Volkswagen Tayron Preview 2025: Price, specs & boot space

If you need to move a lot of people and things in comfort and a bit of class, the Volkswagen Tayron is well worth a look. Yes, the Skoda Kodiaq pulls off the same trick for less money, but the Tayron doesn't cost drastically more, and the Volkswagen logo has higher badge appeal. 

What's more, there's a wide range of engines and multiple trim levels, meaning it'll be easy to tailor the Tayron to your wants and needs.  

The plug-in hybrid is heavy and expensive, but if you're able to charge the car at home and have a commute that's within the electric-only range, you could potentially save a lot on fuel. While not exactly in fashion, the diesel will suit the Tayron very well, with enough torque to take care of towing a caravan and excellent fuel economy over long distances. It won't be available to order from launch, though. 

Otherwise, there's something to be said for sticking to the 1.5-litre petrol. That might not sound like a big engine to have in such a sizeable car, but it's a surprisingly pokey engine, putting out 150PS, and is nicely smooth. 

Combine that engine with R Line trim, and you'll have a versatile, sporty-looking and well-equipped Tayron.

The Volkswagen Tayron is closely related to the Skoda Kodiaq, sharing its platform, technology and engine line-up. Away from Volkswagen Group, there are plenty of alternatives to consider, including the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, Peugeot 5008 and Mazda CX-60.

Being slightly more expensive than the Skoda Kodiaq and having a classier badge, the Tayron could also be considered a rival to premium SUVs such as the BMW X3 and Audi Q5, although neither can seat seven. 

Volkswagen has fallen a little short of our expectations when it comes to the quality of materials used in recent years, but things are moving in the right direction. Although we haven't spent any time in a Tayron yet, the fact that the cabin is largely lifted from the Tiguan means we know what to expect in terms of quality, and it's mostly good news on that front. 

There's an interesting blend of materials to uplift the whole space, and while the trims used lower down in the cabin aren't quite as nice as those fitted higher up, there's nothing particularly egregious in there. As for how well all of this will fare over many years and miles of use, we'll have to wait and see. 

You won't be left wanting for touchscreen real estate in the Tayron. As standard it comes with a 12.9-inch display, but it's possible to upgrade this to a sizeable 15-inch unit. Although some Volkswagen models have suffered from buggy infotainment systems in the last few years, the software used by more recent cars from the brand is significantly better. 

As should be expected for a car like this, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity come as standard, but there's also the integration of ChatGPT AI you can ask various questions, for instance, to find the highest-rated pizzeria. At least, that's what we would use it for. There are two USB-C ports in the front area of the cabin, and another pair in the rear, all offering a charging capacity of 45W. 

The standard sound system features eight speakers. For £900 it's possible to upgrade to a fancier Harman Kardon setup. 

The boot in the five-seat version of the Tayron is vast, with 885 litres of space or 2090 litres with the back seats folded. That dips slightly in the eHybrid five-seater, although 705 litres is still a big space. 

Go for the seven-seat Tayron and the boot is a still cavernous 850 litres big with the third row folded, and even with the last couple of seats in place, there's a healthy 345 litres of space behind them. Fold rows two and three, and there's a 1,905-litre load space available. 

Six powertrains will be available for the Tayron, with both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive models on sale.

The entry-level model is a front-wheel-drive, mild-hybrid petrol, badged as the 1.5 eTSI. It uses a 1.5-litre engine with 150PS and a seven-speed DSG transmission. For more power, there are two 2.0-litre petrol options, without the mild-hybrid system but with four-wheel drive, which VW calls 4MOTION. These engines develop 204PS and 265PS.

Long-distance drivers might prefer a diesel – a 2.0 TDI front-wheel-drive model with 150PS. While VW will make a four-wheel-drive version with 193PS, it's not currently due to go on sale in the UK.

There are also two plug-in hybrid models, badged as eHybrid, using a 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor and a 19.7kWh (net) battery. One has 204PS and the other has 272PS, and both can cover up to 75 miles on electric power alone. Both are only available with five seats – other models come with seven.

The Volkswagen Tayron hasn't yet been tested by Euro NCAP, but we can't see why it wouldn't come away with the full five stars, just as the Tiguan and the Skoda Kodiaq did. Those cars each scored well in all categories, and it'll surely be the same for the Tayron.

Even the entry-level Life model isn't wanting for safety tech, with a driver attention monitor, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist monitoring, lane keeping assist, lane change assist, rear traffic alert, and swerve support all fitted as standard.

For a new model like the Volkswagen Tayron, it's hard to tell how reliable the car will be. Volkswagen didn't do brilliantly in the most recent HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index, placing fourth from last, but it's good news that the brand has ironed out many of the software bugs some of its vehicles have suffered from in recent years. 

After the first year of ownership, Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for your Volkswagen Tayron will cost £190 a year, or £180 if it's a plug-in hybrid. We should point out, though, that only the entry-level Tayron Life with the 1.5-litre petrol engine scrapes below the threshold for the government's premium car tax. 

This is an extra £410 annual charge you'll need to cough up during years two to five of ownership.

There are five trim levels available, starting with the Tayron Life. Although it's the cheapest of the lot, it's still well-equipped, featuring 18-inch alloy wheels, 'Park Assist Plus' with a camera, a digital cockpit, a 12.9-inch infotainment system, 10-colour ambient lighting, LED headlights, a whole load of safety kit, and illuminated VW logos are each end. We're less sure about that last bit.

A Tayron Elegance upsizes the wheels to 19 inches in diameter, upgrades the parking assistance system, and adds massage front seats, an electric boot lid, more colours for the ambient lighting system, snazzier LED headlights and 'wake up/goodbye' lighting sequences for those light-up VW badges.

The Tayron Match can only be specced as a plug-in hybrid. It has everything found on the Match, but with a different design of 18-inch wheel, plus a tilting/sliding panoramic sunroof, an additional panoramic sunroof for the rear, keyless entry, tinted rear windows and silver roof rails.  

R-Line features 20-inch wheels, sportier styling, tinted windows, heated and massaging front sports seats, special headlights that turn as the car does, and 30 ambient lighting modes rather than 10.  

Finally, the R Line Edition gets all of that but with a different design of 20-inch wheels, the same pano' roof as the Match, the electric tailgate, park assist pro and keyless entry.