The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Solid standard features
- Big interior
- More power
- Quiet and refined
- Good value
Dislikes
- It’s not exciting
- Competition looks more exciting
- Could be more exciting
- How about a hybrid option?
- AWD models feel (and are) heavier
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2025 VW Taos adds more tech and pizazz to the value equation, but those seeking excitement will be underwhelmed.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Volkswagen Taos? What does it compare to?
The 2025 Taos is a compact five-seat SUV. It squares off with the Hyundai Kona, Subaru Crosstrek, and Kia Seltos among others.
Is the 2025 Volkswagen Taos a good SUV?
The 2025 Taos arrives with fresh design details, a more refined powertrain, and more tech while retaining a comfortable and spacious interior. It earns a TCC Rating of 5.8 out of 10, besting some of the competition thanks to its value (Read more about how we rate cars.).
What's new for the 2025 Volkswagen Taos?
VW has given the Taos a nip and a tuck with updated lighting, more standard features, and a stronger, smoother, revised powertrain.
Available in S, SE, SE Black, and SEL trims, the Taos lineup is simple and straightforward. VW has brought some of the top-trim’s features down to the SE grade for 2025. Front-wheel drive is standard while all-wheel drive is available.
Inside and out the Taos remains a conservatively styled small SUV that won’t offend anyone.
Taos SUVs get revised front and rear bumpers, updated front grille, and LED lighting elements. Top trim models now feature an LED bar across the front end that connects the headlights, similar to what’s found on VW’s ID.4 electric car. The LED taillights are now connected with a light bar as well. Base models roll on 17-inch aluminum wheels while front-wheel-drive SE models upsize to 18s and top-spec SEL models get 19s.
Inside VW’s added some soft-touch materials to the door panels with stitching. The dashboard still wears hard plastic as do the tops of the rear door panels. Last year’s 6.5-inch touchscreen has been ditched in favor of a standard 8.0-inch touchscreen for 2025. An 8.0-inch digital gauge cluster is standard while top-shelf SE Plus models get a larger 10.3-inch unit.
Every Taos is still powered by a 1.5-liter turbo-4, but power output rises 16 hp to 174 hp. Torque holds steady with 184 lb-ft. Every Taos now features a conventional 8-speed automatic, where previously the all-wheel-drive models swapped in a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The 8-speed offers a smoother driving experience. Front-wheel drive is standard while all-wheel drive is available on mid-grade SE and SE Black models. It’s standard on the Taos SEL.
The front-wheel-drive Taos still uses a simple twist-beam rear suspension while all-wheel-drive models upgrade to a more sophisticated multi-link rear axle. The suspension tuning hasn’t changed, so the Taos rides differently depending on the drive wheels. Multi-link models have better control over rough pavement, but are also hundreds of pounds heavier.
As the smallest VW SUV, the Taos checks in 9.3 inches shorter than the Tiguan with most of the reduction happening between the wheels. Despite the small footprint the Taos packs a large interior in a small space. Four adults will be comfortable and cargo carrying capacity checks in between 25 and 27 cubic feet depending on front-wheel or all-wheel-drive configurations.
Fuel economy registers as high as 31 mpg combined, which is pretty good for a small SUV. We’ve seen this prove out in the real world
Every Taos has standard adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitors, automatic emergency braking, and active lane control. Previously the Taos earned a four-star rating from the NHTSA and the IIHS called out the small SUV’s headlights as mediocre. The headlights are new for 2025 while the Taos’ structure carries over. No updated crash test scores are yet available.
How much does the 2025 Volkswagen Taos cost?
VW wants $26,420 including $1,425 for destination nets a base S model, which is a value. That’s only $1,000 more than last year for a nicer, better-equipped vehicle. Adding all-wheel drive tacks on $1,700, which is less than the previous year’s $2,340 upcharge.
Where is the 2025 Volkswagen Taos made?
In Mexico.
2025 Volkswagen Taos Styling
The Taos is an under-the-radar small crossover.
Is the Volkswagen Taos a good-looking car?
The 2025 VW Taos takes its unmemorable exterior lines and bookends them with some LED jewelry to add some visual pizzazz while the interior gets larger screens and nicer materials. It’s a 5 on the TCC scale.
The updated Taos doesn’t get the more blunt front end of the most recent Atlas or the upcoming redesigned Tiguan. It retains the wide horizontal front grille and chrome strips between the headlights, but the front end now features standard LED daytime running lights that make it look more expensive than before. The rear end now sports an LED lightbar spanning the full width of the tailgate and it visually connects the Taos with the larger Tiguan, Atlas, and even the electric ID.4. Wheels range in size from 17- to 19-inch alloys and can be had in silver or black.
Inside the business-first orderly cabin remains with an uninteresting but functional design. The climate controls are now touch-based and inferior to the previous buttons and knobs. Every Taos has a digital gauge cluster with most models featuring an 8.0-inch screen while top-spec SEL trims get a larger 10.3-inch cluster. All are reconfigurable. Every Taos now has an 8.0-inch touchscreen. It’s easy to use, feels familiar, yet has some functions, like resetting the trip computer, buried in the menu system. Volume and tuning knobs thankfully remain.
2025 Volkswagen Taos Performance
The Taos has just enough power to jump into traffic.
Thanks to having enough power to keep up with traffic the 2024 VW Taos scores a perfectly average 5 for its performance.
Is the Volkswagen Taos 4WD?
Yes, and it costs $1,700 on all but the top SEL models. All-wheel-drive Taos models net a more complicated multi-link rear axle whereas front-wheel-drive models live on with a simple torsion-beam in back. Translation: The AWD models handle better around corners and ride moderately better, but they are also heavier by a few hundred pounds, and you’ll feel it.
How fast is the Volkswagen Taos?
It’s quicker than last year before the refresh. The 1.5-liter turbo-4’s been revised by VW with new piston rings and fuel injectors, a modified turbo housing, and a larger intercooler. The result is 16 more hp for a total of 174 hp. Torque stands pat at 184 lb-ft. All-wheel-drive models drop the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic and every Taos now has a smooth-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission.
The increased power is welcome and makes the Taos able to spin its inside front wheel (when not equipped with AWD) around corners. There’s enough power to make decisions on the highway, merging isn’t an issue, and the torque band seems to be broad unlike smaller displacement turbo-4s in competitors. The Taos doesn’t need to be wound out to get moving.
The 8-speed is a welcome change. The stuttering lag of the former dual-clutch transmission upon takeoff from a standstill is gone. Shifts are smooth, quick, and precise. The 8-speed doesn’t seem to be confused anymore.
The well-tuned suspension punches a class above its price point, and on smooth roads there’s little daylight between the simpler torsion beam and multi-link rear-end setups. But choppier pavement’s going to show where the more expensive rear end keeps things a bit more planted and controlled, especially around corners.
The steering is nicely weighted and precise. On the highway the Taos doesn’t require corrections even with a crosswind, and it’s all boosted enough for slow parking-lot speeds.
The strong, well-tuned brakes provide bite, but a progressive pedal. They are easy to modulate.
With just 6.5 inches of ground clearance with front-wheel-drive models and 7.6 inches when equipped with all-wheel drive, the Taos isn’t prepped for extreme off-roading. It’ll get you down a gravel road to a trailhead, but don’t go looking for waterfalls down a washed out fire road and certainly don’t try and keep up with a Ford Bronco Sport Badlands or Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness.
There’s no hybrid and none in sight for now.
2025 Volkswagen Taos Comfort & Quality
The VW Taos uses its space efficiently for a roomy cabin in a compact package.
Despite its small size the 2025 Volkswagen Taos has plenty of space inside. We rate it at an 7 out of 10 thanks to its roomy back seat and its spacious cargo compartment
One particularly noteworthy change has taken place inside the Taos with the latest update: The door materials are nicer. All the bits you touch, like the front door uppers, are now soft-touch plastic instead of cheap, hard plastic. It’s a small detail that instantly elevates the experience. Those seated up front will find enough space with mid-trim SE and SEL models netting an eight-way power driver seat. The front passenger seat has height adjustment, which is a win, but it doesn’t go as low as we’d like. It’s mounted on brackets and might provide a high seating position feeling for some passengers.
The rear bench seat is still wide and flat with an impressive 38 inches of legroom. Three can fit, but two will be more comfortable. Deep footwells provide plenty of space for feet.
Front-wheel-models have more space in the back with 28 cubes thanks to the lack of a rear differential. That space drops down to 25 cubic feet with all-wheel drive. The story is the same with the rear seats folded with FWD models having 66 cubic feet of space and AWD models only having 60 cubic feet of cargo space. Still, the Taos features an impressive amount of space, for both people and cargo, compared to competitors.
2025 Volkswagen Taos Safety
The Taos comes with lots of driver-assistance tech, but its crash-test scores historically don’t impress.
How safe is the Volkswagen Taos?
We don’t know yet. The NHTSA and IIHS haven’t crashed a refreshed Taos. The last Taos the NHTSA crashed only earned a rare four stars overall. The IIHS said only the top-spec expensive versions had “Good” headlights. The good news is now all Taos models feature better headlights, so perhaps it’ll appease the IIHS testers.
Automatic emergency braking is standard as are adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitors, and active lane control. Outward vision is also a high point with the Taos thanks to an upright seating position and lots of tall glass.
2025 Volkswagen Taos Features
The 2025 VW Taos is a great value in low to mid-spec form.
The 2025 VW Taos continues to deliver value, even more so now, thanks to great standard equipment and low price. The base S model now costs $26,420 including $1,425 for destination. That’s $1,000 more than last year but now sports a standard 8.0-inch touchscreen, better headlights, and nicer interior materials.
Buyers wanting better foul-weather capability will need to spring $1,700 for all-wheel drive on every trim except the top-spec SEL, which comes standard with power to all four wheels. Notably, AWD is now $640 less expensive than last year.
VW still stands behind the Taos with a solid warranty of 4 years/50,000 miles and includes 1 year or 10,000 miles (whichever comes first) of free maintenance.
Its standard features, value, and large standard touchscreen with standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto give Taos an 8 on the TCC scale.
Which Volkswagen Taos should I buy?
The base S version is a value, but the SE feels like the sweet spot with heated side mirrors, remote start, heated front seats, and dual-zone automatic climate control along with a 6-speaker audio system. The sunroof costs $1,200, if you’re feeling fancy.
How much is a fully loaded Volkswagen Taos?
Someone could spend $36,120 on a VW Taos SEL if they wanted to. That would include everything from a panoramic sunroof and leather seats to a 10.3-inch digital gauge cluster and AWD as standard. It’s nice enough, but also big money for a small crossover.
2025 Volkswagen Taos Fuel Economy
The 2025 VW Taos is shockingly frugal for a small non-hybrid SUV.
Is the Volkswagen Taos good on gas?
Despite having more power and no hybrid model the Taos sips fuel. The volume SE FWD model nets a TCC rating of 4 thanks to EPA fuel economy ratings of 28 mpg city, 36 highway, 31 combined. Opting for all-wheel drive drops those ratings to 25/33/28 mpg and would drop the TCC rating to 3. In brief initial testing we averaged nearly 33 mpg in mixed driving with FWD and a respectable 30 mpg with AWD.