Volkswagen Taos – Review, Specs, Pricing, Features, Videos and More

How does one classify the Volkswagen Taos? It’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves for quite some time. And not just about the little Volkswagen SUV, but the segment as a whole.

Measuring in at 175.8 inches (4,466 mm) in length, the Taos is roughly half a foot shorter than traditional compact SUVs like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. But it’s also 7-10 inches longer than subcompact SUVs like the Chevrolet Trax and Hyundai Kona.

The Taos falls into a category we’ve been unoriginally referring to as small compact SUVs. It’s a space initially carved out by the likes of the Subaru Crosstrek, Jeep Compass, and even the original Volkswagen Tiguan. But the Tiguan has since grown into a more traditional compact SUV, leaving a void that the Taos happily fills.

After all, this is a burgeoning segment that’s on many consumer’s radars. Recently there’s been an influx of just about every major manufacturer entering the fray. Kia has the Seltos, Toyota the Corolla Cross, Mazda the CX-30, and Volkswagen the Taos.

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Volkswagen does not want you to call this a sub-compact crossover.

The temptation to refer to the 2022 Volkswagen Taos as such is strong. The company already has a compact crossover in the Tiguan—surely it wouldn’t build two cars in the same segment, right?

Call it making up for lost time. Volkswagen’s Thomas Tetzlaff doesn’t mince words as he addresses the small group of media assembled in the scenic Hockley Valley to drive the Taos. He tells us all that Volkswagen didn’t take the crossover craze seriously a decade ago, and has spent a long time playing catch-up.

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The 2022 Volkswagen Taos slots under the Tiguan in VW’s U.S. and Canadian lineup and is built on the company’s MQB architecture.

Taos is a town in New Mexico that has a population of around 6,000 people. The name derives from the Taos language meaning “(place of) red willows),” according to Wikipedia. It is also, now, the name of Volkswagen’s newest subcompact crossover, which the company claims gets inspiration from that little town in New Mexico. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we couldn’t drive the car in New Mexico, but does this new SUV have the character behind its name?

It’s powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine making 158 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. It’s available in either front-wheel or all-wheel drive. The front-wheel-drive variant has an 8-speed automatic transmission, while the all-wheel-drive uses a 7-speed DSG dual-clutch unit.

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The past several years has seen a veritable explosion in the number of handsome, practical, small-but-full-featured crossover utility vehicles on the market.

It’s no longer the case that you must shell out the big bucks for the biggest, most opulent, most top-of-the-line SUV in the lineup to get the good stuff. These days, even the least-expensive utility vehicles typically offer premium audio, mobile phone connectivity, and loads of active safety equipment.

Case in point: the Toyota Corolla Cross and Volkswagen Taos. Brand new for 2022 in the North American market, these two compact five-door crossovers are loaded with multimedia goodies, active driver assists, and more space and practicality than its diminutive footprint might lead you to believe. But how do the two really stack up? Let’s take a look as we compare the Toyota Corolla Cross vs Volkswagen Taos.

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