Compare the2025 Volkswagen TiguanVS 2025 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volkswagen Tiguan have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Tiguan has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Stelvio doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Tiguan has a standard Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Tiguan has standard Maneuver Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Stelvio doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Tiguan SEL has a standard Area View to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Stelvio only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Volkswagen Tiguan’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Tiguan and Stelvio have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Tiguan has Rear Traffic Alert (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Stelvio’s Rear Cross-Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Tiguan and the Stelvio have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The Tiguan’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Stelvio’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Volkswagen pays for scheduled maintenance on the Tiguan for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volkswagen will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Alfa Romeo doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Stelvio.

There are almost 6 times as many Volkswagen dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Tiguan’s warranty.

The Volkswagen Tiguan’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the Stelvio’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

On the EPA test cycle the Tiguan gets better mileage than the Stelvio:

Regenerative brakes improve the Tiguan’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Volkswagen Tiguan uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Stelvio requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

For better stopping power the Tiguan’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Stelvio:

The Volkswagen Tiguan may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 350 pounds less than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

The design of the Volkswagen Tiguan amounts to more than styling. The Tiguan has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .3 Cd. That is lower than the Stelvio (.32) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Tiguan get better fuel mileage.

The Tiguan has 6.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Stelvio (103.8 vs. 97.6).

The Tiguan has 3.6 inches more front legroom, .8 inches more rear headroom and 8.3 inches more rear legroom than the Stelvio.

The Tiguan has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Stelvio with its rear seat up (26.5 vs. 18.5 cubic feet). The Tiguan has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Stelvio with its rear seat folded (58.9 vs. 56.5 cubic feet).

Standard trailer stability control on the Tiguan uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Stelvio doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Tiguan R-Line has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, infotainment and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

If the windows are left open on the Tiguan the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Stelvio can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Tiguan’s LED headlights produce a white, bright light using less electricity than the Stelvio’s xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. HID headlights can be slow to reach full brightness or power cycle, causing issues when flashing them to signal other vehicles; LED headlights light instantly. LED lights also last about three to four times as long.

When the Tiguan SEL is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Stelvio’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Tiguan SEL keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Stelvio doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Tiguan SEL has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Stelvio.

The Tiguan SEL R-Line’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Stelvio doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Tiguan is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Volkswagen Tiguan outsold the Alfa Romeo Stelvio by over 28 to one during 2024.