Thread:Betty2015/@comment-28694170-20161119132445/@comment-32738051-20161119155431

Hi Betty!

I'm a big fan of small vehicles myself...I love a low turning radius for cornering and I love maneuverability and better gas mileage. Currently I have a Saturn Astra hatchback and I love it! There's better hatchbacks out there but I've always been a big fan of Saturn, even though they're gone now. I used to have a Saturn SL1, which had the dent resistant panels that made the gas mileage SO much better than anything else on the market at the time.

But then I don't have to worry about how easy or hard it is to get in and out of the car nor do I have the same concern for passengers...no family members to drive to/from the doctor's. And I don't have to worry about driving in a lot of snow. I'm assuming you not only need something bigger for transporting your dad (perhaps you also have similar concerns?) but that you also experience rougher weather and rougher terrain and need something that will bear up.

I have a better opinion of Honda than Volkswagen. A friend of mine had a really bad service experience with his VW dealer but that's just one incident. Another friend was happy with hers. Neither had the Tiguan. It's been awhile but I've looked at resale values, 5-yr cost of ownership and safety for a number of vehicles before, including a few Hondas and a few VWs. The VWs were always worse by comparison. But again, I wasn't looking at the Tiguan. Still, if you can get that kind of information, it would be helpful in making a decision.

I'm guessing you need all-wheel drive. But if you can live with front-wheel drive instead and you're willing to wait for an anticipated 2017 re-model, I have a friend whose family swears by the Honda Odyssey. Yes, it's a minivan, not an SUV. Yes, it's bigger and seats more (7-8 vs 5). And it's more expensive. BUT my friend and his family have problems like diabetes and bad knees and they're also tall and overweight. The Honda Odyssey is very comfortable for them, not only for the ride but also for getting in and out of.

I'm a huge fan of research and lots of data when making big purchases, especially vehicles. Here in the US, I swear by sites like cars.com, Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book for this info, including vehicle comparisons. But those will be difficult for you for comparison since everything will be based on US versions and Canadian ones are different. You might be able to glean some helpful info from them but it would be better if there are Canadian equivalent sites you can check instead. I did a quick check and I didn't really find anything comparable.

By the way, your snapshot above is not the Wolfsburg pricing...I noticed that's about $5K more.

Hope this helps. Happy hunting! 🚙💨 😉