plate Qashqai N-Tec+ same age as the vehicles OP wants. Petrol mind. Been utterly reliable, absolutely no issues in the 8-9 years we have had it (bought at 3 years old).  Under initial warranty, it had a wheel bearing, and I’ve changed the gearbox/lower engine mount which was a 20 minute job.  No electrical issues at all. I do, however, look after my cars. Oh and it’s had a battery as it was getting sluggish to start in winter. My neighbour has had three Qashqai’s and he recons the older MK1 facelift (the one OPO wants) was the most reliable.

I would go for the petrol engines just because I have a 23 year old petrol Primera as well – again utterly reliable. Selling the Primera next year as I want a van, but dreading diesel and ad-blu issues.

The Qashqai is slightly sorter and lighter than my saloon, so they aren’t exactly big. Higher driving position is great for getting in and out of (I’d broken my spine 8 years ago). Space inside is good, and we’ve had a kingsize divan in it before now.

Sat-nav can be updated via ebay and a new SD card.  Just keep an eye out for one that’s been looked after – they are family cars so watch for neglect.

Initially was looking at Tiguans as they ticked the VW box and had the load carrying capacity that I was looking for but then I discovered you can get a Qashquai+2 which beats the Tiguan for boot space.

Neighbour has a new 7-seat Tiguan, which he says is larger than normal 5-seat. Is this an option on older models??

Buck the trend, get a proper car and don’t follow the SUV lemmings ;P.

My local garage has a diesel Tiguan as a loan car and it’s alright. Nothing exciting but no rattles, drives fine, good interior condition, comfy enough and doesn’t feel big. And it’s well over 200k miles.

But the caveat to all that is that it’s the garage loaner so probably gets all the attention it needs to sail past 200k.

Tiguans can have issues with gearbox and clutches. Both the old manual and the dsg. We had the leaky release bearing seal issue which destroyed the clutch and flywheel and very nearly the bell housing. We were lucky the clutch failed when it did. Mate has the newer one which had the problem with the dsg. His was the all space version which is longer and had the extra row of fold away seats.

Partner is on her second quashaui, it’s lumbering beast, which has had various random failures. It’s on a Nissan service contract, but the local Nissan garage service has been so terrible (eg: forgot to MOT it, when it went in for service/MOT) , she will not be buying another nissan

Not a Renault Kadjar in case you were looking at them.

Loads of electrical issues including the central locking/alarm with mine and my mate’s had similar plus leaky headlamps.  They are essentially a Qashqai with a different badge IIRC.

Maybe try a Toyota Rav4 ?

Drove a quashqi over a weekend a few months ago. A nice drive but it felt like a huge vehicle – much wider than it actually was. I liked the drive on motorways but the winding country roads weren’t nice as couldn’t judge how far from edge so ended up across the middle of the road.

Whereas I drive 20K a year in mine and live rurally. It is not actually very wide, it is long and high but not wide, so fine for B roads and the like. I find it very comfortable, high enough to drive through floods, big boot and does 50MPG from a 1.3 turbo which with double clutch auto gearbox feels pretty quick to me.

Qashqai’s were one of the biggest sellers in the UK for many years, so you’ll find good, bad, and trashed.

I had two as company cars a 15 plate and a 68 plate over seven years.

A couple of failed batteries but no other issues at all.

I find them to be really comfortable for me, nearly at my old Saab levels. I had a mk6 golf before that that gave me a sore right hip and I currently have an Octavia that I do not find anywhere near as comfy.

Mine were five seaters so not as long as the +2 models. The five seaters are rubbish for Ikea furniture trips but I could get an xc 29er in the back of the Qashqai easier than the Octavia due to the boot width.

My parents have a Tiguan – about 10yrs old but top of the range with 180bhp diesel.  It’s very fast in straight lines, quite wobbly in the corners and like many modern cars is actually quite small on the inside. I don’t find it remotely comfortable at 6ft1 but they do and they like it a lot. The biggest issue for me is that boot is quite small. SUV style cars have vertical boot capacity as the boots aren’t that deep in the mid-sized variants. I’d  much rather have a Golf/Leon/Octavia estate for extra practicality.

There are lots of them around and Quashquai things too, so there will be lots of horror stories to go with the thousands of cars that work well without issues.

We have a 12 yr old Qashqai and it’s been fine – starts first time every time and just trundles along happily (2.0dci auto). Last week I thought something was awry with the steering and was panicking it was going to be an expensive steering/suspension fix. Took it to the garage and they diagnosed all four tyres having just 15psi in them. I was so embarrassed.

My experience as a cyclist of Qashquai drivers having no idea where they are on the road and struggling to follow a predictable driving line is reflected well in this thread.

EDIT: The answer by the way is… get a Touran.

I have a 2022 Qashqai on a three year lease. It has been mainly driven by my wife but I do drive it on longer family trips. It has been totally reliable during that period but there are a few things that annoy me about it. The first is that it gets steamed up very easily when two or more people are in it. It is a entry level model spec wise and the air conditioning is controlled by manual dials. the air-con is very noisy even on the lowest setting and this brings me to my final gripe. The audio system volume and ability to fill the cabin is very poor. It needs to be turned up loud for the occupants to hear it above road noise at 50mph+ and rear passengers can barely hear it under any circumstances.

These issues may be limited to poverty spec models like the one I am leasing. I have a 24 plate rental Qashqai a few months ago and that was better but still a little bit annoying.

Sportage or a Tuscan surely?

Another vote for the RAV4 here.

couldn’t judge how far from edge so ended up across the middle of the road.

This seems to be a general SUV issue, Rangerovers, Tiguans, Kadjars, etc etc always seem to be barreling along the middle of the road :-/

Mazda CX5.

If you need space then the std qq has a small boot , the plus2 is better but rarer and limits your choice.
If your usage allows then a petrol Honda CRV  would give you the space and predictable reliability that would not come with the qq or Touran.

Sound system is good in the 2012 models, not poverty spec. The TEKNA has Bose speakers

If you have a dodgy back and want lots of space, then surely the answer is a V70? Seats of The Gods.

or XC60 ?

Check the Tiguan Allspace if you want something like a Tiguan but bigger (longer).

Tiguan is OK, you can get a Zimmer frame and folded wheelchair in the boot and the seat hight is good for non-mobile pensioners.

Used it for a family trip round Ireland, it was fine. Prefer my old diesel A4 Avant.

Skoda Karoq or Kodiaq if you want bigger (available as 7 or 5 seats in the lower spec versions).

I had a Karoq 1.5 manual and daughter has a 1.5 dsg Kodiaq. Both great cars. The engine drops to a 2 cylinder mode to save fuel. Loved mine and sorry to see it go back when I left the company.

Sound system is good in the 2012 models, not poverty spec. The TEKNA has Bose speakers

Mine also has a panoramic glass sunroof and pimp/drug-dealer cream leather seats. 🙂

We test drove a Quashquai back in 2014. It was nice enough but we bought a Kuga instead which caused us no trouble for the 5 years we had it. My sister has a similar vintage Rav 4 which she really likes and the boot is bigger than most in the class.

RAV4 or CRV, but they are usually a bit more expensive for similar age.

I liked my SEAT atteca (Tiguan equivalent).  I see a few have recommended the Skoda version (Karoq).  As I say, the Atteca was great, apart from too big alloys that looked nice but gave a too-firm ride, but the Karoq is more flexible internally. Karoq wasn’t available when I went for the SEAT otherwise I reckon I’d have gone Skoda…

That said, had a couple of SEAT Leon STs since and like them, don’t miss the higher position.

Subaru Forester, my old man bought on new in 2019, I have driven it a fair bit since then and when my X-trail got replaced last month I got a Subaru Forester XT (2013)

Wow! Didn’t expect so many replies, ,just got in from work and caught up.

Thanks for all the comments folks and alternative suggestions I will investigate them all but a quick look seems to indicate that most are out of my price range or too far away.

Load space is not the most important feature as I don’t haul as much gear around as I used to, it’s the load length that I need so I can get my bike in the back when I go off riding on my own and don’t want to leave it on a rack while I go to the cafe or the bog.