Volkswagen Taigo

Do we need another small SUV? Volkswagen obviously thinks so, which is why it’s introduced the Taigo, a new crossover that sits above the T-Cross and below the T-Roc in the Volkswagen car range.

The T-Cross is Polo based, as it the Taigo, sharing it’s MQB A0 architecture.

The Taigo is available with a 1.5-litre petrol engine and two smaller 1.0-litre petrol engines. There are also three trim levels: Life, R-Line and Style.

The smaller of the two 1.0-litre engines produces 95hp model, and is only offered in Life trim in five-speed guise. The more powerful 1.0-litre is a six-speed and produces 110hp, and is available on all trims.

In addition there are two auto boxes: a 1.0 litre seven-speed 110hp across all the range, and one for the 1.5 litre 150hp engine, on just R-Line and Style trims.

As with most VW’s nowadays, all models are well appointed. Life comes with LED headlights, 16” alloys, black-painted roof rails, an 8” digital driver’s display, wireless phone charging, adaptive cruise control, plus front and rear parking sensors.

We were testing the R-Line, which features 17” alloys, tinted rear windows, R badging, black roof lining, an R Line steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, a 10.25” digital driver’s display and an 8” touchscreen infotainment system with SatNav.

The range-topping Style model adds to this with a full-width LED light bar in the front grille and automatic headlights. All models also feature lane assist, traffic-sign recognition, autonomous emergency braking, plus the bonus of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

Squint and there’s bit of 1990’s Scirocco there, as the Taigo is lower and longer than a T-Cross. Up front, there’s a large VW logo sitting centre grille, with narrow headlights and deep set fog lights. The side is neat and tidy whilst the rear features high set headlights at each corner, low set bumper lights and a sloping rear hatch.

This will be familiar to current Volkswagen customers, with logically laid out instrumentation, a large, central touchscreen, steering wheel controls for infotainment and adaptive cruise control and separate climate controls. There’s also a proper handbrake and gear lever finishing things off.

The quality is mixed, with the good stuff located higher up on the dash front and top, but cheaper plastics adorning the door pockets and centre binnacle.

The seat fabric looks and feels built to last, however.

There are twin USBs in the front and rear with all door pockets large enough to hold a drink, which is good, because the two drinks spaces located in the centre binnacle are too small for most bottles. The wireless charger is a nice touch and the glove box gives you a useable.

Despite the sloping roof, rear space is actually pretty good and up front, the Taigo offers decent head and legroom. The 440-litre boot is generous and it comes with a flat load floor, so it’s also easy to load up. There’s a space saver wheel located underneath.

The EURO 6 engine comes with 134g/km of CO2 emissions and a combined economy of 47.8mpg. A week behind the wheel saw us average 44.6 mpg, so not far off the claimed. The 40-litre fuel tank should see a range of

350-400 miles.

Our R-Line featured Volkswagen’s 1.0-litre three-cylinder TSI turbocharged petrol engine. This comes with 108bhp and 200Nm of torque, which is plenty enough for a car weighing in at 1,260kg. The seven-speed DSG gear box is the same as the one on our own Tiguan so apart from a slow kick down in first, it’s more than up to the job, and shifts swiftly and smoothly through the gears. It’s really quite refined.

The 0-62mph time is 10.9 seconds, with enough oomph offered for most situations. Top speed is 119mph, although we didn’t get close, sticking to 70mph in cruise control when on the motorway. Volkswagen’s steering wheel controls are simple to use when setting adaptive cruise up and you can also adjust your distance to the vehicle in front via the steering wheel controls.

The engine was mostly quiet, only becoming noisy when you put your foot down hard. In town the auto box makes driving the Taigo a cinch and it’s smallish proportions make for easy parking.

On winding roads you’ll enjoy the light steering and Taigo’s clearly very able around corners. Ride quality is also very good, with only the worst road surface causing any distress.

Being an R-Line, you can select from four driving modes: Eco, Normal, Sport and Individual. The Mode button sits alongside the gear lever next to the driver and it’s very easy to select which one you want to use.

Eco was our preferred choice, mainly to save on fuel, and we suggest it’s the best mode to choose, with petrol prices at an all-time high.

The Taigo is a handsome, five-door family car, with coupé looks that make it stand out in crowd. All models are extremely well equipped and feature top-notch tech and safety. The 440-litre boot and hatch entry make it practical, too, and will offer plenty to those looking for more than a run-of-the-mill family car.

The arrival of another VW SUV may confuse some, and the lack of a plug-in variant seems odd at this point in time.

SUVs represented over 40 per cent of total Volkswagen sales in the UK in 2021, so it’s clear to see why the company thought there was a gap in the market for another and launched the Taigo into it.

The Taigo drives and handles well and we had no complaints there. If pushed, we’d choose a Life model fitted with the 1.0 litre 6-speed manual 110hp engine, over the R-Line spec or both auto versions, as a car this size doesn’t require an automatic gear box and you’ll save a bit up front and at the pumps.

As the current owner of a Tiguan and previously a T-Roc, we can clearly see that at 150 mm longer than the T-Cross it’s actually a clever addition to the Volkswagen SUV range.

Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl turbo petrol Power/torque: 108bhp/ 200Nm 0-62mph: 10.9 seconds Top speed: 118mph Fuel Economy: 47.8 mpg CO2 emissions: 134g/km Price: £28,235

Another solid contender in a sector VW is rapidly making its own. Drives and handles well and great equipment levels make it a strong contender. Good looking, too

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