About 80 years ago, Volkswagen began building its empire making a car for the people and it’s never lost sight of that objective which is neatly fulfilled in the Tayron.
It is a car very much made for today’s markets around the world and fills the gap between its top of range Touareg and five-seat Tiguan with the widest powertrain possibilities in a seven-model series of four trim levels from approximately £41,000 to £54,000.
There are petrol, diesel, mild and plug-in hybrids. All it lacks, for now, is a full electric version, but the PHEV plug-in petrol-electric hybrid we tested has an electric-only range of 72 miles, one of the longest in the part-time-ev sector.
In fact, in September 2025, PHEV models saw the biggest jump in registrations in Britain, a 56.4% rise over 12 months earlier and about 1:8 new cars registered.
The four-cylinder petrol engine has been a backbone of the VW Group models for many years and it’s a strong, reliable and economical power unit with low noise levels and respectable performance.
Matched to a six-speed automatic transmission with choice of normal or sport settings and different modes to extract economy or energy from the powertrain it is a very sophisticated set up. The changes were impeccably smooth whether accelerating or slowing down and there’s little for a driver to do except decide on power or economy.
Underfoot, the brakes were also well balanced to give a lot of retardation with plenty of feel through the pedal and the parking brake was strong.
Secondary controls were convenient, well marked and all worked well with good night-time illumination in what was a very bright interior when the sun went down. It’s selectable lighting options were plentiful and not out of place in a car costing twice as much.
For the driver its fascia display was big, clear and well marked and the infotainment system was expansive but we found the reversing camera’s clarity was not as good as expected with blurred definition of objects.
The heating and ventilation worked very well and had wide range, strong output and good directional controls through the vents, with powered windows inc. rear blinds, and a massive sunroof.
Mirrors were big and adjusted well, the high intensity headlights gave a long and wide beam and didn’t dazzle oncoming drivers.
Oddments room was good for a family car with plenty of places infront and behind and the boot was a generous size even with the rear bench seat in use.
Access to the boot and cabin was good and legroom was particularly good in the back while the two front seats had a really wide range of settings and provided a lot of support to thighs and ribs.
With a fully adjustable driving column the users can precisely tailor the set up to suit themselves.
The ride tended to be firm but really uncomfortable and you could hear how hard the suspension worked on bad surfaces.
It’s not a sporting car but it handled safely and predictably as a good front wheel drive system should and there were no vices to pick up although it might have been easier to manoeuvre in town when parking if the steering system had a different ratio or power push.
The road noise apart, the Tayron R-Line hybrid was generally a quiet car with minimal mechanical sound, almost no wind noise and certainly no rattle or buzzing from trim.
It looked and felt well made on the company’s latest adjustable platform.
Our test car came with the £1,140 comfort pack, £975 driver assistance pack, IQ lights at £595, winter pack for heated outer rear seats costing £460, upgraded infotainment and display for £1,130, big sunroof £1,385 and pure while paint with contrasting upholstery at £505.
So it’s not cheap when you add these desirable features but they certainly make the Tayron R-Line a very good car against its fellow German rivals or the popular family SUVs from Korea.
At the end of the day it’s the people’s choice.
FAST FACTS
Model: VolkswagenTayron R-Line TSI SUV
Price: £53,650
Mechanical: 204ps 4cyl 1.5 petrol hybrid, 6sp DSG
Max Speed: 130mph
0-62mph: 8.6sec
Combined MPG: 51mpg
Insurance Group: 30E
CO2 emissions: 10gkm
Bik rating: 3%, VED £110FY, £620SRx5-years
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles
Size: L4.80m, W1.90m, H1.67m
Bootspace: 705 to 1915 litres
Kerbweight: 1648kg
For: Performance, economy, comfortable seats, plenty of room, good handling, quick charging
Against: Noisy ride, expensive options & road tax, only five-seats in PHEV model. By Robin Roberts Miles Better News Agency
