The Volkswagen Taos is a
compact crossover SUV
Compact crossover SUV is an automobile classification used mainly in North America to describe a segment of crossover SUV, a type of sport utility vehicle, between subcompact crossover SUV and mid-size crossover SUV.
By late 2010s, the segment h ...
produced by the German automobile manufacturer
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
. It was first released in October 2018 as the Volkswagen Tharu in China, while the Taos was released in October 2020 as a restyled version of the Tharu for the North America, South America, and Russia. The vehicle is positioned below the
Tiguan, and in South America and China above the
T-Cross.
The Taos is named after
a small town in New Mexico to pay tribute to its former resident
John Muir
John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...
, who authored a repair book and manual dedicated to past Volkswagen models.
The Tharu name is derived after the eponymous
Tharu people
The Tharu people are an ethnic group indigenous to the Terai in southern Nepal and northern India. They speak Tharu languages. They are recognized as an official nationality by the Government of Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live foremost i ...
, an ethnic group indigenous to Nepal and Northern India.
Overview
![2022 Volkswagen Taos SE, rear](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/2022_Volkswagen_Taos_SE%2C_rear.jpg)
The Taos/Tharu is based on the
Volkswagen Group MQB A1, with its platform closely related and several sheet metals shared with the
SEAT Ateca
The SEAT Ateca is a compact crossover SUV (C-segment) manufactured by Spanish automaker SEAT. The brand's first SUV offering, the Ateca is built on the Volkswagen Group MQB A1 platform and sits in the C-SUV segment, between the Arona and Tarra ...
,
Škoda Karoq
The Škoda Karoq is a compact crossover SUV (C-segment) designed and built by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto. Introduced in 2017, the vehicle is based on the Volkswagen Group MQB platform, and replaced the Škoda Yeti. The car slots between ...
and the
Jetta VS5
The Jetta VS5 is a compact crossover SUV jointly developed by FAW Group and Volkswagen Group for its China-exclusive brand, Jetta, and mainly manufactured by FAW-Volkswagen, a joint venture between the two companies since 2019.
Overview
The Jet ...
.
Known as the 'Project Tarek' during development, the Taos/Tharu is considered the first Chinese-developed VW product that is sold outside China. Volkswagen's brand sales chief Jürgen Stackmann said the project "turned from a regional project into a global project." Global annual sales for the vehicle were projected at 400,000 units.
Markets
North America
In the North American market, the Taos was revealed on 13 October 2020 for the 2022 model year. It is the fifth new addition to the Volkswagen SUV family in the last four years. The Mexican-built Taos slots directly below the Tiguan, which is solely available in a long-wheelbase guise in the market, while also acts as an indirect replacement to the discontinued
Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
. The positioning made the Taos being dubbed as a subcompact crossover SUV by journalists.
The Taos for the US and Canadian market is powered by a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine known as the TSI Evo which packs and at 1,750 rpm borrowed from VW's European models. Front-wheel-drive models feature an 8-speed automatic transmission, while the ''
4Motion'' all-wheel drive is coupled with a 7-speed
DSG transmission.
Volkswagen of America
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (sometimes referred to as Volkswagen of America, abbreviated to VWoA), is the North American operational headquarters, and subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group of automobile companies of Germany. VWoA is responsi ...
confirmed that its Digital Cockpit system is standard on all trims, replacing the physical instrument cluster dials with a reconfigurable 12.3-inch display. The Taos can function as a Wi-Fi hotspot and is available with a wireless charge pad. All but the base model will feature an 8.0-inch touchscreen and the latest MIB3 infotainment software. Volkswagen will sell the Taos in S, SE, and SEL trims.
The Taos for the Mexican market is powered by a 1.4-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine from the Volkswagen
''EA211'' TSI engine family paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The 1.4 TSI engine produces and of torque. In Mexico, the Taos is available in Trendline, Comfortline, and Highline trims. All trims are only available in FWD drivetrain configuration.
South America
Introduced on 13 October 2020, the vehicle is also sold as the Taos with an identical styling to the North American Taos. For this market, the vehicle is produced in
General Pacheco
General Pacheco is a city in the Tigre Partido
Tigre Partido is a '' partido'' of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, situated in the northern part of Greater Buenos Aires. The department covers a large section of the Paraná Delta and its low-l ...
plant in Argentina. It occupies a segment between the T-Cross and Tiguan. It is the first C-segment SUV made in Argentina. Instead of the TSI Evo engine, the Argentinian-built Taos is powered by a 1.4-liter 4-cylinder TSI gasoline engine producing and which is sourced from the
São Carlos
São Carlos (Saint Charles, in English, ; named after Saint Charles Borromeo) is a Brazilian municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, 254 kilometers from the city of São Paulo. With a population of 254,484 inhabitants, it is th ...
engine plant in Brazil and supports
flex fuel
A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (colloquially called a flex-fuel vehicle) is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or ...
. The engine is coupled with a 6-speed automatic transmission.
As of 2022, the Argentine version contains 20% locally-made parts. 70% of its production is exported.
Russia
The Russian-market Taos was announced on 4 March 2021. It is assembled in
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
by
GAZ
GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (russian: ГАЗ or Го́рьковский автомоби́льный заво́д, , Gorky Automobile Plant) is a Russian automotive manufacturer located in Nizhny Novgorod, formerly known as Gorky (Го ...
alongside the similar Škoda Karoq. As the result, the Taos for the Russian market uses an identical
rear quarter panel and chassis from the Karoq, making it shorter in length and wheelbase compared to the Americas-market Taos and the Chinese-market Tharu, and requiring a different tailgate panel, rear taillights and rear bumper to be installed.
Engine options available are 1.6-litre
MPI producing and 1.4-litre TSI producing . The base engine comes with a 5-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive, while the TSI is mated to either an 8-speed automatic for the FWD version or a 7-speed DSG transmission with ''4Motion'' AWD. The range will include Respect, Status and Exclusive trim levels.
Powertrain
China (Tharu)
The Tharu was presented as a near production model called the 'Powerful Family SUV' in March 2018. Built by
SAIC Volkswagen
SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd., formerly known as Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. is an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Anting, Shanghai, China and a joint venture between Volkswagen Group and SAIC Motor. It was ...
, the vehicle became available in China in late October 2018.
The vehicle is assembled in three locations, including in
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
in the city of
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
.
It is offered with several powertrain options, including one electric version called the e-Tharu. The base model of the Tharu has a
torsion axis, the higher versions have a
multi link suspension.
Volkswagen cooperated with the headphone manufacturer
Beats Electronics
Beats Electronics LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre, or simply Beats by Dre) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. The company was founded by music producer Dr. Dre and record company exe ...
to incorporate the ''Beats'' audio system in the vehicle.
File:Volkswagen Tharu 007.jpg, 2020 Volkswagen Tharu (China)
File:Volkswagen Tharu 008.jpg, 2020 Volkswagen Tharu (China)".
Powertrain
e-Tharu
The electric version of the Tharu was released in November 2020. It is equipped with an electric motor that produces and of torque. The vehicle is powered by a 44.1-kWh battery pack rated at of range (
NEDC). Driven at a constant speed of 60 km/h (37 mph), the e-Tharu is claimed to be able to travel between charges.
Safety
The Taos has ventilated front
disc brakes
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
and solid rear ones.
Latin NCAP
The Latin American Taos with 6 airbags, airbag switch, UN127 pedestrian safety standard,
ESC,
ISA, full
SBR, and optional
collision avoidance system
A collision avoidance system (CAS), also known as a pre-crash system, forward collision warning system, or collision mitigation system, is an advanced driver-assistance system designed to prevent or reduce the severity of a collision. In its ...
received 5 stars from
Latin NCAP
The Latin New Car Assessment Programme (Latin NCAP) is an automobile safety assessment programme for Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 2010, it offers independent information to consumers about the safety levels of new cars in the ...
in 2021 under its new protocol (similar to
Euro NCAP
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in February ...
2014).
IIHS
The 2022 Taos was tested by the
IIHS
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a U.S. nonprofit organization funded by auto insurance companies, established in 1959 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It works to reduce the number of motor vehicle traffic collision ...
:
Sales
References
External links
Official website(United States)
{{Volkswagen (China) timeline 1984 to date
Taos
Taos or TAOS may refer to:
Places
* Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States
* Taos County, New Mexico, United States
** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico
*** Taos art colony, an art colo ...
Compact sport utility vehicles
Crossover sport utility vehicles
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
All-wheel-drive vehicles
Latin NCAP small off-road
Cars introduced in 2020