Volkswagen Tayron review (2025 - 2025)

What is the Volkswagen Tayron?

The Tayron is part of Volkswagen's comprehensive SUV lineup, positioning itself as a larger alternative to the Tiguan while offering a more affordable entry point than the flagship Touareg. Although a new nameplate for VW, it is really a replacement for the Tiguan Allspace and, at 4.8 metres long, competes directly with the Skoda Kodiaq (with which it shares its underpinnings) and the Peugeot 5008, as well as the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe.

Buyers can choose from 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre petrol engines, plug-in hybrid variants with impressive electric range, and a diesel option for high-mileage drivers. Most Tayrons send power to the front wheels, though four-wheel drive (4Motion in VW-speak) is available on the more powerful 2.0-litre petrol variants, with the quickest of these capable of reaching 62mph in just over 6 seconds.

With pricing starting from around £40,000 for entry-level models and rising well above £50,000 for well-specified plug-in hybrid variants, the Tayron occupies the middle ground in the market – more premium than mainstream offerings but without venturing into luxury territory.

How practical is it?

The Tayron performs very well when it comes to practicality. Go for a plug-in hybrid model and you’ll get five seats and a cavernous 705 litres of boot space. Petrol and diesel models, without the need for the PHEV’s battery pack, are even more spacious, with seven seats and an enormous 850 litres of boot space with the rearmost seats folded. Even with the third row seats in place the Tayron still offers 345 litres of boot space - that’s easily enough for a few shopping bags or a folded baby buggy.

The Tayron’s third row of seats is best suited for occasional use. Legroom in particular is tight, and because the floor in the back of the car is quite high anybody sitting in the rearmost seats will have their knees rather high up. There’s also a distinct lack of charging sockets back there.

The middle row offers generous legroom and headroom with the ability to slide the rear seats forwards and backwards, as well as recline the backrests. It comes equipped with its own climate control zone and charging ports, with heated seats available as an option.

Up front, storage options are plentiful and include a hidden cubby with a wireless phone charging pad. The driving position has a good range of adjustment, and visibility is a strong point, with notably slim windscreen pillars by the standards of many modern SUVs.

Overall, the Tayron delivers great practicality for families of five who might want the convenience of two more seats for occasional use. However, if you regularly plan to use the third row of seats then a Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe is going to be a better bet as a seven-seat SUV.

What's it like to drive?

The Tayron delivers a comfortable, refined driving experience that prioritises ease of use over sportiness - and there’s nothing wrong with that in a family SUV. Even when equipped with the optional adaptive dampers and placed in sport mode, this big VW never feels like a car that you particularly want to drive quickly.

The plug-in hybrid variant, which combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor to produce 201 brake horsepower, delivers a 0-62mph time of 8.6 seconds. While not particularly quick, it offers plenty of mid-range pulling power which is ideal for everyday driving situations. A more powerful plug-in hybrid with over 260bhp is also available for those seeking more performance, though the conventional 2.0-litre petrol might be the better choice for keen drivers.

In electric mode, the Tayron is notably quieter and smoother. The brake regeneration system is mild enough to be unobtrusive, making it easy for drivers new to electrified vehicles to adapt. The brake pedal feel could be a bit better but the brakes are easy to modulate.

We’ve also tested the 1.5-litre TSI turbocharged petrol engine with seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox. While this entry-level mild hybrid engine can sound coarse when revved, and is arguably a touch lacking in power when the car is fully loaded, in most other regards it is very capable, and the gearbox shifts very smoothly. Getting from 0-62mph with this 148bhp engine takes 9.4 seconds, so it’s slower than the PHEVs, but arguably still quick enough for a family SUV.

For those who regularly do lots of motorways miles, VW continues to offer a diesel engine in the form of the 2.0 TDI with 148bhp. This front-wheel-drive Tayron can tow up to 2,000kg and offers an official fuel economy figure of 51mpg.

Most Tayrons are front-wheel drive, but VW does offer four-wheel drive if you go for a 2.0-litre petrol, which is available with either 201bhp (for 0-62mph in 7.4 seconds) or 261bhp (0-62mph in 6.1 seconds). These models can tow up to 2,400kg.

Ride quality is a particular highlight, with the Tayron soaking up bumps effectively even on the R-line model's 20-inch wheels. It can feel a bit wallowy if you start to push it through corners, but whether you have the standard suspension or the the adaptive dampers you’ll find that the ride is comfortable in most situations. Though not particularly engaging to drive, the Tayron delivers exactly what most family SUV buyers are looking for: comfort, refinement, and ease of use. Dynamically, it’s very polished, just as you’d expect from VW.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

In addition to the standard-fit 10.25-inch digital dials, Volkswagen has equipped the Tayron with its latest infotainment system, centred around a standard 12.9-inch touchscreen that can be upgraded to a 15-inch unit. The larger screen comes bundled with a head-up display and ChatGPT voice control, though in reality the smaller screen is going to be enough for many people.

That’s not least because the software used is a notable improvement over previous Volkswagen interfaces. The home screen is highly configurable, allowing users to customise tiles, and the climate controls remain permanently visible, with sliders that are illuminated at night for easier use. While we’d still prefer physical controls to operate the heating and air-conditioning, VW is at least making steps (back) in the right direction on this front.

The Range kicks off with Life trim, which includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, three-zone climate control, a rear-view camera and the 12.9-inch infotainment system.

Next up is Match trim, which is only available on the eHybrid PHEV models and adds adaptive dampers, a different design of 18-inch wheel and a panoramic sunroof among other features.

Elegance (which we rate as the sweet spot in the lineup) includes a powered tailgate and massage seats, along with 19-inch alloys.

R-Line and R-Line Edition are the sportier looking trims for the internal combustion and eHybrid models respectively, and are loaded with styling upgrades such as 20-inch alloys, a smart bodykit, and R-Line branded seats.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on all trim levels, as is wireless phone charging.

Design-wise, the interior of the Tayron is a fairly conservative effort, but the build quality, materials and level of kit are impressive. It's also great to see VW return to having physical buttons on the steering wheel instead of fiddly haptic controls.

Volkswagen Tayron running costs

The plug-in hybrid Tayron delivers impressive efficiency if you can make the most of its electric range. The claimed 600mpg figure should be ignored, as this is based on the official WLTP test cycle which favours plug-in hybrids. Instead, consider your typical journey patterns and whether they would utilise the electric range effectively. If so, with regular charging a Tayron eHybrid could be very efficient. If not, you can expect to get around 35-40mpg from the petrol engine once the battery is depleted.

That fuel economy figure of 35-40mpg is about what we saw from the 1.5-litre petrol engine in mixed driving, creeping towards the higher end at motorway speeds.

Insurance costs are on par with the Skoda Kodiaq, although bear in mind that the Tayron’s higher starting price means that every version will qualify for the higher rate of luxury car tax because they all cost from over £40,000. That alone might make you head to the Skoda showroom instead.

Volkswagen Tayron reliability

As a new model, there's no specific reliability data for the Tayron yet, and the same can be said of the latest version of the Tiguan upon which the Tayron is based. The previous version of the Tiguan did, however, feature in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey, where the petrol model finished 22nd of the 33 cars in the family SUV class, and the diesel was lower still in 28th position. Volkswagen as a brand meanwhile came 18th of the 31 manufacturers in the study.

Volkswagen’s three-year, 60,000-mile warranty also looks very conventional these days. Go for a Hyundai or Kia and you’ll get five or seven years of warranty cover respectively, while Toyota covers its cars for up to 10 years if you service them at one of its dealerships.