Volkswagen Taos test bench | Subject of a reassessment

More spacious than many of its competitors, more sparkling to lead, too, the Taos of Volkswagen is counting on new baits to seduce consumers. The object of a partial overhaul this year, this urban utility intends to put everyone in agreement on its reliability.

Volkswagen no longer knows where to head. Its shares in the Chinese market are crumbling, its sales of electric vehicles in Europe collapse. And now the American administration adds a layer with customs duties of 25 %.

Despite the opposite winds, the management of the German brand seeks to be reassuring. It maintains the course on electrification, revises its operating expenses downwards and promises an armada of new models within three years. But by then, Volkswagen must compose with its current range. So he is busy giving him a feather stroke (see our boxes).

In Canada, TAOS was quick to interfere among the best -selling models in its category. This performance is all the more meritorious since the reliability file of this model divides opinion. In short, we find as many delighted as they are insatta, hence the reluctance of certain analysts and consumer agencies to recommend its acquisition. The refinements brought over the years, in 2025, particularly, could give more confidence. And reduce maintenance costs. Indeed, the version with the full cog (the most sought after), for example, is now linked to a “conventional” automatic transmission and no longer to a complex and expensive (to maintain and repair) double clutch transmission. The latter nevertheless helped give zest to a mechanics that had little.

This is undoubtedly what leads, in part, Volkswagen to boost its supercharged four -cylinder engine of 1.5 liters which animates its urban utility this year. On paper, the leap is appreciable (16 horses), but the value of torque remains the same. More importantly, this engine has several revisions (piston segments, injectors, air exchanger, etc.) in order to improve both yield and reliability.

That said, the full cog taos is not more quick to start than in the past. The fault falls to the rather long staging of its “new” transmission. Taos is not a rocket. Worse, the reminders too are missing from going. Never mind, its acoustic comfort is among the best and Taos shows greater sobriety at the pump. Unlike last year (less power and a 7 -speed double clutch box), the TAOS with four -wheel drive consumes 0.4 l/100 km less. In doing so, this Volkswagen becomes more competitive on this plan.

Let us agree, the Taos does not have the playful side of the old golf course. That said, it remains, in its category, one of the most pleasant to take in hand, as long as we adopt the sport mode of its driving selector.

The latter increases an differently too light direction and puts more confidence in the sequences of turns. Fund movements are under (too) high surveillance due to the aggressiveness of an electronic stability corrector. Powerful and easy to modulate, braking contributes to serenity that we experience behind the wheel.

The shock absorbers, the springs and the seats suspend you firmly above the road. A good compromise. There is more steep (Kia Seltos) and more extensible (Subaru Crosstrek) too. Although there is an “out-of-the-road” mode, the TAOS lends itself badly to excursions due to low ground clearance. And in terms of usability always, TAOS refuses to tow the slightest load.

It shows

To add a little freshness to a vehicle that has technically poorly evolved, Volkswagen relies on its style office. This one retouching the fairings to which more sparkling LED lights integrate to better marry the brand's products, redraw the rims and grafting more colors on the palette.

Inside, the shapes of the dashboard get a facelift and incorporate the essential infotainment screen which is rather friendly. The air conditioning orders, devoid of a return of force, are happily detached from this electroluminescent slab.

Under the pretext of offering greater personalization (we are still looking for), the furniture is drafting in new materials that sound rather hollow in places. The rear seats are spacious and offer a lot of clearance, even in the presence of the panoramic roof. The trunk displays a beautiful modularity, it will only be criticized for its smallness and the impossibility of creating a perfectly flat surface. A detail. The most important thing for Volkswagen was to put the differences of opinion over the reliability of your product.