Volkswagen Tayron 150TSI Elegance 2026 review

A few years ago, it felt like Volkswagen was nailing its market niche, providing buyers with premium-feeling vehicles without an outrageous uplift in price over mid-market rivals. The brand’s Australian sales, which peaked at 60,225 in 2015, reflected strong local interest.

A recession to 36,480 local sales in 2024 encapsulated changes in the market, including increased competition — but this was also a reflection of Volkswagen forgetting some of the things that made it special.

Driving dynamics remained polished but cabins felt cheaper and became harder to use.

We’ve missed the ‘old’ Volkswagen…which is why we have felt cautiously optimistic about recent VW releases passing through the Chasing Cars garage. The Mk 8.5 Golf facelift corrected some big misses; then the third-generation Tiguan impressed our testers with a cabin quality renaissance and great handling.

But it’s the release of the new Tayron that has us more convinced that Volkswagen is now firmly on an upswing. Closely related to the Tiguan, the three-row Tayron replaces the outgoing Tiguan Allspace. The new model is larger, more useful and more distinct.

Like the smaller Tiguan, the Tayron retains familiar turbo petrol engines for now, but adopts an updated platform providing superior semi-autonomous driving smarts, snappier in-cabin tech, and the room for big plug-in hybrid batteries — and two PHEVs will be released in 2026.

While Volkswagen lacks a truly large seven-seat SUV in Australia (the full-size Touareg is limited to two rows), the Tayron demonstrates this brand’s packaging capabilities. It is smaller than a Hyundai Santa Fe (our reigning Car of the Year), Kia Sorento or Mazda CX-80 yet it has a larger boot, and a livable third row.

Volkswagen Australia knows the Tayron is crucial to a plan to rebuild sales, and as a result the range is broad (even incorporating a big-booted two-row model aimed at rural buyers). It is also aggressively priced, opening under $50,000 plus on-road costs for a 110TSI Life.

Our coverage commences with the sweet spot and expected volume-seller of the Tayron range, the 150TSI Elegance, which costs $59,490, before on-road costs.

What are the Tayron’s features and options for the price?

Including the 150TSI Elegance on test, the Tayron lineup at launch consists of four variants with another two trims set to be added when PHEV technology arrives in 2026. One trim grade (the 150TSI Life) is a five-seater with a particularly large boot; all others have seven seats across three rows. 

The entry point to the Tayron lineup is the sole front-wheel drive grade — the 110TSI Life ($48,290, all prices below are before on-road costs). 

Pictured: 2026 Volkswagen Tayron 110TSI Life

Standard equipment includes cloth/leatherette seat upholstery, manually adjustable front seats with power lumbar, leather steering wheel, 12.9-inch touchscreen, digital cockpit, and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

Further inclusions from the base grade take in 18-inch alloy wheels, auto LED headlights, full keyless entry/start with power tailgate, dual wireless phone chargers, three-zone climate control, 360-degree camera, and 10-colour interior ambient lighting.

It is a $5700 step into the five-seat 150TSI Life ($53,990) which adds performance (+40kW/+70Nm), all-wheel drive and 15-stage adaptive dampers and larger cargo space but otherwise mirrors the 110TSI Life for equipment.

Pictured: 2026 Volkswagen Tayron 150TSI Life

Then it’s up to to the $59,490 150TSI Elegance, which gains genuine leather upholstery, 12-way power front seats with heating/cooling/massage, heated outboard rear seats, heated steering wheel, 19-inch wheels, chrome exterior trim, 30-colour ambient lighting, and premium LED taillights.

For Elegance buyers, an optional Sound & Vision Package ($4200) adds HD matrix LED headlights, dynamic indicators, 15-inch Discover Pro Max touchscreen, head-up display and a 700-watt, 16-speaker Harman-Kardon stereo. 

Finally, the $73,490 195TSI R-Line adds the Sound & Vision Package as standard alongside 20-inch wheels plus unique, sportier styling — which can be darkened via a $1500 Black Style Package.

Pictured: 2026 Volkswagen Tayron 195TSI R-Line

Both the Elegance and R-Line can be further optioned with an opening panoramic glass sunroof ($2100). Across the range, Pure White (solid) is the ‘free’ colour, with Oyster Silver, Dolphin Grey, Grenadilla Black and Nightshade Blue metallics costing $800. 

Ultraviolet metallic, the hero colour, is available rangewide for $1100.

How does the Tayron drive?

The Tayron is nearly as polished to drive as the brilliantly executed new Tiguan.

Like-for-like the bigger, heavier Tayron is a touch slower, though its range of three turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engines punch above their weight (literally).

The front-wheel drive, 1.4-litre 110TSI (110kW/250Nm) is a touch workmanlike in a heavier-duty vehicle like this, though it will still dust most dual-cabs from the lights; at the other end of the range, the 2.0-litre 195TSI AWD (195kW/400Nm) is punchy.

In the middle sits the 150TSI powertrain (2.0-litre, AWD, 150kW/320Nm). At the risk of sounding clichéd, it’s the Goldilocks engine for now. It’s quick enough (including with a load onboard) while being quite a bit more affordable than the 195TSI.

Next year’s PHEV options (both front-wheel drive but available in 150kW or 200kW power outputs) might supplant the 150TSI as our recommended engine but it will come down to price and real-world dynamics. We’re yet to test the hybrids.

A real surprise is that the Tayron loses little of the Tiguan’s zeal for cornering. The light front end, unencumbered by large engines, dives for corners with heaps of grip and the steering (with adjustable weight) feels true. 

For family buyers that don’t want to succumb to numb, bland SUV motoring, the Tayron is a fantastic antidote. Few will rag this crossover to its (remarkably high) limits but pleasant and keen handling stands out against nearly all rivals.

Where the Tayron struggles a bit in comparison to the Tiguan is in its ride quality. All-wheel drive versions (150TSI and 195TSI) have standard DCC Pro twin-valve adaptive dampers, but while there are 15 stages of damping force, finding the right setting is a touch fickle.

Most of the time, what we’d call ‘ultra-comfort’ (the damping slider in fact goes past ‘comfort’) is suitable for commuting and highway driving, ironing out the impact of expansion joints and road crud. But this setting does induce some head toss.

Ultra-comfort doesn’t suit country-road driving. This environment demanded something closer to the halfway point of damping force, which absolutely eliminates any head toss but induces some fidget to the ride and, notably, suspension noise as it works for its keep.

We’re being picky here because the Tayron is otherwise very polished, and we’re not quite convinced the ideal tune has yet been found for DCC Pro on this model. The smaller Tiguan is closer to ideal, and some variants of the old Tiguan Allspace rode more naturally.

What is the Tayron’s interior and tech like?

The finer points of ride quality can be debated, but where the Tayron is unequivocally head-and-shoulders ahead of the old Tiguan Allspace is in the cabin. What a transformation!

There was perhaps no better example of Volkswagen’s infamous dip into meaner perceived cabin quality than the old, second-gen Tiguan and Allspace, which covered secondary surfaces in shiny and scratchy materials that felt down-market.

Volkswagen has consigned that choice to the history books with the new Tiguan and Tayron siblings — the pair debuts a warmer, richer cabin aesthetic that tries hard to remind buyers that this brand is meant to sit above, not alongside, mid-market competitors.

While entry-level Life variants have hardy seat materials, there is a big upswing in premium feel in the 150TSI Elegance, which swaps cloth/leatherette for swathes of genuine Varenna leather on the seats along with lush open-pore wood across the width of the dashboard.

The front seats themselves are very comfortable and supportive with 12 directions of power adjustment (for both pews — the passenger is not a second-class citizen) while heating and cooling is standard up front; seat heating is fitted for row two’s outboard seats as well.

Importantly, surfaces below the beltline are now softer and more welcoming. This includes spots like the kneepads where the driver’s leg comes to rest (previously rock hard) while the door skins are now far more presentable, even if the ‘grabs’ remain a bit low rent.

Build quality and fit and finish seemed good in our testers, which meant it was a slight letdown that two Tayrons on the car’s local launch had some faint rattles driven over (admittedly very broken-up) coarse-chip terrain. On the highway the cabin was quiet…

…And in any case, we were happy to turn up the volume of the lovely Harman-Kardon stereo (bundled in the $4200 Sound and Vision Package) to compensate.

That stereo is linked to a tech stack that feels modern but is a bit easier to use than recent Volkswagen efforts from the last few years. A 12.9-inch (15.0-inch with S&V Package) touchscreen rules the roost but it responds fast and climate controls are ever-present.

The driver’s instrument display is highly customisable while wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto look good, though unlike some rivals, smartphone maps don’t carry across to the virtual cockpit. Online connectivity remains unavailable for Australia, which is frustrating.

Ergonomics are improved from the Tiguan Allspace, which had a weirdly minivan-aping steering wheel kilter. Niceties like an adjustable armrest and flock-lined door bins reappear, while storage is solid. Dual, cooled wireless phone chargers are a pleasant addition.

Moving to the back seats, we find a pretty good amount of flexibility. The roomy second row offers plenty of space, plus its own climate zone and USB ports; it’s also on sliders, allowing space to be made for the legs of people in the third row.

Accessing the third row could and should be easier; the second-row tilts and slides forward but access width is tight and the slide is not spring-loaded as it is in some rival SUVs. Still, once you’re back there, anybody up to about 5’9” will have few complaints…except for the lack of air vents and USB ports. Airbag coverage is to all three rows.

Still, we don’t complain much because the Tayron is so much smaller outside than key rivals yet manages to fit a very serviceable third row. The VW is just 4792mm long (a Santa Fe is 4830mm). As a result the Volkswagen will simply fit in more parking spaces.

Boot capacity behind the kick-open power tailgate is also remarkably good even with all three rows in place (at 345 litres, there’s more room than a Mazda 3 hatch), and with five seats up, cargo room swells to a vast 855 litres. A space-saver spare wheel and tyre is standard and the cargo blind fits under the boot floor. Nicely done.

Is the Tayron a safe car?

While the Volkswagen Tayron has not yet received an Australian safety rating, the SUV was granted a five-star score by Euro NCAP based on 2025 protocols.

Volkswagen Australia strongly expects that local crash and safety body ANCAP will extend a five-star rating to the Tayron which will be critical for, among other things, fleet customer take-up.

The following safety features are fitted as standard on all Tayrons:

• Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection
• Travel Assist (strong adaptive cruise control and lane centring)
• Side assist (blind spot monitoring)
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Exit warning
• 360-degree parking camera, front and rear parking sensors

We like the fact that the Tayron’s adaptive safety features are largely well-tuned and even where they can be a touch invasive are easy to defeat. Audible speed limit warnings stay off permanently.

Adaptive cruise control worked smoothly and correctly on the highway in conjunction with Travel Assist, which amps up the strength of the lane-centring system, and which can drive for long distances with just a light touch on the steering wheel.

On country roads, lane-keep can be a bit much and we preferred to turn it off in this environment. The resolution of the 360-degree parking camera could also be better.

What are the Tayron’s ownership costs?

The Tayron is not the cheapest SUV in its class in terms of running costs — though the arrival of next year’s plug-in hybrid models will slash fuel spend for buyers that are able to charge a PHEV up at home or work.

For now, the turbo petrols are all competent but their fuel economy really depends on how, and where, you drive them. On the highway, the Tayron is quite efficient (we managed 6.9L/100km in the 150TSI) but in town fuel use tends to balloon to more like 11-12L/100km.

An extended run that included some town and some country-road driving saw economy settle at a balanced 9.2L/100km, with all Tayron engines requiring at least 95 RON petrol.

Servicing can be purchased in advance and at a discount with a ‘Care Plan’, with a five year/75,000km package costing $2910 (110TSI) or $3550 (150TSI and 195TSI), averaging a pricey $710 per visit for the latter all-wheel drive versions.

The warranty for the Volkswagen Tayron is five years/unlimited kilometres.

The honest verdict on the Tayron

The Volkswagen Tayron should be closely considered for families needing a three-row SUV — and wanting something that feels a bit special.

Simply put, the Tayron is far more engaging to drive than most of its rivals. Not all buyers care about keen handling in the family-hauling segment but crisp steering, sorted dynamics and reasonably good ride quality make a massive difference.

Add to those dynamic attributes the leap in perceived interior expense over the old Tiguan Allspace — all while retaining fairly stable pricing in a segment that has become considerably dearer on average — and it’s obvious the Tayon is an aggressive play by Volkswagen.

Some buyers will want a vehicle that is larger and wider but particularly for buyers who live in the inner-city or have a tighter parking space, the Tayron is a hero of clever packaging with a roomy and polished cabin.

We suspect next year’s plug-in hybrid Tayron engines could be even more impressive with 100km-plus EV range and fuel economy gains even on a ‘dead’ battery — but we’ll have to wait a bit longer to assess those cars.

For now, the Tayron 150TSI Elegance is a high achiever.