2025 VW Taos

What is the difference between VW’s Taos – and the better-known Tiguan?

About $5,000.

There’s more to it than that, of course. But also, less.

What It Is

The Taos is a compact-sized crossover – and so is the Tiguan. The latter was VW’s smallest (and least expensive) crossover until the Taos slid into that slot when VW added it to the lineup in 2022.

The Taos is a little smaller – on the outside. But it has nearly the same room on the inside. It does not offer an available third row – but neither does the Tiguan, at least not anymore.

The Tiggy does have a larger, stronger engine – but not much bigger (2.0 liters vs. 1.5) and 201 horsepower (for 2025)  vs. 174 and the just-updated 2025 Tiggy has a larger LCD touchscreen.

But the biggest difference between these two small crossovers is the price.

The Taos lists for $24,995 to start for the base S trim with front-wheel-drive. The base trim Taos now comes standard with VW’s digital cockpit main instrument cluster, LED projector beam headlights and a new 8 inch secondary LCD touchscreen.

Opting for VW’s 4-Motion all-wheel-drive system bumps the MSRP up to $26,695.

A new Tiggy – the just updated 2025 model – lists for $30,920 to start; with AWD, the prices goes up to $32,420.

A top-of-the-line Tiggy SE R-Line Black with AWD stickers for $38,420.

For a lot less – $30,145- you could get a Taos SE Black that has similar appointments, including a full-length panorama glass sunroof, LED interior accent lighting and black-anodized wheels. Adaptive headlights and an upgraded six speaker stereo are also standard.

A top-of-the-line Taos SEL upgrades to a digital/configurable main gauge cluster, leather upholstery and heated/cooled first row seats and a fancier (10 color) ambient interior lighting system. AWD is standard.

This version of the Taos lists for $34,695.

What’s New For 2025

The Taos receives both cosmetic and functional updates for the new model year. The standard 1.5 liter engine now makes almost as much power as the Tiggy’s standard engine made last year (the output of the 2025 Tiggy’s engine has been increased to make up for that) and both FWD and AWD versions now come standard with the same eight speed automatic that is also used in the Tiggy.

The interior of the 2025 Taos has also been updated with revised controls, including a larger (secondary) LCD touchscreen for all trims.

What’s Good

A lot like the Tiggy but a lot less expensive.

More power this year.

No more dual clutch automatic in the AWD-equipped models this year.

What’s Not So Good

Touchy (literally) touchscreen interface.

VW does not rate the Taos to tow . . . anything.

Base S trim is only available in a few colors and four of the five are shades of white, gray or black. Moss Green and Cornflower Blue are available with higher trims but cost almost $500 extra.

Under The Hood

Last year’s Taos came standard with a 1.5 liter four cylinder engine (turbocharged) that touted 158 horsepower and 28 MPG in city driving and 36 MPG on the highway (for the front-drive version; when equipped with AWD, the mileage stats decrease by 2-3 MPG).

This was rather close to the 2024 Tiggy’s 184 horsepower (out of its 2.0 liter four cylinder engine) and effectively about the same because the 2024 Tiggy was several hundred pounds heavier (3,732 lbs,) than the Taos (3,181 lbs.). Both got to 60 in about the same time but the Taos got better mileage, which made it more affordable to drive as well as to buy.

For 2025, the Taos touts 174 horsepower – a gain of 16 vs. last year – out of the same 1.5 liter four cylinder engine. This makes it effectively more powerful than the Tiggy – as it was last year – and so of course VW had to do something about that this year, given the Tiggy’s higher price. or 2025, Its 2.0 liter engine has been uprated to 201 horsepower for 2025. But the difference is still less than it appears to be because the ’25 Tiggy is still heavier. At 3,300 lbs., the Taos isn’t  exactly light – but it still weighs a lot less than its slightly larger (and a lot more expensive) sibling.

Despite the power gain, the ’25 Taos continues to tout about the same fuel economy as last year’s  model, so it retains its lower-cost-to-drive advantage over the Tiggy.

One more change for the new model year is the transmission you get. Last year’s Taos came standard with an eight speed automatic but if you opted for AWD, you got a seven speed dual clutch automatic. The latter shift faster once you’re rolling but they sometimes feel sluggish until you do get going, especially in a fairly heavy vehicle with not much engine.

This probably accounts for VW’s decision to make the eight speed automatic standard with both the FWD and AWD iterations of the 2025 Taos.

It does not appear that the 2025 Taos is rated to tow anything. No figure is mentioned in the press kit.  The 2025 Tiggy, on the other hand, is rated to pull up to 1,800 lbs.

On The Road

One of the really weird criticisms regularly leveled at vehicles like the Taos is that it only has 174 horsepower and only gets to 60 in about 7 seconds. As if that meant the Taos is underpowered – and slow.

Well, maybe it is – relative to vehicles that have 250-plus horsepower that can get to 60 in 5 seconds or less. But this power is arguably gratuitous because most people, most of the time, do not make use of it. Chiefly because it’s not necessary. Fun, sure – but that’s another thing. The point is that the Taos has sufficient power to get to 60 quickly enough and more than enough power to reach 80-plus and comfortably hold it, which is realistically as fast as we can drive in this country without risking being pulled over by a cop for driving faster than we’re allowed to.

Another way to consider this business is that the Taos is about as quick as an ’80s-era V8-powered performance coupe such as 1986 Chevy Monte Carlo SS – which had 180 horsepower, for those who remember. And the Taos uses about half as much gas.

What really matters is that the Taos drives very much like the Tiggy – and both are pleasant-to-drive small crossovers whose compact dimensions make them easy to slot into (and out of) parking spots without a lot (if any) extraneous maneuvering. The Taos’ engine is definitely small – but its low-end torque peak of 184 ft.-lbs. at 1,750 RPM (just above idle speed) makes it feel stronger than you might expect it to be when accelerating from a dead stop.It is not necessary to floor it to get it going. The now-standard eight speed automatic helps with that and it is one of the standout features of this small crossover on account of the fact that so many other small crossovers in this price range come standard with continuously variable (CVT) automatics that often make it feel (and sound as if) the engine is working really hard to move the vehicle.

Interestingly, the main impetus for the use of CVTs is fuel efficiency. It’s interesting – because the Taos is impressively fuel efficient without a CVT. Some of the other small crossovers in the class that do have CVTs aren’t as fuel-efficient as the Taos. For instance, the 2025 Honda CR-V (which also comes standard with a 1.5 liter engine) touts 28 city, 34 highway. The CR-V also starts around $30k.

The eight speed automatic you get in this VW makes it drive more like an Audi – that is to say, a luxury-brand small crossover. This isn’t surprising given that VW and Audi are the same company. What is surprising is how much less than an Audi this VW costs.

The only thing that detracts from the driving experience is the nice-looking but sometimes exasperating to use LCD touchscreen. The main problem with it is that the knob mounted on its upper left side to control the volume is small and stubby and so when you try to turn it your finger may inadvertently touch the surface of the screen, which then changes the audio source to something other than what you were listening to. This can be very aggravating – since it requires tapping/swiping the screen – “sources,” then the “source” you want, such as XM rather than FM – to get back to where you were.

The good news is that VW built in a secondary way to increase or decrease the volume using buttons on the steering wheel, so you can avoid the problem by not using the volume knob on the screen. And there’s also a knob on the upper right side of the screen that you can use to change stations without having to tap/swipe anything. Because there’s nothing tap/touch sensitive to the right of this button, you don’t ever have the problem of inadvertently tapping/touching something on the screen that changes something other than the station.

At The Curb

The Tiggy is longer – by about 10 inches – than the Taos, which is 175.9 inches long vs. 186.1 inches long for the 2025 iteration of the Tiggy. But they are nonetheless very close in terms of interior space.

The Taos has 40.1 inches of front seat legroom and 37.9 inches of backseat legroom – and 28 cubic feet of cargo space behind its backseats. Fold those down and the space opens up to 65.9 cubic feet of total cargo-carrying capacity.

The current (2024) Tiggy has 40.2 inches of front seat legroom and 38.7 inches of legroom in back and 65.3 cubic feet of total cargo-carrying capacity. The new-for-2025 Tiggy is about an inch longer and so may have a little more space than that. But probably not a lot more space than that. The Tiggy used to be available with a third row – which the Taos wasn’t and still isn’t – but that option has been dropped for 2025, so the Tiggy and the Taos are dead equal in terms of passenger-carrying capability.

The just-redesigned Tiggy does come standard with a larger touchscreen and is available with fancier wood trim and bigger (20 inch) wheels  . . . and its $30k-plus starting price reflects this. Those features may be desirable for those who want them – and don’t object to paying more to get them. What’s nice about the Taos is that you don’t have to pay extra for them if you don’t want them.

And you can pay less to get some of them. The top-of-the-line Taos SEL comes standard with features and amenities that are comparable to what comes in the Tiggy.

Just for less than they cost if you buy them in the Tiggy.

The Rest

Like a lot of new vehicles, the Taos comes standard in just a few colors – most of them the color of refrigerators. You have to move up to the more expensive trims to get more vibrant colors and even then, they cost significantly extra.

In this case, just shy of $500 extra.

But don’t blame VW or the other automakers who are doing this. Blame the government. The other colors are more expensive to make (due to regulatory compliance costs) and those costs get passed on to you.

The Bottom Line

The Taos is a great way to get a lot of what you’d get in a Tiggy – for a lot less than a Tiggy costs.

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