The company whose name translates to “people’s car” has finally started offering the people what they actually want—which is no longer cars, but rather right-priced and right-sized SUVs. The Tiguan has been on sale since 2007, but the first generation was both pricier and slightly more cramped inside than its competition. The larger Touareg was pitched as a near-luxury, premium-priced alternative to the mainstream, but sales never took off. Today, however, a bigger, cheaper Tiguan slots below the America-sized Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport, and the company now has its sights set on the hot subcompact-SUV segment. Meet the 2022 Volkswagen Taos, which will target the Kia Seltos, Mazda CX-30, Subaru Crosstrek, and friends.
This new VW remains more than half a year away from full production, but some elements—in particular its new, 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine—are very nearly fully developed, and MotorTrend was invited to VW’s development facility in Oxnard, California, for time behind the wheel of a Taos prototype.
When the 2022 Taos comes to market in the summer of 2021, it will offer front or all-wheel drive; the example we drove was a front-driver with an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. All-wheel-drive models will come with the same 1.5-liter engine but mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch auto. While VW has much of its focus on its electrification strategy and vehicles such as the new ID4 EV SUV, there’s no doubt this new Taos needs to be excellent.
The 2022 Taos Gets a Brand-New Engine
The new 1.5 features a variable-geometry turbocharger and operates with much higher fuel pressure than the familiar 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that serves as the base powertrain in the Jetta and Golf. The new four-pot is making its debut in the Taos, but there’s little doubt it will make its way to the Jetta and perhaps even serve as the base powerplant in the Passat in the not too distant future. (One thing for certain is we won’t have a chance to buy a 1.5T Golf—or any new Golf—as the all-new MkVIII model will not be sold in America without a GTI or R badge on its rump.)
The new engine offers more power and identical torque to the Jetta’s 1.4-liter engine, pumping out 158 horsepower—an increase of eight—and 184 lb-ft of torque, the latter at 1,750 rpm. Those output figures put the 2022 Taos right in the heart of the segment, just topping the 155-hp, 174-lb-ft Chevrolet Trailblazer but falling shy of the top-spec Kia Seltos SX turbo’s 175 hp and 195 lb-ft.
VW says its goal wasn’t just to make more power, though, but also to deliver best-in-class fuel economy. We won’t know if VW succeeded in that mission until close to the Taos is rated by the EPA, but our 45 minutes of mixed driving on freeways, surface streets, and rural two-lanes returned an indicated 31 mpg. While such numbers are often more optimistic than careful calculation using actual mileage and fuel-fill totals, it’s worth noting we weren’t exactly babying the accelerator as we evaluated passing power and off-the-line acceleration.
Driving Impressions: The Early Returns
Acceleration from a dead stop was perfectly adequate, although the small four-cylinder takes a beat to spool up its turbo and deliver peak torque. More meaningful thrust occurs at 3,000 rpm, where it feels like the horsepower starts to come online. Redline on the prototype was marked at 6,000 rpm, and we don’t expect that to change.
Midrange acceleration from 50 to 70 mph felt strong enough—you won’t be caught out when diving out on a two-lane or making a quick pass on the highway. Shifts from the eight-speed auto were quick and unobtrusive at all speeds and throttle positions. Above 75 mph, the little 1.5 started to feel taxed, but this is a common trait of small-displacement, turbocharged engines. Puttering around town, the new engine was exactly what it needed to be, a motivator—nothing more and nothing less.
Elements like the suspension and steering were much further from their final states of tune, so we’ll wait to render final judgement until we drive the final product. For now, the ride was supple enough without a ton of float, and the steering light if a bit imprecise at times.
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Inside the New Taos
Inside, much of the interior panels were draped with camouflaging felt, and what we could see was standard Volkswagen fare outside of a new, button-intensive (19 of them!) steering wheel. The infotainment display looks a lot like the units in the current Jetta, and VW’s digital cockpit was installed in our presumably higher-trim prototype. The front seats offered heating and ventilation, and we found them to be more supportive than those in the Tiguan and Atlas.
The Taos looks substantial from the outside, and it feels tall and wide from teh inside, too, thanks to a high hip-point that gives an impression of general “bigness” to this small SUV. The panoramic sunroof helped, too, adding to the airy impression. The rear bench seat had adequate kneeroom for an adult of average height, but the VW Taos is a little guy and no one will mistake it for an executive limo. Cargo room is will be less than the Tiguan’s 38 cubic feet with the second row raised, but by how much we don’t yet know.
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Volkswagen admits not having a subcompact SUV to hawk to Americans before now was a bit of a blunder. (After all, in July of this year 73 percent of all vehicles sold in the U.S. were either trucks or SUVs.) Now it’s rectifying that situation with the Puebla, Mexico-built 2022 Taos, and this early experience shows the little SUV to have plenty of promise. Of course, as with VW SUVs of the past, Taos MSRPs will be key to its success, and doubly so in the value-obsessed small-SUV segment. We expect the range to run from approximately $23,500 for the base S to $34,000 or so for a fully loaded top-dog SEL with all-wheel drive. It remains to be seen if the Taos will justify those prices—or if people will be willing to pay them—but there’s no doubt it’s good for VW that it’s now in the small-SUV fray.
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