By Jim Prueter
MotorwayAmerica.com

(December 21, 2021) The Taos is Volkswagens newest small crossover, almost a foot shorter, but extremely close in size to the Tiguan, sharing the same platform. In the Volkswagen hierarchy of crossovers, it sits at the bottom of the now five-crossover lineup, with the Atlas at the top. Although, a case could be made that the dazzling new all-electric ID.4 might hold that position, depending on your perspective.

What immediately jumped out at me was the name Taos. For an automaker with a history of vehicle monikers that no one can pronounce correctly with deviant, bizarre names like Tiguan, which is a portmanteau of the German words for tiger and iguana, and the winner of a competition run by VW and the German magazine Auto Bild, defeating contenders such as Nanuk, Namib and Samun; Touareg (a member of a nomadic tribe inhabiting the African Sahara); and Routan, a name completely unknown and a vehicle that was a rebadged seven-seat Chrysler minivan, equally unknown as its name (it was discontinued after five production years and worse than dismal sales).

How Volkswagen came up with the Taos name is a complete surprise, not only because of its departure from head scratching idiosyncratic names, but how did they wrest the name from Hyundai who has the market cornered on Western and Southwestern geographic names like Tucson, Santa Cruz, Sedona and Santa Fe? Did Volkswagen pull a nefarious and successful coup in the dead of night?

Volkswagen has already announced that it will move from an internal combustion engine platform by 2026, a bold move given it comes in the wake of a scandal in which the company was found cheating on emission standards in its diesel vehicles in 2015. It cost the company more than $31 billion in fines and penalties. That said, it needs to be exacting and error free in its product strategy moving forward, including the launch of new products such as the Taos.

Over the past two to three years, there’s been a significant move and substantial growth of the pint-size crossover market seeing new entrants like the Nissan Kicks, Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Venue and Honda HR-V, to name a few. The market for these vehicles is booming; they’re the kind of vehicles people want to buy.

Volkswagen is a latecomer with the Taos, but it’s better to be late to the party than to be a no show and miss it altogether. Think of it as being fashionably late. Except that Taos, while well-designed, breaks no new ground and adds little to a class of vehicles that already has ample, excellent choices to impress new car shoppers.

While almost all entrants in the red-hot small crossover class are noticeably smaller than the next-size-up compact category, the Taos looks and feels larger and, as previously mentioned, is more or less the same size as the Tiguan. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two vehicles is the availability of a third row of seats. Taos is two-row seating only with room for five, but the third-row seats in the Tiguan are small and almost prohibitive for adult-sized occupants. Further, there’s less than a $2,500 difference between starting price of the base Tiguan and base Taos, and Tiguan looks and feels more upmarket with a better interior overall.

While certainly not a head-turner, Taos is handsome and carries the current VW SUV design language found in the Tiguan and larger Atlas crossovers, with sharp character line creases about the sides and hood of the vehicle. The grill is large and black with a distinctive VW badge affixed to both the front grille and rear liftgate. The most interesting exterior feature is the full-width LED DRL light bar that spans the grille. We also liked the LED taillight design that looks like a pair of airplanes on each side. Otherwise, the Taos just blends into the parking lot sea of other crossover vehicles. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Inside, the Taos is impressively roomy and doesn’t feel at all smaller than the Tiguan. There’s also an impressive amount of cargo room; with both rows of seats up there’s 28 cubic feet of storage, just five less than the Tiguan. The biggest difference is interior materials, where there’s soft touch material on the armrests and center console lid. Otherwise, its acres of hard plastic about the entire dash. But the black and blue trim pieces look decent, and VW does a nice job of cost cutting while remaining attractive.

Back-seat occupants won’t get the luxury of the front seat room, but it’s far roomier than the Ford EcoSport, Nissan Kicks, or Hyundai Venue. The Taos is totally acceptable for four occupants, but five is pushing it.

The seats, while flat, are comfortable with good adjustment — including a tilt-telescoping steering wheel — and most drivers will find a comfortable position. Vehicle operating controls such as HVAC knobs, audio controls and the like are straightforward, intuitive and easy to use.  

Overall, the interior is roomy, comfortable, and not upscale as competitors, yet typically Volkswagen. As a taller driver, I found the unpadded plastic center console a nagging intrusion with my right knee, enough so to make it a potential deal breaker.

In terms of powertrain, VW engineers are especially proud of the new 1.5-liter turbocharged, four-cylinder engine that’s certain to replace the current 1.4-liter turbo four that currently powers the Jetta and Golf sedans. Horsepower is rated at 158 with 184 pound-feet of torque; it is the sole engine in the Taos. It’s more powerful than vehicles like the 147-horsepower Kia Soul, 148-horsepower Mazda CX-3, or 141-horsepower Nissan Rogue Sport. The new engine is connected to an eight-speed conventional automatic transmission with power to the front-wheel drive.

Taos is available with 4MOTION all-wheel drive, paired with a 7-speed DSG automatic transmission. With the turn of a dial, you can switch between four different all-wheel drive settings: Snow, On-Road, Off-Road and Off-Road custom.

The Taos is offered in a choice three trim levels starting with the base S ($22,995), mid-level SE ($27,245) and top level SEL ($31,490). All models get a $1,195 destination charge.

Our test Taos was the mid-level SE with front-wheel drive. On the road we found the driving experience to be pleasing with enough power to accelerate to and keep up with traffic. It never felt sluggish, and we didn’t feel the need for more power. But don’t expect it to deliver sporty performance. That isn’t part of the package. Handling was confident, predictable and easy to drive with no surprises, but the ride may be too firm for some. We think most people will find it’s exactly what they were expecting and will be well satisfied. In real life driving, we averaged 30 mpg in both urban and suburban settings on regular unleaded gas.

Taos features Volkswagen’s MIB infotainment system. It’s a user-friendly setup, with a screen that’s easy to see and reach and menus you can navigate without much trouble. Audio and climate functions have physical controls, so you don’t have to use the touch screen for everything.    

Infotainment functions are via a 6.5-inch touch screen, a four-speaker audio system, USB ports, Bluetooth, standard Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a wi-fi hot spot. There’s pushbutton starting and a wireless charging device for smartphones. An eight-inch touch screen, navigation, six-speaker audio system, eight-speaker BeatsAudio system, satellite radio and additional USB ports are available for those who need more.

Disappointingly, important active safety features such as forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning, and rear cross traffic alert are not standard on the base model. For those, you will have to opt for the SE or SEL trim models.

While late to the party, the new Taos, while certainly not an exciting experience will reward most buyers with a vehicle they’ll be well satisfied with. It’s roomy, equipped with plenty of good features that most people want, reasonably priced and, while plain, isn’t offensive either. Everything is straightforward and practical, simple to use and, by comparison, mostly ordinary. But an ordinary vehicle today exists on a much higher level than what you’re driving now and likely to trade in. Thankfully they went with the Taos name rather than Nanuk or Namib.

Vital Stats
Base Price: $22,995 - $31,490
Price as Tested: $28,440
Engine/Transmission: 1.5-liter, turbocharged 158-HP four-cylinder engine paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission or a 7-speed DSG automatic with all-wheel-drive models.
Fuel Economy: 28/36/31 – MPG /City/Highway/Combined – Uses regular unleaded fuel
Seating: Five

Crash Test Safety Rating: Overall – “Good” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Where Built: Mexico

Competes With:
Buick Encore GX
Chevrolet Trailblazer
Ford EcoSport
Honda HR-V
Hyundai Venue
Jeep Renegade
Kia Seltos
Mazda CX-3
Nissan Kicks
Toyota Corolla Cross

Fab Features
Straightforward operating controls
Roomy with plenty of cargo room
Satisfying performance, driving ease, comfort