First Look: 2022 Volkswagen Taos

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Volkswagen has a penchant for naming its models somewhat differently when compared to other automakers. The Touareg was named after a nomadic tribe from North Africa, while Tiguan arrives by blending tiger and iguana . Now comes the five-seat Taos — named after an artsy town in New Mexico — a new crossover adapted in North America for the North American market, and built in Mexico. It will arrive in 2021 as a 2022 model, and will be offered in Trendline, Comfortline, and Highline trims.

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The launch speaks to the fact VW is transitioning from cars to more of a crossover purveyor; when the Taos arrives, VW will have five crossovers, including the two Atlas variants, the all-electric ID.4 , and the Tiguan. With the demise of the Golf in North America for next year — thankfully the GTI and R will remain — the Taos is set to fill in. And given roughly 50 per cent of all sales coming from SUVs and crossovers, this move makes sense.

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The Taos puts a more youthful and vibrant spin on the traditional two-box design with available adaptive headlights and LED daytime running lights. Around at the back, there are more LEDs and a new design treatment for the Taos’ badging. The latter will roll out to other VW crossovers.

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Slotting below the Tiguan, the Taos is based on Volkswagen’s MQB platform, but at 4,466 millimetres long overall, it’s 236 mm shorter than the Tiguan and it rides on a 2,689-mm wheelbase. The plus is the wide stance gives the Taos a purposeful look; the fact the front lights are linked by a cross-grille light bar serves to underscore the width.

The interior packaging brings 795 litres of cargo space with the seats up and a maximum seats-folded capacity of 1,877 litres. By way of reference, that’s more than its key competitors — the Jeep Compass has 1,693 litres, Honda’s HR-V has 1,665, the Subaru Crosstrek punches in at 1,565, and the Toyota C-HR has 1,031 litres.

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The rest of the cabin is typically VW, with an upscale look to the horizontal dash and its tiered design. One move for the better is the reconfigurable digital instrument cluster that will be standard on all models. In the middle, the base infotainment system uses a 6.5-inch touchscreen, with an eight-incher arriving in the higher trim levels.

All Taos models will have a two-tone finish for the standard cloth seats and optional leatherette and leather seating surfaces. The rest of the standard and available features includes a push-button start, keyless entry, an eight-way power driver seat, dual-zone climate control, rain-sensing wipers, a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, and a BeatsAudio sound system with eight speakers, among others. On the safety front, the IQ.Drive suite of driver assists features includes forward collision warning with automatic braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, and adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality. Automatic high beams, adaptive front headlights, and park distance control will also be available.

The Taos is the first of VW’s Canadian models to use a new 1.5L turbo-four that will eventually phase out the smaller 1.4L unit found in the Jetta. While the new engine is based on the smaller one, it uses a lot of the technology from the turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder found in Tiguan. The key is it’s capable of running on a modified version of the Miller cycle under light loads — the “B-cycle,” in VW-speak — which has the intake valves close earlier, thus promoting fuel efficiency without sacrificing power.

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The 1.5L turbo-four makes 158 horsepower (up 11 from the 1.4L engine) and 184 lb.-ft. of torque at 1,750 rpm. The high 11.5:1 compression ratio and advanced variable-vane turbocharger technology promotes torque across the power band, promising to give the Taos some real pop off the line. Further out, Volkswagen is looking at a mild-hybrid derivative, although it’s still a work in progress.

When the Taos arrives, it will be offered with both front- and Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel-drive system. FWD models use an eight-speed automatic transmission with a Sport mode, while AWD versions get VW’s seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Expect the popular models to come equipped with 4Motion; while it powers the front wheels under normal driving conditions, an impending loss of traction brings the rear wheels into play using an electro-hydraulic clutch pack at the rear axle. The plus is the transfer of power happens before wheelspin is allowed to occur.

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The Taos rides on front struts and a multi-link setup in the back. Depending upon the trim level, it’ll be offered with 17-, 18-, and 19-inch wheels. At this point, VW is considering an “off-road” package that will give it a more rugged look, inspired by the Basecamp package offered on the Atlas .

Full specifications and pricing will be revealed closer to launch, but Volkswagen did say the Taos will match its key rivals in terms of the pricing ladder. For instance, there’s a roughly $5,200 difference between the base Subaru Crosstrek and base Forester, a $4,500 jump between the Toyota C-HR and RAV4, and a similar delta between the Honda HR-V and CR-V. If the Taos mirrors this pricing strategy, it would put the entry point around $25,000.

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