[Jmray3]

I didn’t expect this, but I traded my Taos for a Tiguan. A lot of factors played into this decision and it came down to the lack of features the Taos had for the price and being top trim level. I went from a Toas SEL AWD to a Tiguan SEL Rline. I am overly happy with my Tig.

Features that influenced my decision include, Power liftgate, memory seats, 360 camera view, even larger passenger area and trunk. Exterior appearance due to the rline package vs the taos. The interior of the Tig feels more premium than the Taos, less hard plastics. Based on what everyone else has said In regards to the power and such, I assumed I wouldn’t like trhe Tiguan as it was sad to be sluggish and what not. I came from the AWD with the 7speed DSG. I even used an OBD2 to adjust the drive from timed to threshold. I just never found my self satisfied with it. I assumed based on comments and research that the Tiguan would be worse. Since dealerships do not have a lot of inventory, I did not do my due diligence and drive these two models before purchase. I went with the Taos.

Over the weekend I was able to drive a AWD Tiguan with the 8speed transmission, and I love it. That and all of the features it had sold me. supposedly there had been a lot of engine tuning to the 2022 Tiguan model. I had the Taos for three months and I really did enjoy it, I just discovered that I prefer the Tiguan.

 

[blnewto]

Sounds like a good move, enjoy the Tig!

 

[CorradoG60]

When VW dropped the SEL Premium Tiguan and moved most of the features into the 2022 SEL for $5000 less, the SEL became a good deal.

I think VW dropped the ball on pricing of the Taos SEL vs the missing features atop trim should have.

 

[derekdal]

Vw dropped the ball on basic features as mentioned here.l for taos. That is 1 gripe I've always had. Can't beat the mpg though so we're keeping ours

 

[CorradoG60]

Well, the original 2009 Tiguan (the ancestor of the current sized Taos) had loads of features in the SEL and it was priced too high due to it. So this time, VW decided to error the other direction.
But the Jetta is better equipped for far less money, with many of the same components (engine, transmission, internal components) and arguably better seats and materials than the Taos in upper trims.

 

[Jmray3]

I seriously was looking at an out the door price of $2000 for a difference. I was looking to purchase an SUV, coming from a 2019 Jetta SEL. I just felt extremely unsettled knowing that I paid the price I did and still did not get all the features that I feel like should have been included on the highest trim level. I’ve had this vehicle since Friday, my estimated mpg is 34. Ironically my mpg on the Taos for the three months that I had it maintained at 30mpg.

 

[blnewto]

Like I mentioned in another post, the Taos really doesn't excite me at all, it's kinda boring to look at, and the controls & features are all ok but not great. I've been using the economy readings on our dash and have been able to feather the gas and keep my city driving real smooth without sudden stops/starts and have been able to avg about 37 -39 mpg in town on my daily 20 mile round trips so that's pretty cool. If gas prices drop and stay there for a foreseeable future I will probably trade out, but in the current scheme of things I'm sacrificing what I like for the good economy.

 

[CorradoG60]

I seriously was looking at an out the door price of $2000 for a difference. I was looking to purchase an SUV, coming from a 2019 Jetta SEL. I just felt extremely unsettled knowing that I paid the price I did and still did not get all the features that I feel like should have been included on the highest trim level. I’ve had this vehicle since Friday, my estimated mpg is 34. Ironically my mpg on the Taos for the three months that I had it maintained at 30mpg.

I don’t see how you are getting that. We have a 2021 Tiguan AWD and a 2021 Jetta SEL so basically the same engines and the Jetta gets 8-15 mpg better depending on type of trip.

 

[Jmray3]

I don’t see how you are getting that. We have a 2021 Tiguan AWD and a 2021 Jetta SEL so basically the same engines and the Jetta gets 8-15 mpg better depending on type of trip.

90% of my commuting is interstate. I had the Taos (awd) and this Tig (awd) on Eco mode with the adaptive cruise control. I expected better mpg out of the Taos. My 2019 Jetta got over 40mpg combined

 

[Jake Barnett]

I seriously was looking at an out the door price of $2000 for a difference. I was looking to purchase an SUV, coming from a 2019 Jetta SEL. I just felt extremely unsettled knowing that I paid the price I did and still did not get all the features that I feel like should have been included on the highest trim level. I’ve had this vehicle since Friday, my estimated mpg is 34. Ironically my mpg on the Taos for the three months that I had it maintained at 30mpg.

That's oddly low mileage for a Taos. I drive about 15 miles to work, about 90% on the interstate, and I've never averaged less than 37mpg for a week's commute. Also Taos SEL AWD.

I took a couple of longer drives on the interstate and got close to 40 if I stayed under 80mph. Not sure how to explain a 30mpg average unless you have significant elevation changes that drag your average down significantly.

 

[Jmray3]

That's oddly low mileage for a Taos. I drive about 15 miles to work, about 90% on the interstate, and I've never averaged less than 37mpg for a week's commute. Also Taos SEL AWD.

I took a couple of longer drives on the interstate and got close to 40 if I stayed under 80mph. Not sure how to explain a 30mpg average unless you have significant elevation changes that drag your average down significantly.

My thought exactly. I expected better than 30mpg. Always drove in Eco mode too. No significant elevation, nothing.

 

[Jake Barnett]

When VW dropped the SEL Premium Tiguan and moved most of the features into the 2022 SEL for $5000 less, the SEL became a good deal.

I think VW dropped the ball on pricing of the Taos SEL vs the missing features atop trim should have.

I think the pricing is relative to the market you live in.

I was able to get my Taos SEL 4Motion at below MSRP back in March.

The same dealer is trying to sell the same vehicle for 5000 more than I paid for it less than 3 months later. Tiguans seem to be even lower in stock and availability, and are selling for 9k more than what I paid for the Taos SEL. Can't even get an Tiguan SEL at this point for less than $45k.

I drove them both at the time of purchase, and went with the Taos because of nimbler handling, better fuel economy, and the ability to park more comfortably in my employer's parking garage. I might have considered the Tiguan more closely if VW hadn't enlarged it to the point where it became a hassle if you drive and park regularly in the downtown areas of a major city.

 

[Jmray3]

I think the pricing is relative to the market you live in.

I was able to get my Taos SEL 4Motion at below MSRP back in March.

The same dealer is trying to sell the same vehicle for 5000 more than I paid for it less than 3 months later. Tiguans seem to be even lower in stock and availability, and are selling for 9k more than what I paid for the Taos SEL. Can't even get an Tiguan SEL at this point for less than $45k.

I drove them both at the time of purchase, and went with the Taos because of nimbler handling, better fuel economy, and the ability to park more comfortably in my employer's parking garage. I might have considered the Tiguan more closely if VW hadn't enlarged it to the point where it became a hassle if you drive and park regularly in the downtown areas of a major city.

I was able to purchase my Taos at MSRP the end of February as well as this Tiguan at MSRP. Going from driving a sedan for 10 years to the Taos, in regards to parking, that 360 camera on the Tig is a game changer. It really came down to the fact that the Taos was missing a lot of features that make sense on a top trim level suv model. I agree that it does have to do with your local market in regards to pricing. The fact that it was only a $2000 difference OTD for me, made my decision even easier. The gain of a powerlift gate, parallel park assist, 360 camera, memory seats was enough to justify the 2k. And like I mentioned I was not getting great gas mileage on the Taos. I don’t know if it was my specific vehicle or other factors causing that, but I’ve been getting more mpg on the Tig.

 

[Jake Barnett]

I was able to purchase my Taos at MSRP the end of February as well as this Tiguan at MSRP. Going from driving a sedan for 10 years to the Taos, in regards to parking, that 360 camera on the Tig is a game changer. It really came down to the fact that the Taos was missing a lot of features that make sense on a top trim level suv model. I agree that it does have to do with your local market in regards to pricing. The fact that it was only a $2000 difference OTD for me, made my decision even easier. The gain of a powerlift gate, parallel park assist, 360 camera, memory seats was enough to justify the 2k. And like I mentioned I was not getting great gas mileage on the Taos. I don’t know if it was my specific vehicle or other factors causing that, but I’ve been getting more mpg on the Tig.

Yeah, that 30mpg average with 90% highway driving is a real head scratcher. Almost makes me wonder if you had some kind of timing issue from the factory or something. You probably made the right call in swapping out.

 

[CorradoG60]

Yeah, that 30mpg average with 90% highway driving is a real head scratcher. Almost makes me wonder if you had some kind of timing issue from the factory or something. You probably made the right call in swapping out.

Yes. 90% highway in eco should be 35-45mpg depending on the weather and traffic.
Using ACC should even make it better.

 

[CorradoG60]

I think the pricing is relative to the market you live in.

I was able to get my Taos SEL 4Motion at below MSRP back in March.

The same dealer is trying to sell the same vehicle for 5000 more than I paid for it less than 3 months later. Tiguans seem to be even lower in stock and availability, and are selling for 9k more than what I paid for the Taos SEL. Can't even get an Tiguan SEL at this point for less than $45k.

I drove them both at the time of purchase, and went with the Taos because of nimbler handling, better fuel economy, and the ability to park more comfortably in my employer's parking garage. I might have considered the Tiguan more closely if VW hadn't enlarged it to the point where it became a hassle if you drive and park regularly in the downtown areas of a major city.

No, I mean the 2021 SEL Premium had an MSRP of over $42000. They moved almost all the features into the 2022 SEL for $37000, when the 2021 SEL cost nearly that without the features.
I had ordered a 2021 SEL premium with 3rd row seat and when it finally arrived in June the dealer said MSRP or no deal. The lease would have been ridiculous, more than a MB or BMW. We walked, and they listed it for $5000 over sticker.
We ended up getting an Atlantic Blue/Grey AWD 3row SE that we love (what we had originally planned to order before we splurged on the SELP), even though it misses a couple features our 2018 FWD SEL had. Had to fly across the state to buy it and it drive it home 6 hours, but got such a good deal it was well worth it.

 

[Jake Barnett]

No, I mean the 2021 SEL Premium had an MSRP of over $42000. They moved almost all the features into the 2022 SEL for $37000, when the 2021 SEL cost nearly that without the features.
I had ordered a 2021 SEL premium with 3rd row seat and when it finally arrived in June the dealer said MSRP or no deal. The lease would have been ridiculous, more than a MB or BMW. We walked, and they listed it for $5000 over sticker.
We ended up getting an Atlantic Blue/Grey AWD 3row SE that we love (what we had originally planned to order before we splurged on the SELP), even though it misses a couple features our 2018 FWD SEL had. Had to fly across the state to buy it and it drive it home 6 hours, but got such a good deal it was well worth it.

I'm glad you got a decent deal. When I was in the market back in March, dealers were just starting to add "Market Adjustments" in my area. The Tiguan had already been raised well over MSRP, and I managed to snag a Taos SEL for under sticker because I had secured my own financing and walked in with cash in hand.

Now, just a few months later. Taos SEL's like mine are 40k and the Tiguan SEL R-Line is 46k. These cars just aren't worth that much.

 

[CorradoG60]

I'm glad you got a decent deal. When I was in the market back in March, dealers were just starting to add "Market Adjustments" in my area. The Tiguan had already been raised well over MSRP, and I managed to snag a Taos SEL for under sticker because I had secured my own financing and walked in with cash in hand.

Now, just a few months later. Taos SEL's like mine are 40k and the Tiguan SEL R-Line is 46k. These cars just aren't worth that much.

Nope, they aren’t. The only way you make out at all is if you have a trade-in since they are also worth too much.
We sold our 2018 Tiguan to our local dealer for $2000 more than our lease residual even though the lease was extended 6 months and due to expire in 2 days. And that wasn’t even as part of a new car purchase. Just gave me a check for $2000 after we had some warranty repairs done (seat material split). Applied that to the new Tiguan lease at the other dealer.

When I bought the Jetta SELP from that same local dealer the month before, they didn’t go much below MSRP, but gave me nearly $5000 in equity on my leased 2017 Alltrack! And considering I got a massive deal on it when it was a leftover ($7000 under MSRP) it was a great car at an adjusted lease cost of $185 a month…

 

[Taos619]

Crazy, how does the tax/Regis. fees factor play into the equation. In Cali that would be 3,500 in fees for the Taos , and another 3,700 for the Tig, that’s 7k in “fees” that aren’t directly accounted for in the dollar amount of the car price but that are billed out through the transactions.

 

[Jmray3]

Crazy, how does the tax/Regis. fees factor play into the equation. In Cali that would be 3,500 in fees for the Taos , and another 3,700 for the Tig, that’s 7k in “fees” that aren’t directly accounted for in the dollar amount of the car price but that are billed out through the transactions.

I have a decent relationship with a salesman local to me who I have bought from before and I told him what I wanted for my trade and what I was willing to pay, within reason of course (do your research). I know its different at all dealerships, for me all we discuss is out the door price on the new vehicle and your trade value. I had less than $500 in "fees" listed on the sale sheet. Taxes, title, etc. I have never paid fee amount like you mentioned. When I purchased the Taos I did have to get my tag swapped and that was $270, when I swapped it again to the Tiguan it was $31. When it comes to taxes when purchasing a new vehicle, having a trade makes a huge difference. You end up only paying taxes on the difference between the trade-in value and the new vehicle price. -Alabama