2022 VW Taos 1.5T SEL - Review by Mark Fulmer

The New Kid in the VW SUV Family

Mark Fulmer
The Auto Channel

The subcompact SUV world has a new kid from the folks at Volkswagen who know how to design and engineer small vehicles.

First of all you begin with a 1.5-liter turbocharged inline-four and an eight-speed automatic (FWD) transmission which gets a combined 31 mpg. Even though it has a “Sport Mode,” it has ATPIN (all the power it needs) for its size, weight, and uses. During a week of both urban and rural driving, it did not feel underpowered.

Inside, the interior has 99.5 cubic feet of passenger space, with 40.1 inches of legroom in front and 37.9 in the rear. No complaints there from our passengers. Interior design is as simple and straightforward as the exterior. No flash or fuss, but a clean uncluttered look. The leather in the SEL trim looked and felt good with reasonably sized bolsters. A fully digital cockpit system has a 10.25-inch display that you can customize easily. Keep in mind that your best customization includes learning and using the best system of all: voice commands. I personally look forward to that system undoubted future enhancements and capabilities.

IQ.DRIVE Safety Technologies for the 2022 Taos includes Forward Collision Warning with Autonomous Braking, Active Blind Spot Monitor, and Lane Keeping System, as well as:

Travel Assist - which is designed to help drivers with steering, accelerating, and braking, Travel Assist provides semi-autonomous driving assistance using a camera and various sensors. Of course, this feature is not a substitute for inattentive driving, so make sure to keep an eye on your surroundings.

Emergency Assist - which determines that the driver can no longer drive the vehicle due to irregular steering wheel inputs and after numerous alerts, this system will bring the Taos to a controlled stop.

High Beam Control - When it is dark out, High Beam Control will automatically turn on your high beams. If there is another vehicle approaching or in front that could be blinded by your high beams, the system will toggle your high beams off until they pass.

Adaptive Front-Lighting System To help you see around corners, Adaptive Front-Lighting System can turn the low beam headlights slightly based on your steering wheel inputs.

Park Distance Control - which uses ultrasonic sensors on the front and rear bumpers, Park Distance Control will alert you if you are getting too close to an object when parking your Taos.

Safe, effecient, with clean styling. Be sure to add it to your test drives of compact SUVs.