First Drive: 2025 Volkswagen Taos Is More Than the Typical Midcycle Update

Volkswagen was a latecomer to the SUV game but has been busy making up for lost time. It scored with the little Taos which made its U.S. debut four years ago. And our first drive in the 2025 model reveals it’s more than just the typical midcycle update. Here’s our review.

If the name, Touareg, doesn’t resonate, no surprise. The first Volkswagen SUV to reach the U.S. market debuted a full two decades ago – and discontinued it back in 2016. It never gained much traction, and the unpronounceable name – which came from a group of Northern African nomads – was only one of its problems. It was priced well above what buyers expected from the “people’s car” brand, much like the short-lived Phaeton luxury sedan.

The good news, for VW fans, is that the German automaker took its lessons to heart. It has since rolled out a procession of more affordable, more appealing utility vehicles – and even switched, with the debut of the big Atlas, to more Americanized badging.

The most recent entry to the line-up was the Taos, the base crossover debuting in late 2020 as a 2021 model. Now, it’s getting updated for 2025 and what we discovered during a day’s drive in and around San Antonio, Texas was that the new Taos got more than the usual midcycle refresh.

What’s new

Today’s norm calls for most vehicles to get a light update three or four years after first coming to market. Typically, that means a handful of changes to the softer front and rear plastic parts, maybe some subtle tweaks to the exterior lighting and a few more revisions to the cabin. Lately, these midcycle updates also yield some upgrades to onboard electronic technologies, as well.

With the 2025 VW Taos, it gets “a facelift and then some,” suggested Mike Stephens, the product specialist overseeing the little crossover, during a media drive in Texas.

There are the modest, albeit de rigueur, revisions to the grill and bumper, but the 2025 Taos also gets new LED projector headlamps and daytime running lights – and they’re now standard on all trims. There’s a new, illuminated VW logo, front and rear. And the taillights get an even more significant redesign. Add new 17, 18 and 19-inch wheels, depending upon the trim package.

Upgraded Interior

Inside, the 2025 Volkswagen Taos gets a completely new dashboard with a standard 8-inch infotainment touchscreen that appears to float over the IP. The Digital Cockpit – VW’s name for its electronic gauge cluster – is now 8.0 inches on base packages, 10.3 inches on the SE and SEL trims that also get wireless phone charging.

And the overall look features upgraded materials – even the base package replacing the hard plastic door panels with a more appealing leatherette finish.

There’s more technology – and that covers even base models that now share the Park Distance feature previously limited to upper trims.  The automaker’s connected vehicle Car-Net service is now standard across the board. And it adds new features such as Road Awareness Alerts. If you use the Waze navigation app that might already be familiar, issuing alerts when there’s a vehicle stuck on the highway, for example. The new VW system is designed to detect when your Taos has a problem, such as a flat tire, and automatically issue such an alert via Waze and Apple Maps.

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Powertrain

The updated Taos carries over the 1.5-liter turbo-four gas engine found in the original version of the SUV.

Actually that’s misleading. For 2025 VW has made a number of upgrades to the powerplant, including upgraded injectors and piston rings, as well as a new intercooler for the turbo. The result is that the package now delivers 174 horsepower, a 16 hp improvement. Torque remains 184 pound-feet.

Bowing to customer concerns about the prior 7-speed dual-clutch transmission found on 4Motion all-wheel-drive models, VW swaps in a more conventional 8-speed automatic which becomes standard fare on all models for 2025.

As before, the Taos update is offered in both front and AWD. The all-wheel model gets the added advantage of an independent rear suspension, FWD packages continuing to feature a live axle. (That’s becoming a common approach in this segment of the market.)

Drive Impressions

The benefit of having more power only enhanced my impression of the original Taos. Back in May 2021 I wrote that “even the front-powered model remained surprisingly composed until I really pushed the limits. That’s when the 4Matic system and the AWD’s multi-link rear really shone. Torque is normally directed up front but is quickly redirected to the rear, when needed.” That comment fully reflects my experience driving the 2025 Taos.

Even better, the slow throttle response the earlier Taos suffered from has been resolved, and the 8-speed is a definite improvement over the old DCT gearbox in the all-wheel-drive package.

Those who go AWD will be rewarded in several ways. I expect the 2025 model to remain the option of choice for Snowbelt regions where I previously found it far more sure-footed in inclement weather. Now, add the fact that the 8-speed transmission helps deliver a 1 mpg improvement in fuel economy, to 25 city, 33 highway. The numbers remain the same for the FWD model, at 28 city, 36 highway.

Wrap-up

Back in the days of the old Touareg, SUVs captured a single-digit share of VW’s U.S. sales. For the first 11 months of 2024, however, that had shot to 76%, helping explain why the Golf is no longer in the line-up. Today’s line-up of utility vehicles helped VW deliver a 16.7% growth in sales during that period. While not the brand’s best-seller, Taos has been a solid contributor to those numbers.

There are some other numbers that are more of a problem, however. Taos has a starting price of $24,595 for the front-drive S trim, and $26,695 with 4Motion – plus $1,425 for delivery fees. The SEL, available only in AWD, jumps to $34,495. Key competitors like the Chevrolet Trax, Toyota Corolla Cross and Kia Seltos carry notably lower sticker prices up and down their line-ups.

That’s no surprise. VW has traditionally come in with pricing at the upper end of whatever segment it’s competing in. And many buyers are willing to absorb that Teutonic premium. Indeed, if the sales numbers for Taos to date are any indication, Volkswagen should do quite well with the 2025 makeover. It may be getting just a midcycle refresh but there’s enough new to be worth a close inspection by anyone looking for a compact SUV in its class.