UK Drive: Can Volkswagen’s Tayron compete in a busy market?

What is it?

There’s also this car – the Volkswagen Tayron – which essentially returns as a more svelte version of the original Tiguan Allspace, a seven-seater which really struck a chord with families. We’ve been trying it in the UK to see how it fares here.

What’s new?

Inside, there’s a real focus on practicality being made, while Volkswagen’s latest range of assistance systems is equipped on all models. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to switch these off via the main screen if the alerts are starting to annoy.

What’s under the bonnet?

With 148bhp, the 2.0-litre unit should get the Tayron from 0-60mph in 9.4 seconds and onwards to a top speed of 130mph. It’s about right for a car of this size sitting in this area of the market.

What’s it like to drive?

However, the ride on this car lets the side down. We found that the Tayron shuddered through lumps, bumps and potholes, struggling to maintain its composure over even the smallest of imperfections. It made it genuinely uncomfortable, particularly at lower speeds. It could be down to our test car’s lack of the optional dynamic chassis control – which allows you to soften off the ride – but we do think that, in standard settings, a car should be able to manage poor road conditions.

How does it look?

With its large wheels and sporty R-Line bumpers and front and rear, the Tayron certainly looks smart, though we do feel like it could be made to stand out a bit more.

What’s it like inside?

You still get a handy 345 litres of boot space when all seven seats are in place, while this can be increased to 850 litres by folding those rearmost seats flat – and they do really go flat, too. You’ll get the most boot space in diesel and petrol models, too, as plug-in hybrid variants suffer a penalty due to the batteries.

What’s the spec like?

The main 12.9-inch infotainment system is packed with features and relatively easy to operate thanks to some handy shortcut menus. We like that Volkswagen has taken a leaf out of Skoda’s book with its customisable physical dial, too, which can be used to adjust certain aspects, such as volume.

Verdict

In many areas, the Tayron delivers the typical family-friendly SUV experience that buyers are after. It’s spacious and gets plenty of storage options, while the flexibility of a seven-seater configuration will be a big plus-point for lots of drivers.

However, the ride on this model is hard to look past. It’s worth trying out a few different variations, as our previous experience has found that dynamic chassis control transforms the feel of the Tayron. Without it, it feels simply too uncomfortable.