Volkswagen Tayron Review 2025: Price, specs & boot space

The Volkswagen Tayron will certainly be for you if you’re looking for a family-sized seven-seat SUV for a reasonable price of well below £50k. It’s a practical step up from a Volkswagen Tiguan, with the extended rear boosting practicality and adding to its large SUV vibes. 

The price premium over a Volkswagen Tiguan isn’t too excessive, either – and while plug-in hybrid models don’t have the third row seat option (due to the bigger battery taking up more space), they still benefit from more rear passenger space and a bigger boot. 

The Volkswagen Tayron has been carefully positioned to make it an interesting alternative to the premium Land Rover Discovery Sport. It will certainly be of interest to those in the market for a posh new seven-seater.

The most affordable Volkswagen Tayron is the 1.5 eTSI Life. This has a mild hybrid petrol engine, and comes as standard with a DSG automatic gearbox. It offers great value for money and is a compelling choice for under £40k. 

Another Volkswagen Tayron offering good value for money is the well-specced Match. This only has a single engine choice – the 1.5 eHybrid 204 plug-in hybrid. It offers an impressive all-electric range of over 70 miles. However, Volkswagen Tayron eHybrid are only available with five seats, so you’ll need to choose an alternative engine if you want three-row practicality. 

Pleasingly, there’s still a diesel engine choice, the 2.0 TDI 150. This serves up great fuel economy and its punchy nature has plenty of pulling power to cope with fully-laden Tayron. Because the Volkswagen Tayron can tow up to 2400kg, this makes it a great choice for caravan owners. 

The Volkswagen Tayron’s key rivals include the Peugeot 5008 and the Nissan X-Trail. The Peugeot 5008 is a seven-seat alternative to the Peugeot 3008, while the Nissan X-Trail is the seven-seat sister car to the Nissan Qashqai. 

The Skoda Kodiaq is another rival to the Volkswagen Tayron. The Skoda shares an architecture with the Volkswagen, so offers a similar range of engines, including plug-in hybrids. 

A leftfield choice is the Dacia Jogger, which offers seven-seat motoring from well under £20,000. Alternatively, the latest Hyundai Santa Fe is a larger alternative that delivers even more space for its higher prices – as does the Kia Sorento. 

Meanwhile, if you want an all-electric VW with seven seats, look no further than the distinctive and stylish Volkswagen ID.Buzz. 

The Volkswagen Tayron feels like a well-built, robust model with the touch of premium quality that defines many VW models. There are plenty of soft-touch materials in the front, the door bins are lined, the seats are firm and supportive, and the steering wheel is lovely to hold. 

Some of the smart upholstery and trim choices add to the premium feel of the Volkswagen Tayron. The open-pore wood trim is really nicely-finished, and we like how the stitched dashboard trim expands across the top of the front and rear doors. 

Lower down, the rear doors do have harder, scratchier plastics, but this doesn’t detract too much from the Tayron’s quality feel. The doors still shut with a solid ‘thunk’, while the panel fit and paint finish on the outside is excellent. 

The Volkswagen Tayron uses VW’s latest infotainment system. This has all-new hardware and software, making it faster and easier to use than before. The home page menu is clear and colourful, and there are rows of shortcut buttons at both the top and bottom of the display. The screen is fast and responsive to the touch. 

As standard, the Volkswagen Tayron has a 12.9-inch central touchscreen. This is combined with a 10.25-inch driver display. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as is inductive smartphone charging. 

The Volkswagen Tayron is available with an optional 15.0-inch touchscreen display. This enhanced system comes with the IDA voice assistant, and incorporates ChatGPT technology. It means you can press a button on the steering wheel and ask it questions. We found it did pretty well, telling us what the weather would be like… and even where our favourite team was in the Premier League. 

The 15.0-inch optional infotainment – part of the ‘Discover’ Infotainment Package Plus, which costs £1,130, also includes a head-up display. This has crisp and colourful graphics, and we found it a useful option. 

An eight-speaker stereo is standard on all Volkswagen Tayron. An optional 700-watt Harman Kardon premium sound system is available as a £900 option. 

The Volkswagen Tayron feels spacious in the front seats. It has the airy, commanding feel of a large car, making those in the front feel confident and safe. This is enhanced further with the extra-comfortable seats of higher-grade models – and there are also optional leather seats with the high-tech massaging, heating and cooling function. 

A neat touch is the two-level shelf in the centre console. There are dual wireless smartphone charging pads on the lower level, and a handy flip-up oddments shelf above. 

It's in the rear seats where the Volkswagen Tayron differences are highlighted. Space is excellent, with a tremendous amount of leg and foot room. The supportive rear seats are mounted nice and high, and the long wheelbase’s bigger door openings mean it’s easy to step in and out of the rear. Those in the back even get rear sunblinds, and the premium stitched soft-touch door tops also seen in the front.  

Those wide door openings help access to the third row of seats with a big sill step. The middle row reclines and slides forwards, although the gap to clamber through is still a bit tight. Once there, adults won’t find an abundance of space, and they’ll have to seek compromise from those in the middle row to get a comfortable amount of legroom. For children, however, they should be fine, and work well as occasional-use seats. 

The third row of seats individually fold flat into the boot floor, again boosting the flexibility of the Volkswagen Tayron – you can have it in six-seat mode with extra luggage space, for example. Even in seven-seat mode, there’s a reasonable 345 litres of boot space (the same amount of space as a Volkswagen Polo small car), expanding to 850 litres in five-seat mode – that’s around 200 litres more space than you get in a Volkswagen Tiguan. The eHybrid models are five-seat only, with the plug-in battery limiting space to 705 litres, although even this is bigger than a Tiguan.  

With the middle row of seats folded flat, boot capacity expands to around 1900 litres, which is a truly enormous space. Volkswagen has even designed a practical compartment below the boot floor into which the parcel shelf can be slotted so it’s out of the way. 

The Volkswagen Tayron can tow up to 2400kg. As standard, it has a clever Trailer Assist system, that makes reverse-parking when towing easier. An optional fold-away top bar is available, which drops down at the press of a button. 

The Volkswagen Tayron has a comprehensive range of engines, including petrol TSI, diesel TDI, mild hybrid eTSI and plug-in hybrid eHybrid. 

The entry-level 1.5 eTSI engine produces 150PS, for 0-62mph in a decent 8.6 seconds. Like all Volkswagen Tayron, it is paired with a DSG automatic gearbox, this one a seven-speed unit. Turbo pulling power makes it relatively effortless, although the gearbox does change up early to help save fuel – so you’ll notice a few downchanges when you accelerate. 

The 48-volt mild hybrid system allows the engine to shut down when you lift off the accelerator and when you come to a halt. It starts up smoothly after this extended stop-start, and the system gives a small electric boost when underway. Fairly refined in everyday use, the eTSI engine can be a bit boomy and vocal when revved, though. 

The 2.0-litre TSI doesn’t have mild hybrid tech, but it does have 4Motion four-wheel drive, for grippy traction in all weathers. With power of either 204PS or an effervescent 265PS, performance is more effortless (the 265PS does 0-62mph in just 6.1 seconds) and this ultra-smooth engine revs freely. This shouldn’t be a surprise – it’s the same engine as in the Volkswagen Golf GTI. 

The 2.0 TDI has 150PS and an ample 250Nm of torque. This gives it a ‘big engine’ feel, making it relaxed and powerful-feeling in everyday driving. It doesn’t need to change down a gear or two as frequently as the 1.5 eTSI. This may be the best choice for those who tow, and is also a great long-distance choice, thanks to its fuel efficiency – although its ‘dieselly’ sound is more obvious. 

The excellent eHybrid powertrains combine a 1.5 TSI engine with electric motors and a 19.7kWh lithium ion battery. Choose from overall power outputs of 204PS or 272PS. With a charged battery, the eHybrid effectively impersonates a pure EV, with loads of refinement and strong performance. The engine only starts up (almost imperceptibly) if you want maximum power, or when the battery runs low. It’s a really effective powertrain that will rightly prove very popular in the UK. 

The Volkswagen Tayron is, overall, a very refined family SUV seven-seater. This is helped by acoustic glass being fitted as standard in the front. This ‘double glazing’ helps keep wind noise at bay. With low levels of road noise, it makes for great overall refinement at most speeds. 

The Volkswagen Tayron eHybrid duo are particularly quiet when running in pure electric mode. If the battery is charged, they will do so even at motorway speeds, meaning they mimic the silent running of a pure EV very well. Once on the move, it’s hard to tell when the petrol engine kicks in, as it does so smoothly and quietly. 

The mild hybrid system of eTSI models also means the engine is shut down when the driver lifts off the accelerator pedal and comes to a halt. In town, it means a large degree of engine-off running, again enhancing refinement. During everyday acceleration, the eTSI engine is reasonably subdued, although it is more vocal when revved harder – the 2.0-litre TSI engine is smoother. 

The TDI diesel is clattery, but not intrusively so, unless you drive it very hard. Because it has a good amount of pulling power, it doesn’t need to work as hard as the 1.5 TSI engine, so feels more relaxed – and it cruises quietly once up to speed. Indeed, the TDI sounds most ‘dieselly’ from the outside. 

The Volkswagen Tayron’s sister car, the Tiguan, has been tested by Euro NCAP, where it scored a reassuring five-star rating. It scored 83% for driver protection, 88% for child safety protection and 84% for pedestrian protection. 

Standard safety tech is comprehensive. As well as the usual features such as lane-keep assist and an audible speed limit warning – both of which are easily disabled by pressing the ‘car’ icon at the top of the infotainment display – there are useful added extra features that will have a real benefit to safety. 

These include adaptive cruise control (ACC), blind spot assist, and autonomous emergency braking that detects pedestrians and cyclists. The standard exit warning system also detects oncoming road users from behind, preventing doors from being opened. 

There’s an optional Travel Assist feature, which enhances the ACC adaptive cruise control with additional sideways assistance. It’s not a ‘hands-off’ system, but does help make long motorway trips safer and less tiresome.

The Volkswagen Tayron is derived from the Volkswagen Tiguan. This is the firm’s best-selling model in the world, and is developed from the equally well-proven MQB Evo platform. All this should ensure reliability is strong. 

The Volkswagen Tayron has a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty (the first two years are actually unlimited-mileage). Extended warranties are also available from Volkswagen dealers. 

The Volkswagen Tayron has a group 25 insurance rating for the entry-level 1.5 eTSI engine. The TDI is similarly reasonable, with a group 26 insurance rating. The eHybrid 204 is group 30, with the 272PS version moving up to group 33. The high-performance 2.0 TSI 265 is group 35. 

The Volkswagen Tayron 1.5 eTSI and 2.0 TDI both have CO2 emissions from 150g/km, giving them a first-year road tax rate of £150. For the 2.0 TSI 204, it jumps up to £1095, and £1650 for the 2.0 TSI 265. In contrast, the eHybrid versions have a first-year road tax rate of just £10. 

After that, the Volkswagen Tayron has the standard annual road tax rate of £190, or £180 for the eHybrids. 

However, most models will also be subject to the £410 Expensive Car Supplement for years two to six, because they cost over £40k. Only the entry-level 1.5 eTSI 150 Life is exempt from this. 

The Volkswagen Tayron has a good amount of standard equipment. All models feature alloy wheels, three-zone climate control air conditioning, a 12.9-inch touchscreen, wireless smartphone charging and 10-colour ambient lighting for the cabin. LED headlights with automatic main beam – called Light Assist – is also included. 

Safety tech featured to all Volkswagen Tayron includes adaptive cruise control (called ACC), a lane-keeping system and lane change assist, and automatic emergency braking that also detects pedestrians and cyclists. The tech will automatically brake if you turn into a junction when there’s another vehicle approaching. 

The Volkswagen Tayron has a rear-view parking camera combined with the Park Assist Plus system, a dynamic road sign display and even an exit warning system. This prevents the doors being opened if it detects a car or cyclist approaching from behind. 

All Volkswagen Tayron get illuminated ‘VW’ logos front and rear – the first time a non-EV Volkswagen has featured them. There’s also a full-width LED light bar at the front, and distinctive rear tail lights. 

The Volkswagen Tayron Match adds an alternative design of 18-inch alloy wheel, a tilt and slide panoramic sunroof, silver roof rails, keyless entry, dark-tint rear glass and an electric tailgate. The panoramic glass roof that’s standard on Match is a £1385 option on other models. 

The Volkswagen Tayron Elegance has larger 18-inch alloy wheels, soft ArtVelours upholstery, heated front seats with a massage function, 30-colour interior ambient lighting, an enhanced rear parking camera and LED headlamps with LED separate signature running light. The doorhandles are illuminated too. 

Sporty R-Line is a popular trim in the UK. This includes 20-inch alloy wheels along with R-Line sports-style bumpers featuring enlarged side air intakes. There are front sports seats as well. There’s also an R-Line Edition with an alternative 20-inch alloy wheel design and a panoramic glass roof.