2025 Volkswagen Taos First Drive: More Power, Updated Looks, Same Great Recipe

It was a sad day when Volkswagen discontinued its five-door Golf offering for U.S. shores. But America unabashedly loves SUVs, so much, that sales of the Golf dwindled to the point where its existence simply wasn’t justified. To fill its place, VW introduced the Taos in 2020, a small, subcompact cute-ute that slots below the Tiguan as the company’s entry-level offering.

Today, the Taos just turned four years old and to keep it fresh, Volkswagen rolled out the usual mid-cycle refresh. Despite being based off the original Taos, the new model enters its second series production phase with some notable updates. The list includes the typical interior and exterior aesthetic revisions, and even more power from its tiny turbo-four. And to see how those updates stack up, Volkswagen of America flew me and a bunch of motoring journalists to San Antonio, Texas to give it a go for a day.

2025 Volkswagen Taos First Impressions

Upon first glance, you might be inclined to mistake the 2025 Taos for the previous model. And well, that wouldn’t be your fault as the new Taos is basically the old Taos, but with some new front- and rear-end designs. Reshaped and slimmer headlights with standard LED projectors, a larger grille in the lower front fascia, and a new LED light bar with an illuminated VW logo that spans across the upper grille revamp the front end. The latter takes inspiration from VW’s line of ID electric vehicles.

The wraparound LED light bar and illuminated VW logo also replicate themselves at the rear, along with revised taillights, and a more streamlined trunk design. Otherwise, the body shape and overall proportions remain the same as the old Taos. Which is not a bad thing, since the Taos was already a pretty handsome-looking crossover to begin with, essentially embodying the motif of a shrunken-down Tiguan. Or a more upright and lifted five-door Golf.

You may not notice the differences immediately. But pay attention to those details, or even compare the two side-by-side, and the changes do start to register.

Exterior Dimensions

Driving Impressions And Performance

The ’25 Taos pretty much carries all of its major bones over. It’s the same Volkswagen Group MQB A1 platform, with either front-wheel or all-wheel drive. And even the same suspension arrangements remain, with the front-wheel drive retaining its torsion-beam-based rear setup with MacPherson struts up front. The 4MOTION all-wheel variant still benefits from a more sophisticated multi-link rear.

The result: the same solid-feeling road-going experience. Like the original Taos, the updated model still goes around without drama and with excellent body control. Volkswagen reps did say there were some minor tweaks to suspension bushings and spring rates. But you’d be hard-pressed to really tell the difference from the previous model, and that’s because the Taos has always served as a perfect example of a modestly-powered car that’s pleasant and even fun to drive quickly.

While others try a little too hard to be pretentiously sporty, the Taos continues to embrace its modest roots to make a great driver’s car. Planted and composed, it seems to get happier as the velocity rate increases, which invokes some nostalgic feelings of the old Golf’s cheery handling. With accurate and precise steering to match, it’s obvious that Volkswagen still cares greatly about the effort its engineers put into the chassis and suspension departments.

But while the overall handling experience remains largely unchanged, a more welcome update occurs in the power department.

Braking And Acceleration

The same EA 211 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline four-cylinder carries over. But this time, VW engineers squeezed an additional 16 horses out of it, totaling 174 versus the previous 158 horsepower. Torque remains the same at 184 pound-feet, which still arrives early on at 1,750 RPM. Although not a significant difference, it’s still a considerable hike for a smaller vehicle, feeling a bit livelier in the go department.

The old Taos wasn’t the fastest thing on the planet, adequately getting out of its own way in around 7.5 seconds for the 0-60 MPH time. But with its excellent transmission gearing, and peppy turbo-four made the Taos feel happy and eager for forward progress. With a smartphone stopwatch handy, my drive partner and I were able to get to 60 in a little under seven seconds. Selectable drive modes do alter the experience slightly, but that system is only available on 4MOTION models.

The Taos’ brakes retain the traditional spongy initial pedal feel Volkswagens are known for. But once the clamps begin to bite and the pedal becomes progressively stiffer as you apply more pressure, they feel more than adequate, even for some spirited driving.

• Acceleration 0-60 MPH: 6.8-7.0 Seconds (est.)
• Top Speed: 130 MPH (Est.)

Performance Specifications

2025 Volkswagen Taos Fuel Economy

The Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t officially published its fuel economy ratings for the 2025 Taos. But Volkswagen estimates that the front-wheel-drive Taos will get around 28 miles per gallon in the city, 36 MPG on the highway, and around 31 combined. Because the 4MOTION all-wheel-equipped Taos is slightly heavier and ever so slightly bigger, VW’s estimates drop to 25 MPG city, 33 MPG highway, and 28 combined.

Such figures make it one of the most frugal gas-only models in the segment, a title held by the previous Taos. Those figures are the same as the outgoing model for the front-driven Taos, while the 4MOTION model sees a slight improvement.

For our 150-mile media road trip, my drive partner and I sat at the helm of the 4MOTION-equipped Taos. And according to the trip computer, we averaged around 28.4 MPG combined.

Interior Design And Comfort

Like the exterior, the updated Taos’ interior benefits from some overall new design elements. Volkswagen candidly admitted that its team worked overtime to improve the overall interior quality and ambiance. So now, all Taos now gain vinyl-padded door cards and softer-touch materials all around. Combined with the old Taos’ subdued overall noise, vibration, and harshness, it all adds up to yield a more upscale feeling.

A new “floating” center screen assembly for the infotainment system replaces the original Taos’ integrated dashboard unit. But some might detest VW’s decision to replace the previous model’s physical HVAC dials and buttons with touch-sensitive controls on the center console.

Interior Dimensions

Technology And Ease Of Use

Volkswagen’s infotainment system gets the latest MIB3 software and Volkswagen Digital Cockpit for the driver display, with the latter now being standard on all Taos models. Previously, VDC was only available on the pricier SEL. VDC does vary in size, with only the base S getting the smaller 8-inch display. All others receive the larger, fully-configurable 10.25-inch screen.

MIB3 is standard across the board with eight-inch displays. The only differences are in comprehensive features, depending on the trim. For example, SEL’s get the full MIB3 suite with sat-nav and HD radio, while SE’s do without the sat-nav, and S models do without HD radio and sat-nav. Similar to the previous Taos, and other Volkswagen models, the system remains familiar and fairly easy to use with simple menus, and high-definition graphics.

In terms of driver passive and active safety tech, all Taos come with VW’s IQ.DRIVE suite. That list includes:

• Forward collision mitigation with automatic braking and pedestrian detection
• Blind-spot warning
• Rear-cross traffic warning
• Lane-keep assist
• Radar-guided adpative cruise control with stop-and-go functionality
• Semi-automated highway driving assistance
• Emergency automatic vehicle assistance (automatically and safely pulls the vehicle off to the side in the event of an incapacitated driver)

Cargo And Storage Space

Since the ’25 Taos is just a refreshed version of the original model, its class-leading cargo and storage space remains unchanged. By the numbers, 27.9 cubic-feet of storage space sits behind the second row of seating. Fold those down, and the space more than doubles to almost 66 cubes for the front-wheel-drive model. Overall figures are slightly lower for the 4MOTION-equipped Taos as the extra driveline gear for the all-wheel system, such as the transfer case and the more complex rear axle assembly, takes up precious floor space.

2025 Volkswagen Taos Vs. Its Competitors

As a subcompact crossover SUV, the Taos competes in one of the most crowded spaces in all the automotive land. With a total of nearly 10 players, the Taos certainly needs to bring its A-game. And it most certainly does by being the only German player on the field, bringing the country’s premium reputation for sophistication and solid build quality to the table.

Because the Taos is on the more upscale side of the spectrum, it competes with the likes of the Mazda CX-30, the Buick Encore GX, and the Kia Seltos. But it can still be cross-shopped against the Chevy Trailblazer, Honda HR-V, Toyota Corolla Cross, Hyundai Kona, Jeep Compass, Nissan Kicks, and Subaru Crosstrek.

More Of The Same, But Better

Although the Taos serves as the Golf’s stand-in, it continues offering what most American buyers look for in the subcompact CUV segment. The Taos is exceptionally spacious, practical, and frugal on fuel. But it’s also still very pleasant and even engagingly fun to drive when pushed. Despite its modest bones, it reminds us of the simple joys of driving and minimalistic motoring.

It’s also reasonably priced and well-equipped, and as a package, it’s just very well-balanced without excess or compromising on the essentials. The base front-wheel-drive S starts at $26,420 (including VW’s shipping charge). Though prices do get a bit high with the fully-loaded $36,120 SEL 4MOTION, which enters Tiguan territory.

Most buyers will likely opt for the mid-range SE or SE Black in one form or another. The latter SE Black adds sportier appointments in, as you guessed, the color black. But either way, you’re getting a premium-quality CUV and the only one in the segment that comes with legendary German engineering and finesse.