2025 Volkswagen Taos: Good things come to those who wait
The redesigned small SUV handles roads like a good Volkswagen should. But it also accelerates like the original Volkswagen used to, despite a horsepower boost and transmission change.
2025 Volkswagen Taos SEL vs. Nissan Kicks SR AWD: Small SUVs you probably weren’t thinking about.
This week: Volkswagen Taos
Price: $36,575 as tested. Only gray paint added $455.
Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver calls it “spacious for a little guy, good cargo room, the closest thing we have to a Golf hatchback now,” but editors were disappointed with the “so-so acceleration,” that the “pricing quickly approaches Tiguan territory,” and that “the Golf was more fun to drive.”
Marketer’s pitch: “It’s your road. Drive like you own it in the redesigned 2025 Taos.”
Reality: That would mean drive slowly, uncomfortably, bumpily.
What’s new: The small SUV named Taos gets a redesign for 2025. It also gets a new engine, and an 8-speed automatic transmission for the all-wheel-drive versions. So of course it’s only gotten better, right?
I liked the previous version except for one standout problem.
Competition: In addition to the Nissan Kicks, there are the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-30. Subaru Crosstrek, and Toyota Corolla Cross.
Up to speed: The Taos feels like a spunky little SUV off the starting line, but its acceleration rapidly diminishes as you begin to pick up speed. It’s disappointing, considering the 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine has gotten a 10% boost in horsepower, to 174.
And somehow those are very slow horses. It gets to 60 mph in a tired 8.9 seconds, according to Motor Trend. That’s a full second-and-a-half slower than the previous, lower-horsepower version.
Pulling the gearshift lever down for Sport mode adds a bit of oomph but not as much as I’ve come to expect from Volkswagens.
Shifty: Kiss the old dual-clutch transmission goodbye. Those high-tech wonders work well on high-end vehicles, but always seem jumpy down here in the cheap seats. Automakers all seem to have realized this and they are being tossed aside.
The 8-speed shiftable automatic now offered on both all- and front-wheel-drive models performs much better. Shifting the gears yourself using the shift lever is smooth, but doesn’t really add to performance.
On the road: The handling in the all-wheel-drive Taos is probably one of the nicest among its competitors. I really had a rocking good time on the country lanes around home, and could find myself going a little faster than intended. So the Taos reminds us of the old adage that good things come to those who wait.
Ride-wise, it feels sportier than it is; the Taos is a little rough over bumps and highway seams, though.
Driver’s Seat: The seats feel slightly low-budget and yet supportive and bolstery. The Vienna leather feels cheap and the stuffing stiff, but they are heated and ventilated.
The gauges get the most basic of basic looks, with two simple dials showing speed and RPMs and a few other bits of information tucked in there. The Taos is definitely not overwhelming drivers with a plethora of bells and whistles.
Friends and stuff: The rear seat provides ample legroom, headroom, and foot room for passengers, a nice feeling when you’re down near $35k. A rather large hump will impede space for middle passengers though.
Cargo space is 60.2 cubic feet with the seats folded and 24.9 otherwise. (65.9/27.9 on front-wheel-drive models.)
In and out: This class of vehicle is about the easiest to get in and out, and one reason we are seeing scads of them sold in the U.S.
Play some tunes: The unbranded stereo provides pretty good playback, about an A-. It’s not perfect but it reproduces songs with clarity.
Dials control volume and tuning and buttons outside the smallish 8-inch touchscreen get you from source to source.
Keeping warm and cool: I don’t know if I’ve applauded VW for this HVAC control before, but this new one is actually kind of nicely done. Touch-buttons turn everything on and off, from the seat heaters and coolers to the location of the air.
Touch sliders handle temperature and fan speed. Just press once on the right side to add blower speed or heat; once on the left to bring it back down. It’s not perfect for eyes on the road, as I once had the heat jump up two pegs with one push, but it’s OK. Volkswagen was long satisfied with three or four little dials, and I thought I’d be highly miffed by this change, so feeling good about this is surprising.
Fuel economy: I averaged about 27 mpg during a week of testing.
Where it’s built: Puebla, Mexico. U.S. and Canadian parts make up 18% of the vehicle; Mexican parts are another 37%.
How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts a reliability rating of 2 out of 5.
Next week: We try out Nissan’s new Kicks model.