I just turned in my leased 2014 VW Tiguan. You list "decent gas mileage" as a something you're looking for, and the VW will not deliver on that. I never got better than 25 mpg hwy, and that was from Denver to KC (downhill) with a 30 mph tail wind. My normal mileage between Denver and KC was 24 eastbound and 22 westbound. Fuel mileage around town was consistently 21-22 mpg, and only that good because I live in a suburb 25 miles south of Denver with light traffic and few stop lights on my normal routes.
Maintenance cost is another place owning a VW can get very expensive. The 30k service was $300, and the 40k service would have been $400 if I had kept the vehicle that long. Combine that with VW's less than stellar track record for reliability and you have the potential for a very expensive ownership experience.
Aside from the numb steering the Tiguan drives OK, unless you're at high altitude where turbo lag is frustrating off the line. If you drive like a normal person the Prius next to you will be three to four car lengths ahead by the time the Tiguan starts moving, then the Tiguan will stumble on each shift. Give it more throttle and it will accelerate ike a normal car but then gas mileage suffers. This is not an issue at lower altitudes.
As if that weren't enough to sour me on the 2014 Tiguan, the audio interface is inexcusably poor. Instead of putting USB ports in their vehicles like the rest of the civilized world VW's engineers decided to use a proprietary connector. This means you cannot use a USB cable to connect your phone or music device. You have to use a $35 VW cable, and the plug is inside the center console. The console doesn't have enough room for many phones built after 2012 so the cables tend to break regularly. Luckily, Bluetooth pairing is easy. Unluckily, the audio system won't control an iPhone. The only way to change playlists or artists is to pick up the phone and take your eyes off the road.
My Tiguan was reliable, but if you check the stats here you'll find mine was a statistical outlier. I didn't have any mechanical or electrical problems, but the audio interface, numb steering, flaccid suspension and expensive maintenance made me decide to let VW take it back at lease end rather than purchase the Tiguan. Either the Honda or the Mazda would be better choices for you.
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