Welcome to Autodrivel

VW Taigo CS1, aka the VW Polo X6. It's hard to believe that VW would make such a cool car and deviate from the traditional and conservative style that they're known for, but I've also seen things that are harder to believe.

The VW Taigo CS1 is probably the best VW that you haven't heard of and that the market certainly hasn't heard of either because it was a slow seller. This is because VW did not take seriously the words of the market and they just built a compact cross-over just because pretty much everyone had a compact cross-over so they had to have someone present at the stall.

So just like Suzuki and Mitsubishi, VW occasionally launches good cars but forgets to advertise them, but for different reasons, because VW actually thought they were so good that people will buy from them no matter what, only that the recent years have shown us that VW is not exactly the Apple of the automotive world.

So what's the deal with the Taigo?

• The Taigo is built on the same platform as the Polo and sits halfway between the T Cross and the T roc, both in terms of size and price. Yes, the Polo derived interior does not convince me that this car is from 2020, but the exterior is closer to 2020 and it is one of the better-looking VWs of our time.


• It is however larger than a T Cross and just a bottle of Mich Golden's worth smaller than T Roc and the price is also sitting in the middle of the center. Except that in T Cross the boot is really there so you can't say that the car doesn't have a boot, and in the case of Taigo you can put more than one Vanilla Ice CD.


• And now back to the price, because a Taigo starts at 20,000 GBP for a manual and 23,000 GBP for an automagic DSG, which is not bad for the industry average and is surprisingly cheap for VW. Unfortunately, I cannot say much about the used market at the moment because the sales are weaker than any 30 years old, the morning after a proper drink out.

VW Taigo CS1 Engines

Petrol

• 1.0 TSI EA211 of 95, 110, 120 and 130 horsepower - Probably all the engine you need because otherwise it becomes too expensive for what the Taigo should stand for. A modern engine that only suffers from oil incontinence and realistically, the 110 horsepower versions and up are enough for the Taigo.


• 1.5 TSI EA211 of 150 horsepower - Not. At the time I wrote this article, a new Taigo with this engine started at 27,000 GBP and the cheapest used Taigo 1.5 TSI on mobile.de costs 23,500 euros. Plus it suffers from the same oil and DSG problems that this engine is used to.

VW Taigo CS1 Reliability Issues

• The infotainment is taken directly from the Polo and will make you climb up the wall, but atleast you got something.


• It's a Polo X6, but more akin to a Polo than to an X6, so you won't have much in the way of standard equipment or options such as diesel or hybrid engines, and the 4×4 is out of the question. But if you don't care about these things, and you shouldn't care when you're looking for a Taigo, you're good.

VW Taigo CS1 Verdict

It didn't necessarily sell well and I don't understand why. It's a VW, it looks good and it's affordable. Yes, the interior is as outdated as the septic tank from which I am writing this review. Yes, it has a 1.0 petrol engine, but that's what almost the entire car market in this segment offers anyway. So it's definitely worth taking a look at the Taigo, especially if you're currently looking at the Captur or the Kona, and you're the sort of person who wants something simple and cheap, but which also has a slight degree of snobbery. Otherwise, I sincerely recommend to go for the Arona or the Duster.

Which engines do I recommend? You don't have hybrids, you don't have diesels, and the 1.5 TSI is rare and expensive. So the 1.0 TSI is all the engine you need, regardless of the power output.