How is the quality and layout?

• Cabin near-identical to T-Cross
• Material quality not up to scratch
• Infotainment good but touch-sensitive controls irritate

The Taigo’s interior feels very similar to the T-Cross but there are a few key differences. The biggest is that the latter car’s hard, scratchy dash top has been replaced by a much squishier and more premium affair.

Unfortunately that hasn’t been carried over to the rest of the cabin, and most drivers we know aren’t in the habit of touching their dash tops… The plastics on the centre console, dash face and most annoyingly the door cards are particularly cheap-feeling and really rather unpleasant, especially compared to rivals like the Renault Captur that use their materials more carefully.

Infotainment and tech

All models are well-equipped, with digital dials and a large touchscreen infotainment system standard. The dials are rather basic on entry-level models but the upper two trim levels get the same ‘Digital Cockpit’ as VW’s larger cars, which is clear and looks premium.

Unfortunately the Taigo also carries across a raft of touch-sensitive buttons, including those for the climate control. They’re still an improvement over solely using the touchscreen, but we’d prefer physical switches – they’re easier to use by far and don’t necessitate you taking your eyes off the road for nearly as long.

25

The infotainment screen isn’t the latest unit as found in cars like the Golf, but that’s actually no bad thing as we’ve found this older model historically much easier to use and more stable.

Comfort

The Taigo, like most Volkswagens, offers a huge amount of adjustment in the seat and steering wheel to allow even the shortest or tallest drivers to get comfortable. R-Line models get additional bolstering on the front seats which keeps you more secure in the corners, but it’s not aggressively ‘huggy’ enough to be a bother to larger frames.

The rear bench is rather flat and the seat base quite short, but there is at least space to slide your feet under the seat in front maximising the legroom.

Refinement isn’t too bad with wind and road noise kept to a minimum but the 1.5-litre engines are rather coarse. Opting for the entry-level 95hp 1.0-litre engine means you only get a five-speed gearbox rather than the six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic available with other engines – this hurts refinement at higher speeds as the engine has to spin faster.