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Flash Drive: 2025 Volkswagen Taos

Volkswagen’s revamped, upgraded and redesigned entry-level compact crossover

The Taos has only been in Volkswagen’s lineup for three years, but that’s enough time for it to get a fresh look and continue to carve out a niche in the competitive compact SUV market. That’s exactly what Volkswagen is doing with the 2025 Tais to continue to appeal to families with young children or couples willing to drop the back seat and go on a road trip. The Taos is the No. 1-selling Volkswagen SUV in Canada and Mexico and the fourth-best-selling model in its U.S. lineup, behind the Tiguan, Atlas and Jetta.

New silhouettes for 2025

Volkswagen invited members of the automotive media to San Antonio, Texas, to drive the 2025 Tais as part of its celebration of the company’s 75th anniversary in the United States. We only have a few hours to give it a quick spin, so this flash drive is going to be over the top. Clean Fleet Report We’ll write a more in-depth review when we’ve been in Taos for a week or more.

get there

2025 Volkswagen Tais
Everything you need for the highway

The 2025 Volkswagen Tais comes in four trim levels: S, SE, SE Black and SEL, all with front-wheel drive (FWD) or 4Motion (what VW calls all-wheel drive). All models come with a 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that produces 174 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, a slight increase over last year. All models use an 8-speed automatic transmission, replacing the 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox of the outgoing Tais. VW says fuel economy ratings for the FWD Tais are 28 mpg city/36 mpg highway/31 mpg combined, and 4Motion’s fuel economy ratings are 25/33/28.

when Clean Fleet Report We’ll report on real-world fuel economy and more details on the powertrain’s on-road performance a week or more after the 2025 Tais goes on sale.

Driving experience: on the road

Clean Fleet Report Driven FWD and 4Motion 2025 Tais. Acceleration has been smoothed out compared to the last time we were in the 2022 Taos, likely a result of the use of an 8-speed automatic transmission and a small horsepower boost. 0-60 time of 8 seconds is perfect for driving demands including highway merging and heading into the mountains.

2025 Volkswagen Tais
balanced riding

Tais 4Motion features three driver-selectable driving modes: Eco, Sport and Individual. When in Active Control mode, there are on-road, snow, off-road and off-road custom settings. In Road mode, further options are available – Normal, Sport, Comfort and Individual – to fine-tune the driving experience. Our drive time was on a bright, dry, sunny day, so we didn’t make use of these extensive drive mode options.

The SUV’s balanced position allows for controllable body roll or side-to-side pitch during hard cornering. Although the steering is precise, don’t expect it to work in turns, as neither the Taos FWD or 4Motion are designed or marketed as sport SUVs.

Stopping comes from ventilated front and solid-disc rear four-wheel anti-lock brakes with electronic brake pressure distribution and hydraulic brake assist to produce immediate stops without brake fade.

this IQ driven The system, standard on all trims, features advanced driver-assist technology with manual and semi-automatic capabilities.

Exterior design changes

2025 Volkswagen Tais
Very European design

The 2025 Taos has been redesigned, retaining the clean, classic look that instantly made it a Volkswagen icon. Very European. The front end features rounded edges, and all trim levels get new LED projector headlights. The SE Plus has an LED light bar on the front grille, similar to the SE Plus’ design ID.4 and ID.Buzz Electric cars. The flat roof features a dual-pane power moonroof (standard on SEL, optional $1,200 on SE) and black roof rack rails that lead to a small integrated spoiler and LED taillights.

Strong support from Volkswagen no Install oversized black brush guards on the fender arches. The lack of unnecessary chrome and cladding makes the Taos design a winner. The twin fake exhaust tips on the lower rear fascia actually don’t look too bad, and the star-patterned 17-, 18-, and 19-inch machined aluminum wheels look great.

Exterior paint options include Dark Pearl Black, Platinum Gray Metallic, Pyrite Silver Metallic, Monument Gray, Pure White, Monterey Blue Pearl, Cornflower Blue and Bright Moss Green Metallic.

interior design

Inside it’s neat and tidy, continuing the classic German minimalist theme. Cloth seats come standard on the S trim, CloudTex comes standard on the S Plus and SE Black, and leather seats come standard on the SEL. The driver’s seat in S trim is manual, while S Plus and SE Black get heated seats with 8-way power adjustment, including lumbar adjustment, and finally, the front seats on the SEL add ventilation. Front passengers can adjust manually, and the rear seats recline when exiting.

2025 Volkswagen Tais
Well done for entry level

Separating the front seats is a center console with cup holders and storage areas. The flat-bottomed, heated, leatherette-wrapped steering wheel features a white topline and brushed chrome accents.

There’s a mix of soft and hard plastics, with the latter being more prominent (as is the case with many entry-level SUVs), but Volkswagen has done a good job.

The flat roof and wide doors provide easy access to the backseat, which has almost the same space as the larger Tiguan. Rear head and legroom can accommodate people over 6 feet tall easily and comfortably, with room for three child seats. Rear-seat passengers get console-mounted air vents, a USB-C charging port, and a fold-down armrest with cup holders.

2025 Volkswagen Tais
Spacious back seat

The Taos FWD offers 65.9 cubic feet of cargo space with its 60:40 split rear seats folded nearly flat and 27.9 cubic feet with them upright. If you opt for 4Motion Tais, these dimensions drop to 60.2 and 24.9 respectively.

The configurable 8-inch digital cockpit information screen features two large gauges against a black background. The infotainment system features a 4-speaker, 8.0-inch (S, SE and SE Black) color touchscreen, or a 6-speaker, 10.25-inch in SEL for AM/FM/HD radio, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MP3 playback.

Standard or optional amenities include Bluetooth for calls and streaming music, two 45-watt USB-C charging ports (one for data), wireless phone charging, rain-sensing windshield wipers, power windows , remote engine start with keyless access via app, heated multifunction steering wheel with audio and phone controls, power-adjustable and manually folding heated outside mirrors, front and rear reading lights, and 10-color ambient lighting in SEL trim.

Safe and convenient

2025 Volkswagen Tais
Spacious rear space

The 2025 Tais comes standard with these safety systems.

  • If the car is involved in certain types of collisions, Intelligent Crash Response shuts off the fuel pump, unlocks the doors and turns on the hazard lights.
  • In certain crash situations, an automatic post-crash braking system applies the brakes when airbag sensors detect a primary collision, potentially reducing the chance of additional damage from hitting another vehicle or a building.

It also comes with six airbags, a tire pressure monitoring system, a rearview camera, rear park distance control, hill descent control, blind spot monitors, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking.

Pricing and Warranty

These base 2025 Taos prices include a $1,495 destination charge. Tais is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2025.

S

Forward $26,420

All-wheel drive $28,120

Southeast Europe

Forward $29,320

All-wheel drive $31,420

SE black

Forward $31,570

All-wheel drive $33,270

Selective EL

Forwarding does not apply

All-wheel drive $36,120

The 2025 Tais comes with the following warranty:

  • New car – four years/50,000 miles
  • 24-hour roadside assistance – three years/36,000 miles
  • Scheduled maintenance – two years/20,000 miles

Watch: 2025 Volkswagen Taos

Volkswagen has launched the taos compact SUV in 2022, becoming the entry-level product in the Tiguan, Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUV ranges. They have since added the all-electric ID.4 compact SUV.

The 2025 Taos continues to be a spacious five-passenger SUV with mid-30s fuel economy, a quiet ride, good power, and is packed with exquisite safety and convenience features. Classic European design will age gracefully over time. An attractive entry price of about $26,000 (front-wheel-drive S model) makes the Tais very attractive.

2025 Volkswagen Tais

Petar Danilovic, senior vice president of product marketing and strategy at Volkswagen of America, told us the importance of the Taos is that “there’s a place for an entry-level SUV (below the Tiguan), and we’ve sold over 209,000 of them since 2022 (when the Taos launches) cars, so we can say we are very successful.”

Clean Fleet Report There was no opportunity to take the Taos Cross Country to test the 4Motion all-wheel drive system. We’ve experienced 4Motion on other VW models, and it’s a welcome feature. If your driving includes muddy or snowy roads, you don’t have to go off-road to enjoy the AWD Tais’ sure-footed handling benefits.

The Taos 4Motion is less than $2,500 more expensive than the Taos FWD, so it might be a good choice for extra traction on dirt roads or for occasional trips to the cabin.

Some competitors in the subcompact SUV segment (with links to our reviews) include Buick Encore GX, Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, Hyundai Venue, Kia Soul, Kia Seltos, Mazda CX-30, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, nissan kicks, Subaru Crosstrek and Toyota Corolla Cross.

Make sure to opt in Clean Fleet Report Newsletter (top right corner of page) notifies all new stories and vehicle reviews.

Story and photos by John Faulkner.

Volkswagen, 75 years in the United States

(See photo gallery at cleanfleetreport.com)

Disclosure

Clean Fleet ReportFree test vehicles are loaned from the automaker for evaluation, usually for one week at a time. Our road tests are based on a week of driving the new car. Therefore, we do not address issues such as long-term reliability or total cost of ownership. In addition, we are often invited to manufacturer events to highlight new vehicles or technologies. As part of these events we may receive free travel, accommodation or meals. Regardless of these temptations, we do our best to present our honest reviews of vehicles and news.

Our focus is on delivering vehicles with best-in-class fuel economy, which leads us to focus on electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and other efficient powertrains. We also recommend those efficient gasoline-powered vehicles that get the best miles per gallon in their class. Additionally, we aim to provide reviews and news on advanced technologies and the alternative fuel vehicle market. We welcome any feedback from owners and are committed to providing a forum for other perspectives. Let us know your views at publisher@cleanfleetreport.com.

Post-Flash Drive: 2025 Volkswagen Taos makes first appearance on Clean Fleet Report.

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