Yahoo Autos VW Taos Is an Acknowledgement That America Is Not Wolfsburg
Why another crossover utility from Volkswagen? Because we here in America want one. That may seem obvious to some, but for Volkswagen, we here in America far-too-often got whatever they over there in Wolfsburg had lying around. America, hard to believe, is not Germany.
“Our brand has been in the U.S. for some 70 years, but through most of those 70 years, the product concepts, the engineering, the content, the substance, the performance, characteristics, and the product attributes have been defined around how Germany saw the need, and that need was informed largely by the needs of the local market,” said the cerebral Johan De Nysschen, Volkswagen’s chief operating officer. “In the US, we don't have 190-mph Autobahns. But we do have larger families who like to form an active lifestyle and want to put their bicycles and skis and camping equipment and the family dog in their SUV and go away for the weekend.”
Again, obvious to us, but only recently to Volkswagen. De Nysschen said that as a result of the diesel scandal, Volkswagen had gone through a top-to-bottom soul searching that resulted in a shakeup not seen in Wolfsburg perhaps ever.
“That process was critical, analytical, constructive, informative, sometimes painful, but reached many conclusions, too, that have been taken into account and reshaped how we conduct business. And one of those conclusions, very early on, it was clear that there was an excessive amount of centralization of decision-making authority, of power (in Wolfsburg).”
What was good in Wolfsburg was good for all other markets, or so the old mindset was.
“And in response to that, the group that not only embarked on large scale organization of processes policies, approval requirements, restrictions to limited authority, but also organizational changes that would enact this dismantling of this concentration of power. And part of the tangible expression of that was then the emergence of powerful regions around the world.”
And the North American Region said it wanted smaller crossovers, along with bigger crossovers. The Atlas was a big crossover VW made for America, for instance, and now, arriving in summer 2021, we get this cute little Taos. Though it’s not so little.
VW released a few specs for the Taos: It's 174.2 inches long, which is 11 shorter than the Tiguan and more importantly, it's also between six and seven inches shorter than the mega-selling Toyota RAV4, depending on which RAV4 trim you measure against. Wheelbase is 105.9 inches, it is 72.5 inches wide and 64.4 inches tall. Passenger space is a roomy 99.5 cubic feet—just 1.6 cu ft less than the two-row Tiguan—with 28.1 cu ft of luggage space behind the second-row seats and 66.3 cu ft with the second row folded down. In addition to offering generous cargo space, the Taos offers a comfortable ride for all passengers, with 40.1 inches of legroom in the front and 37.9 in the rear.
Those figures are almost all right on top of the measurements for the RAV4. Coincidence? Perhaps not. Toyota sold 448,071 RAV4s last year, one of the best-selling vehicles in America. VW wants to offer a bonafide alternative to the class-stomping RAV and seems to be doing everything in its power to do so.
Connectivity is a big decision-tipper for buyers, and inside the Taos you'll get Volkswagen's Digital Cockpit configurable instrument cluster standard, along with Car-Net with in-car WiFi (if you subscribe to a data plan). The MIB3 infotainment system with wireless charging and wireless App-Connect for compatible devices is available from mid-level trims and is paired with an 8-inch touchscreen with voice control, SiriusXM satellite radio (three-months free!), and optional navigation. Top trims add 10-color ambient lighting and a premium BeatsAudio® sound system with 8 speakers. Every Taos model gets the full suite of those abbreviated driver assist functions, known here as IQ.DRIVE includng Forward Collision Warning with Autonomous Braking (Front Assist), Active Blind Spot Monitor, Lane Keeping System (Lane Assist), Adaptive Cruise Control with a Stop and Go feature, Travel Assist and Emergency Assist. High Beam Control (Light Assist), the Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS), and Park Distance Control are also available.
I didn't get to try out any of that on my short drive of a camouflaged Taos prototype. My Taos also a big rubber mat covering the dashboard so I couldn’t play with the infotainment, either. I will say that it certainly feels pretty big from inside. It even looks big from the outside. It felt perfectly fine from behind the wheel, no obvious faults on my short loop around VW’s big design, emissions and technical center in Oxnard, Calif.
Volkswagen is most proud of the Taos’ new turbocharged EA211 1.5-liter four-cylinder. It’s a new version of the 1.4-liter turbo four that powers the Jetta. The new mill gets several improvements aimed at greater efficiency, including: Miller cycle valve operation, variable turbine geometry, high-pressure injection that is above 5000 psi, and a uniquely applied iron cylinder coating to the inside of the bores for greater strength and increased wearability. Altogether the output is 158 hp and 184 lb ft of torque. There are "hundreds" of other improvements to the new engine, Volkswagen said, but so far we've only heard about those listed above – and the map-controlled cooling module that routes coolant to different parts of the engine.
The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic for front-wheel-drive models and to a seven-speed DSG for all-wheel-drive models.
Taos will come in three trim levels: S, SE and SEL. Pricing will be announced closer to the Taos' launch in the second quarter of 2021 as a 2022 model.
“While electric vehicles are stealing the headlines these days, we are continuing to make great strides with technology on our internal combustion engines,” said De Nysschen. “The new 1.5-liter engine in the Taos uses the latest advances in gasoline-engine design to bring outstanding fuel economy to the compact SUV segment. The Taos will provide a further proof point for the ability of the Volkswagen North American Region to deliver the right products for our market requirements.”
Now, if they could just hurry up on that microbus, the North American market would truly be happy.
