Known as the Volkswagen Tharu in China, the Taos compact utility vehicle fell short in two crashworthiness tests used by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. As a consequence, this model has been rated Top Safety Pick instead of Top Safety Pick+ by the nonprofit organization.
In the passenger-side small overlap crash test, the occupant compartment allowed excessive intrusion into the front passenger’s survival space. This translates to a marginal score, which is pretty unacceptable for a 2022 model. Produced in Mexico in the factory that used to make the Beetle, the Taos also leaves a lot to be desired in the head restraints & seats evaluation as well.
According to Marcy Edwards, research engineer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the crash test dummy’s head and neck weren’t properly supported in the simulated rear-end crash. These acceptable ratings are joined by four good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side-impact, and roof strength test. The seat belts and child restraints were deemed good, together with the LED projector headlights.
The reflector-type headlights are marginal, according to the nonprofit organization. The final drawback is vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention, which is described as basic. Although the system avoided a 12-mph (19-kph) collision, it couldn’t do it in all three 25-mph (40-kph) tests. In the 37-mph (60-kph) parallel adult test, this vehicle failed to slow, and a warning was issued zero seconds before impact. Not cool, VW, not cool!
Based on the MQB A1 platform that underpins the SEAT Ateca and Skoda Karoq, the Volkswagen Taos was revealed for the North American market in October 2020 as a 2022 model. The Euro NCAP has rated both siblings with five stars out of a maximum of five in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Slotted right above the Jetta in terms of pricing, the Taos retails at $23,495 compared to $20,365 for the compact sedan. All trim levels feature a 1.5-liter turbo four-pot with 158 ponies and 184 pound-feet (250 Nm) on tap.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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