MOTORING REVIEW: Volkswagen Tayron is an all-rounder

Volkswagen’s Tayron family SUV arrived here in March of this year with the option of five or seven seats and petrol, diesel or plug-in hybrid powertrains. It fits between the compact Tiguan and the larger luxury Touareg.

Petrol-engined versions are all five-seaters; the diesel is a seven-seater, making it an efficient choice for growing families. Trims are Life, Edition 75, Elegance, R-Line and R-Line 75 - the latter my review car.

The model is impressive from every angle. My car was white with black pillars, tinted rear windows, and chrome trim along the tops of the side windows. 

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The light signature features standard light strips on the radiator grille and rear, illuminated door handles, bright Volkswagen logos at the front and rear, LED headlamps, sports-style bumpers, and an air intake with chrome ‘R Line’ trim. The rear features 3D LED combination lamps and a light bar that emphasises the car's width. The 19-inch Coventry alloy wheels, available only on the diesel version, were well matched to the car's strong exterior look. 

The interior is both practical and decorative. I was particularly taken with the wide area of tiny dots on the dash that light up at night to resemble a view from the top floor of a Manhattan skyscraper, and by the warm grey Alcantara trim with white stitching and blue line across the dash. My R-Line 75 car offered a choice of 30 ambient lighting colours across the dashboard and doors. 

Sports front seats with integrated head restraints looked the part and provided good support for my back. They came with manual adjustments and a massage function, and could be heated. 

A 12.9-inch free-standing infotainment touchscreen, with sharp, colourful graphics, features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, together with sat nav and quick access for media and car settings. Typical Volkswagen slider controls below the screen are for dual-zone climate control and radio volume, and there’s a rotary knob on the central console for volume adjustment. 

You can select ‘atmospheres’ pre-set mood profiles using a driving experience control on the centre console. A single button press is all it takes to adapt multiple settings at once - from background lighting to music playback to air conditioning. 

You can customise the 10.3-inch digital driver’s cluster to suit your preference, and there’s a Head-Up Display that shows current speed projected onto the windscreen.

The leather-wrapped sports steering wheel, with shift paddles, can be heated for cold weather. The transmission selector with an electronic parking brake to the side is located off the steering column. 

There are four USB-C ports, two in the front and two in the rear, and a handy phone charging pad that charges two phones. 

Middle-row seats slide back and forth. Second-row headroom can be a bit tight for very tall people due to the large panoramic sunroof, which tilts and slides, and the high transmission tunnel. There’s good access to those two rear seats, which are mainly suitable for children, thanks to the wide-opening rear door, which also makes installing a child seat easier. The outer rear seats can be heated in the TDI engine variant.

My car had an electric tailgate and a boot space of 345 litres with all seven seats up, rising to 850 litres with the back two seats folded, and to a huge 1,949 litres with the second and third rows folded. The diesel version gets underfloor storage. There's no spare, just a sealant option. 

My 2.0 150hp diesel car with 360 Nm of torque was paired with a smooth seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox (DSG). It proved refined and quite punchy in everyday driving, and I enjoyed the driving experience over all types of roads. A full suite of parking aids helped when parking. These included Front Cross Traffic Assist, Lane Assist, Emergency braking, Hill Start Assist, parking sensors, Park Assist, and Park Assist Pro. I also appreciated the cornering lights, the excellent reversing camera and the heated windshield.

Over trips of 83km and 97 km, my fuel return was from 4.4-4.9 L/100kms, which is frugal indeed. Tayron can tow up to 2.5 tonnes. 

The model achieved the maximum five-star rating in Euro NCAP safety tests last May.

My car is priced from €72,390 (includes delivery & service charge of €1,820). eHybrids start at €58,760. Road tax is €270 for the diesel 2.0 version.