While you are waiting for answers, you may want to check out some previous threads on Rommel:

Rommel the Leader

• Why was Rommel such a bad Corps Commander, though he was a good Divisional Commander? - 8 comments, over 3 months old.
• The commenters here get into the particular circumstances that surrounded Rommel's successes in both World Wars to show why he may be overrated.
• Erwin Rommel and Stonewall Jackson: Common Perception versus Reality. Is it correct to say that these two really were the brilliant military leaders that history and popular culture portrays them as, or has history exaggerated their accomplishments. - 62 comments, over 1 year old.
• The commenters mostly focus on analyzing the myth and circumstances surrounding Rommel and why he received a lions share of acclaim while other, arguably more talented German generals did not.
• How effective was Erwin Rommel as a Logistician? - 8 comments, over 2 years old.
• The commenters here go into what makes a good general in their eyes and give Rommel a brief evaluation.
• Erwin Rommel - 3 comments, over 1 month old.
• There are numerous links to works written both by and about Rommel's experiences in the world wars.

Rommel's Contemporaries

• If Rommel is so widely considered one of Germany's generals, why wasn't he on the far more important East front? - 31 comments, over 2 years old.
• The commenters here debate Rommel's worth as a commander in comparison to other German generals, drawing attention to Rommel's particular command style and the favoritism that he had from Hitler.
• Erwin Rommel - 6 comments, over 4 months old.
• This thread goes into other German officers who defied Hitler during World War II, thus showing that Rommel was not the sole example of defiance.
• Today, Rommel is well liked for many reason, but a big one being that he ignored orders from above. How was he able to get away with this? - 8 comments, over 7 months old.
• This thread goes deep on the topic of Rommel as Hitlers favorite contrasted with the German general staff's less than sterling view of him.
• German military leadership on the Russian front. What were some of their achievements? In which ways did they exhibit competence/incompetence/genius? - 8 comments, over 1 year old.
• This thread analyzes those contemporaries of Rommel who are alluded to in various threads above as truly the best the Wehrmacht had to offer.

Rommel, by all accounts, was a very down to earth soldier. He suffered the soldier's hardships and was constantly visible and present on the front lines. He was unafraid to challenge his superiors and was deeply concerned with the well being of his men a fact for which he was greatly appreciated. That isn't to say other German commanders weren't, but Rommel always seemed to separate himself in his willingness to partake of the common soldier's plights. That isn't the only reason he was an excellent leader, but it was a key factor in how his men perceived him and went a long way towards gaining the respect, admiration, and affections of his subordinates.

Your second question as to his being a superior tactician is a little more difficult. I won't deny him his due in saying that he was a gifted tactician in his own way, daring and innovative, Rommel certainly had his share of successes, but I hesitate to proclaim him apart from his peers as a tactician. There were other German commanders, as several of the threads below will point out, that were his equal or better, but unlike Rommel they weren't the same picturesque image Hitler wanted and so he played up Rommel's abilities and downplayed others. Off the top of my head if I were given to a list of other German commanders who were either his equal or better it'd go something like

Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Gotthard Heinrici Heinz Guderian Walter von Model Erhard Raus (etc., there are more names, but I don't want to drag on more than I already am)

My basic point is that while he may have been an individually better leader than any of those men (though that too is debatable) there is no question in my mind that he was not separated by all that much in his tactical abilities when compared to these men. However, it's not a bad list to be on even if you aren't top dog, those were some of the best and brightest generals of WWII period even adding in other nations.