Photo: Volkswagen
Another day, another small people hauler courtesy of Volkswagen. From the T-Cross to the T-Roc in Europe, or the upcoming Taos in the States, we just have to ask at some point, what’s with all the small crossovers? It was VW R&D boss Frank Welsch himself who questioned how many SUVs are too many just last year.
Well, here’s yet another nameplate for good measure, dubbed the Taigo. VW says that it is based on the successful Nivus model from Brazil, but “based on” seems to be a bit of a loose term. It looks more like a rebadged Nivus to us, and at the same time, not that different from a T-Cross, T-Roc, or the 2022 Taos, which recently went into production in Mexico for North American markets.
What, so there are a few inches between them, and that makes them fundamentally different? We’re not buying it. Although, customers in Europe might, which is what it’s all about. We should also mention that VW's tiny crossovers feature internal combustion engines only, while some rivals already offer plug-in hybrids and even EVs for these entry-level segments.
Compared to the Nivus, the Taigo does appear to feature different light graphics at the rear, where we also spot a chunky bumper with a quad-pipe setup. The illustrations do have "R" badges on them, but we’ll just go ahead and be skeptical about any potential quad-pipe budget crossover becoming a reality any time soon.
VW doesn’t say much about the Taigo, though. Usually, the Wolfsburg people like to tell us where all these new names come from, but our guess is as good as yours.
What we do know is that this new crossover will feature economical TSI engines (gasoline), standard LED headlights, a fully digital cockpit, and a variety of driver assistance systems.
The VW Taigo will break cover this summer before arriving in European showrooms at the end of this year.
What, so there are a few inches between them, and that makes them fundamentally different? We’re not buying it. Although, customers in Europe might, which is what it’s all about. We should also mention that VW's tiny crossovers feature internal combustion engines only, while some rivals already offer plug-in hybrids and even EVs for these entry-level segments.
Compared to the Nivus, the Taigo does appear to feature different light graphics at the rear, where we also spot a chunky bumper with a quad-pipe setup. The illustrations do have "R" badges on them, but we’ll just go ahead and be skeptical about any potential quad-pipe budget crossover becoming a reality any time soon.
VW doesn’t say much about the Taigo, though. Usually, the Wolfsburg people like to tell us where all these new names come from, but our guess is as good as yours.
What we do know is that this new crossover will feature economical TSI engines (gasoline), standard LED headlights, a fully digital cockpit, and a variety of driver assistance systems.
The VW Taigo will break cover this summer before arriving in European showrooms at the end of this year.
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