2026 Volkswagen Taos review: Solid, but choose wisely

Mitchell Weitzman

10 minutes ago

6 min read

This is actually a pretty solid crossover, but $38,225 is just too much for an SEL

2026 Volkswagen Taos review | The Road Beat

2026 Volkswagen Taos SEL review by The Road Beat

Inflated to $38,225 as-tested, this Taos SEL has trouble justifying a premium price for the small crossover it is. Actually, it's considered a 'subcompact' on paper. Luckily, the Taos starts a helluva lot lower if you can do without some trivial luxuries, which many buyers should consider anyway when shopping for an affordable car.

At this as-tested price, Mazda has options that absolutely blitz this Taos. Yet, when considering the core attributes at a price closer to $30K for a more entry edition, it's then that the Taos becomes one of the better-driving and better-thought-out products from Volkswagen.

Picks

The usual Volkswagen looks are present here, with the usual Audi trickle-down effect (I'd go as far as to say that the Taos looks more like an Audi than most Audis do these days). It's a simple shape, but understatedly handsome, and it works well for me as someone who can get tired of too many other brands getting far too pointlessly sci-fi with their designs. The Cornflower Blue paint is fun, too, and not far off from BMW's famous Laguna Seca Blue. It's weird how simpler shapes also tend to appear more expensive.

Volkswagen's interiors have improved on the whole, and the actual leather seats here are a nice addition and very comfortable, along with a cool and coordinated blue color scheme. There's soft padding on the door-panel inserts, even if there's still lots of plastic used around the cabin. More importantly, there were zero rattles to be felt or heard during the course of testing, indicating a strong fit and finish.

I also love the inclusion of a physical volume knob (and switch on the steering wheel), something that has gone away and awry in other VW offerings. Physical buttons are so much more convenient than the silly sliding volume control in the last Golf GTI tested. Another good example of how cheap and old can often mean better. Unfortunately, touch-sliders did replace the temperature knobs.

From a driver's perspective, the seating position can be customized with the right rake and height, and I like how much the steering wheel telescopes outward, allowing those with long legs to avoid cramming them excessively. The leather wheel is also fantastic in the hands, and the infotainment system was easy enough to use. Be warned that many vehicle settings can be buried deep within.

Turbocharging can only do so much for an engine displacing just 1.5 liters, but it's easily enough for daily and normal driving to move you along accordingly. The highlight of this power unit, though, is the smoother sound and lack of vibrations under load compared with most Asian or American four-bangers. The 8-speed automatic transmission is also excellent, which greatly benefits the modest power output and makes the narrow operating window seem that much more open.

2026 Volkswagen Taos SEL cornflower blue exterior rear three quarter

The single best part of the Taos is how it drives, because it turns out that it drives pretty damn great. The steering isn't completely devoid of feel—a rarity in most cars of this class—and the weighting matches the response and capabilities well. Handling remains surprisingly neutral even when driven at a heightened pace.

Driving from home in Cameron Park to Silver Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains meant taking the fun route around Sly Park Lake and then Mormon Emigrant Trail in its entirety. On the flowing roads of the 'Trail, the Taos was great with its eagerness. It's composed, holds its line well, and you can clearly feel the relation to VW's more sporting offerings, like the Golf GTI. Both are members of Volkswagen's MQB family, and that shows, even if they don't share the exact same chassis.

2026 Volkswagen Taos SEL rear seats blue leather

Being a slower car and riding on skinny tires means it can be surprisingly easy to drive at a comfortable but quick 7/10ths on mountain roads. It's no Mazda CX-30 here on these roads, but it's definitely multiple cuts above a Toyota Corolla Cross in this regard. And when compared to the Corolla Cross, the Taos is notably roomier for rear legroom.

Nicks

Coming back to the engine, it may be smooth enough for a four-cylinder and moves along with traffic in the real world, but when the SEL tested here costs closer to $40K than $35K, 174 horsepower is just not enough. You're left wanting for more when executing passing maneuvers or joining a freeway via an uphill onramp .

0-60 mph takes 8.5 seconds, and it would really, really be convenient if it had another 26 horsepower to take it to an even 200. That wouldn't just make it quicker, but would also give it some bragging rights over its many competitors. The chassis can certainly handle it, though the 1.5 might be too stressed by that point.

2026 Volkswagen Taos SEL steering wheel controls

For such a modest 1.5-liter engine, fuel mileage isn't that impressive. Through two weeks of mixed driving, final average fuel economy stood at 27 mpg. Now, 27 isn't bad, but it's far from great for what should be an economical subcompact crossover with such a tiny one-and-a-half-liter engine. A lack of displacement also means the engine is working too hard too often to move its nearly 3,500 pounds of mass. There's also no hybrid option for those wanting to stretch their gallons further.

Heated and ventilated seats are a nice luxury to have on the SEL, but the ventilated seats do diddly-squat. And that wasn't just me, but something noted by friends, too. On an 80-degree day on Highway 88, even on full blast, the ventilated seats could certainly be heard, but literally not felt at all. A complete waste, that.

Even if the cargo volume is decent for a subcompact at 25 cubic feet, I was disappointed that the Taos' rear seats do not fold flat and leave a one- or two-inch step up from the cargo floor. Just fold flat. It makes life so much easier especially when actually using the cargo bay for basic hauling.

But perhaps the biggest problem with this Taos is again the price, because at $38,225, you can easily get into a properly luxurious and properly fast Mazda CX-30 Turbo, and it just blows the doors off the Taos in almost every way. A CX-30 Turbo makes 227 horsepower even on regular fuel, giving it 53 more horsepower than the Taos, and it achieved just one mpg fewer than the Taos in past testing. Mazda's champion hasn't even seen any meaningful changes in nearly a decade, but that just goes to show how competitive it remains and why it's the easy driver's choice for a subcompact crossover.

Choose the right Taos

Now, those quibbles aside, choosing the right Taos is what will make all the difference. Because at just $26K for an S model with FWD, this is a very fine-driving and good-looking car. But because of the Mazda CX-30 and how good that is in its upper trims, with the turbo rocket that makes it so special, I wouldn't consider any Taos above an SE. Yeah, you lose some luxuries, but this was never going to be a properly luxurious car to begin with. And if you do want both the luxury choice and the driver's choice, that's why the CX-30 Turbo exists.

2026 VW Taos SEL exterior front three quarter | The Road Beat

Based solely on how well the Taos can actually drive, any new model for $30K and under will be a great choice among more similar and comparable competitors. The SEL tested here is a different story. At nearly $40K, you're paying luxury-crossover money for something that is ultimately a very good, but still very ordinary, and small, Volkswagen.

Buy the cheaper one. Save the money. Enjoy the drive.