Photo: Volkswagen
The all-new Taos isn’t the most inspiring car in the Volkswagen lineup, but it’s hard to blame the German automaker for it. The indirect replacement of the Golf and Beetle came to be as a response to the rising demand for crossovers, and it definitely has a few things going for it.
Priced at $22,995 for the S trim level with front-wheel drive, the 2022 model year Taos is pretty frugal at 31 miles to the gallon (7.6 liters per 100 kilometers) on the combined cycle. Opting for 4Motion all-wheel drive drops the EPA rating to 28 miles per gallon (8.4 liters per 100 kilometers).
To put those figures into perspective, the Jetta is good for up to 34 miles per gallon, while the Jetta GLI is rated at 28 mpg (6.9 and 8.4 l/100 km, respectively). “We developed the Taos for North America with a balance of efficiency and drivability that we’ve rarely seen from competitors in the compact SUV space,” declared Hein Schafer, the senior vice president of product and strategy at Volkswagen of America. “We think that customers will embrace a fun-to-drive, well-equipped crossover at a very competitive price point.”
Made in Mexico at the Puebla manufacturing plant, the small utility vehicle will go on sale in June as the more affordable sibling of the Tiguan. Every trim level and drivetrain option relies on a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 158 horsepower—11 horsepower more than the Jetta—and 184 pound-feet (250 Nm) of torque. The most notable difference between front- and all-wheel-drive variants is the transmission, which comes in the guise of an eight-speed auto for the former or a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch box for the latter.
The 4Motion all-wheel-drive system commands a $1,450 premium, which isn’t too bad considering that a front-wheel-drive Tiguan will set you back $25,245 at the very least. The compact-sized Taos also happens to be nicely equipped as standard thanks to aluminum-alloy wheels, LED exterior lighting, touchscreen infotainment, a digital instrument cluster, and a pair of USB-C ports.
Volkswagen isn’t going to find it easy to move the Taos, though, because this segment is full of competitive products. To whom it may concern, the best-selling compact crossovers in the United States are the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, which sold 430,387 and 333,502 units last year alone.
To put those figures into perspective, the Jetta is good for up to 34 miles per gallon, while the Jetta GLI is rated at 28 mpg (6.9 and 8.4 l/100 km, respectively). “We developed the Taos for North America with a balance of efficiency and drivability that we’ve rarely seen from competitors in the compact SUV space,” declared Hein Schafer, the senior vice president of product and strategy at Volkswagen of America. “We think that customers will embrace a fun-to-drive, well-equipped crossover at a very competitive price point.”
Made in Mexico at the Puebla manufacturing plant, the small utility vehicle will go on sale in June as the more affordable sibling of the Tiguan. Every trim level and drivetrain option relies on a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 158 horsepower—11 horsepower more than the Jetta—and 184 pound-feet (250 Nm) of torque. The most notable difference between front- and all-wheel-drive variants is the transmission, which comes in the guise of an eight-speed auto for the former or a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch box for the latter.
The 4Motion all-wheel-drive system commands a $1,450 premium, which isn’t too bad considering that a front-wheel-drive Tiguan will set you back $25,245 at the very least. The compact-sized Taos also happens to be nicely equipped as standard thanks to aluminum-alloy wheels, LED exterior lighting, touchscreen infotainment, a digital instrument cluster, and a pair of USB-C ports.
Volkswagen isn’t going to find it easy to move the Taos, though, because this segment is full of competitive products. To whom it may concern, the best-selling compact crossovers in the United States are the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, which sold 430,387 and 333,502 units last year alone.
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