Volkswagen Taigo SUV - Reliability & safety

The Volkswagen Taigo is a new model, but one that’s heavily based on existing models. So while we don’t yet have concrete data on how safe or reliable the Taigo will be, it’s possible to draw conclusions based on the Volkswagen T-Roc and VW as a whole.

Volkswagen Taigo reliability

Although the Taigo did not feature in our latest Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, the closely related T-Roc came 28th overall in our list of the top 75 cars on sale, with its driving experience, dated engine and gearbox exterior styling and interior being rated poorly. The T-Roc was rated well by owners for its safety features, reliability and build quality, infotainment, practicality and value. 

Volkswagen as a brand finished a disappointing 27th out of 32 manufacturers in 2023, behind sister brands SEAT (23rd) and Skoda (20th), but ahead of Ford (28th) and Renault (29th). Around 26% of owners reported a fault in the first year of ownership, which is worse than average.

Safety

When Euro NCAP put the Volkswagen Taigo through crash testing in early 2022, the model scored a full five-star rating. It scored strongly in all areas with 94% and 84% for adult and child protection respectively - slightly higher scores than the facelifted Polo hatchback. The Taigo was also highly rated for its safety assist systems with a 70% score, along with a score of 71% for vulnerable road user protection.

Standard safety equipment includes autonomous emergency braking, which works up to 130mph. Adaptive cruise control, traffic jam assist and lane-keeping assistance are also fitted, and the three are combined in the Travel Assist function that should improve arduous motorway journeys.