The 2025 Taos engine now makes 16 more horsepower, for 174 and 184 lb-ft of torque.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Volkswagen says there are a few things wrong with the 2024 Taos, its subcompact SUV. Owners and prospective owners didn’t like the choice of materials inside the cabin and they weren’t happy with the infotainment screen and the limited extent of the driver’s assistance safety features. And they definitely didn’t like the seven-speed direct-shift gearbox transmission – VW’s name for a dual-clutch transmission, which is often fitted to performance cars – that drove the all-wheel-drive editions of the Taos.
“Regular customers in SUV segments do not like DSG transmissions – they just don’t,” says Patrick Danielson, a spokesperson for Volkswagen Canada. “They don’t understand how they behave. They don’t understand why they sometimes have a slight hesitation from a launch, and if you have inconsistent throttle applications, the thing can sometimes hesitate. They don’t like this. They want traditional torque converters. We probably knew that before we launched the car, but it is what it is.”
So for 2025, Volkswagen’s fixed this. There are nicer materials available for the cabin, there’s updated driver’s assistance, there’s a central touchscreen as standard and there’s a conventional eight-speed automatic transmission for all versions of the car. That’s a big deal: in Canada, almost all Taos buyers choose AWD.
All-wheel-drive models have 705 litres of cargo room behind the rear seats and 1,705 litres when those seats are folded flat while front-wheel-drive versions have a little more.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
At the same time, the engine now has an extra 16 horsepower, though the torque is unchanged. Few drivers will notice any difference, since nobody buys a Taos for its performance. They want a comfortable, reliable and not-bad-looking little SUV for running errands around town and picking up groceries, not for carving through backroad corners and impressing other drivers at the lights. (You can leave those shenanigans to the drivers who’ve bought the pokey VW Golf R hot hatchback – Canada is the No. 1 market in the world, by volume of cars sold, for the Golf R.)
The Taos succeeds admirably in its mission, which is why Volkswagen expects it to remain the maker’s best-selling model in Canada next year, even as it is up against stiff competition. The price is about the same as before, starting at $31,895 plus tax and rising through four trim levels to $41,095 plus tax. Those prices include the $2,100 charged for freight and predelivery costs. Different features are now available with different trims, so it’s not an apples to apples comparison.
The Taos is marketed as a little more upscale than other mainstream small SUVs without crossing over into premium Audi territory: the median household income of its buyers is $101,357, which is about $5,000 more than its Japanese rivals and more than $20,000 above its Korean competition, Volkswagen says. This is proven by the choices its buyers make, who vastly prefer the more costly mid-trim editions and generally ignore the $2,000 savings of the front-wheel-drive version, only available in the base version.
Tech specs
2025 Volkswagen Taos
- Base price / as tested: $29,795 / $36,995, plus $2,100 for freight and predelivery inspection, plus fees and taxes
- Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged inline-four
- Horsepower / torque (lb-ft): 174 / 184
- Transmission / drive: Eight-speed automatic / FWD and AWD
- Fuel consumption (litres per 100 kilometres): 9.4 city, 7.2 highway, 8.4 combined (AWD); 8.4 city, 6.5 Highway, 7.6 combined (FWD)
- Alternatives: Kia Seltos, Mazda CX-30, Subaru Crosstrek, Toyota Corolla Cross, Hyundai Kona
The refreshed Taos looks a more current with a more open front bumper and new, slimmer lights.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Looks
The front bumper is more open and there are new, slimmer lights both front and back, and new wheel designs, which all help make the refreshed Taos look a little more current. This isn’t just a new element of design: lights are now more efficient and effective with LED technology, and they don’t need to fill the same physical space to perform better. A light strip between the headlights is included in the most costly Highline trim, while at the back, the taillights are connected across the rear door for every trim level, with an illuminated VW logo in the centre. Very modern.
Interior
The dashboard is redesigned with soft-touch, colour-matched materials, although the now standard eight-inch central touchscreen is still small compared with the 10- and 12-inch screens standard in bigger vehicles. Most versions now get a 12.25-inch configurable digital display behind the steering wheel for the instruments – the basic trim has an eight-inch display. There’s dark blue cloth for the seats of those more affordable Trendline editions, while the Comfortline models have leatherette seats and the Highline has leather. There’s plenty of space in the comfortable front seats, and reasonable room for two in the back. If there’s a third adult in the back, it’ll be a short-distance squeeze.
The rear seats on the Taos are comfortable for two adults. A third is a squeeze.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Performance
What performance? My Taos Comfortline Black Edition tester drove well enough, and the revised engine makes its extra power through little tweaks to the piston rings and fuel injectors and a larger intercooler. Most customers will never care about such details – they just want their Taos to catch up quickly to traffic when they step on the throttle and it’ll do that with little fuss. Zero to 100 kilometres an hour comes up in a little less than eight seconds with a heavy foot. Fuel consumption is pretty much unchanged from before, and there’s no lag or stumble from the automatic transmission, which is taken from the front-wheel-drive Taos.
The drive was fairly noisy on Texan concrete highways, and a bit bumpy over the ridges and ruts of the backcountry roads, but not uncomfortably so. The ride was stiff but well-controlled, befitting a European car. All-wheel-drive models offer selectable drive modes for on-road and off-road that adjust the engine and transmission response, stiffness of the steering and even the characteristics of the adaptive cruise control. Most drivers will probably never take their Taos off the “Normal On-Road” setting.
Technology
More driver’s safety assistance features are now standard in all versions of the Taos, including active blind spot monitor, active lane keep assist, rear traffic alert and adaptive cruise control. Volkswagen calls this IQ.DRIVE, and it also allows for hands-free driving for short periods of time. It features emergency assistance too, which will bring the SUV to a stop in its lane, hazards flashing, if the driver falls asleep or becomes unresponsive. The higher trims also include automatic high-beams to control the headlights, and park distance control to beep warnings at you when parking.
The now standard eight-inch central touchscreen is still small compared with other SUVs.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Cargo
The comfortable and usable space inside the Taos is one of its main selling points. It has a fairly long wheelbase, which allows for 2,818 litres of passenger space, and which is just 45 litres less than the 2024 Tiguan. All-wheel-drive models have 705 litres of cargo room behind the rear seats and 1,705 litres when those seats are folded flat, while the front-wheel-drive models have 790 litres and 1,866 litres respectively.
The verdict
Volkswagen’s subcompact Taos already did a good job of providing comfortable and pleasant driving for mainstream motorists, and its refreshed 2025 model should be even more up to the task. Those few annoying little details that apparently bugged buyers have been fixed, and it will surely lead Volkswagen’s sales in Canada for another year.
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
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