Competition from the Honda CR-V

The slot is crowded. Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4 and Volkswagen Tiguan are in a hot fight.

Ford Escape

Price: from $30,249

Much like the CR-V, the latest generation of Ford’s Escape is slightly longer and wider than its predecessor. Although the roof line has been lowered, the Escape takes care to free up a maximum of living space, especially in the rear seats, where the bench seat can slide a few centimeters. The interior presentation of this vehicle, on the other hand, is even more austere than that of the CR-V. On the road, the behavior of the Escape is surprisingly neutral and its handling enchants as much if not more than that of the CR-V. The Escape turns out to be very fun to drive, but the American’s engines are less refined and more fuel-efficient too.

Toyota RAV4

Price: from $32,150

There are many similarities between the CR-V and the RAV4. Indeed, this fifth generation of the RAV4 hardly innovates in anything, but rather picks, straight from Toyota’s garden, all the advances sown in recent years. The lack of risk-taking is however more concrete under the hood with a 2.5 L engine that is a little winded, but economical at the pump and in maintenance. Even more than in the case of the CR-V, the hybrid engines represent the resistance pieces of this RAV4. The Prime version especially, which represents an efficiency model with an electric range of more than 60 km.

volkswagen tiguan

Price: from $35,772

Volkswagen doesn’t flaunt it, but the Tiguan’s cabin has a third row of seats on board. This is one of the optional features, starting with the Comfortline version. These additional seats are, unsurprisingly, intended for very young children or for breakdown assistance. With a larger displacement, the Volkswagen’s engine offers better overall performance than that of the CR-V, except at the pump. Its gearbox shows, for its part, a nice smoothness and is perfectly staged. But where this Volkswagen loses the most is on the issue of approval, refinement, quality of presentation and the absence of hybrid engines.