10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Volkswagen Tiguan Gets the Best of Subaru Outback
As demand for compact SUVs has continued to rise, supply of consumer options has followed, with nearly every automaker offering something to satisfy consumers’ seemingly insatiable appetite for these high-riding hatchbacks. But with so many models to choose from, how’s a car shopper to choose? To relieve your analysis paralysis, Cars.com editors have done the legwork for you, pitting the top competitors in the field against one another in intensive, real-world, head-to-head testing to determine the best of the best among compact SUVs. And the winner is … the 2026 Volkswagen Tiguan.
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In our most popular news article of the past week, you’ll learn all about how we determined the winner out of the eight SUVs examined — each receiving numbered ratings for seating comfort, infotainment usability, cabin quality, cargo space, visibility, powertrain, driving experience and noise suppression. It was a rather close finish among the top three, with the Tiguan’s SEL R-Line Turbo trim earning 704 points to the second-place 2026 Honda CR-V Sport Touring Hybrid’s 687 points and the third-place 2026 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid Limited’s 682 points. The VW took the title on the strength of its field-leading seat comfort, near-luxury interior appointments, cocoon-like cabin quiet, impressive power from its turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, confident handling, flawless child-safety seat accommodation and easy-to-operate screen tech. Slightly disappointing fuel economy, second-to-least cargo space, complaints about controls and stiff ride quality ensured rivals stood a fighting chance of victory.
For the full scoop on why the 2026 Volkswagen Tiguan was named the Best Compact SUV for 2026 — including the full list of eight compact SUVs tested and a breakdown of how each one scored — follow the link below to the No. 1 news story on this week’s countdown of most read articles.
So, just as the Tiguan is a safe bet for compact SUV buyers, the 2026 Subaru Outback is a safe bet for safety. The redesigned-for-2026 wagon reborn as a mid-size SUV got a perfect report card from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, earning across-the-board good scores in standardized crashworthiness tests. Evaluations include three crash tests (two front and one side) as well as collision-prevention systems and headlight-effectiveness testing, and scoring “good” is as good as it gets. Not only does the new Outback’s safety performance and the resulting IIHS Top Safety Pick+ designation place it among the safest mid-size SUVs for 2026 — joining the Honda Passport, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-70 and Nissan Murano — it also improves upon the crash performance of its outgoing incarnation. The 2025 Outback managed only a Top Safety Pick award (minus the +) due to its marginal rating in the moderate overlap front crash test, which approximates an offset crash between two vehicles traveling in opposite directions at a slightly under 40 mph.
For full details on the 2026 Subaru Outback’s crash-test performance, follow the link below to the No. 2 news story of the week.
Beyond all that, we’ve got headlines on the Toyota 4Runner, Ram 1500, Honda Pilot, Honda Civic, Tesla Model Y, Porsche 911, Nissan Pathfinder and much more — so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:
1. What’s the Best Compact SUV for 2026?
2. How Safe Is the Redesigned 2026 Subaru Outback?
3. What’s the 2026 Toyota 4Runner’s MPG?
4. How Good Is the 2026 Ram 1500 Hemi V-8’s Gas Mileage?
5. What’s the 2026 Honda Pilot’s MPG?
6. These 8 New Cars Have the Best Value
7. The 2026 Honda Civic Type R Is the Best-Driving New Car Under $100,000: Review
8. What’s the 2026 Tesla Model Y’s Range?
9. The 2026 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Is Everyday Sports Car Perfection: Review
10. Is the 2026 Nissan Pathfinder a Good 3-Row SUV? 4 Pros, 3 Cons
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
