Volkswagen Taigo vs T-Cross – which is best?

The Volkswagen Taigo and T-Cross have different silhouettes but a lot of similarities – not all that surprising when both are based on the Volkswagen Polo.

That’s an excellent starting point, and both of these cars share and improve on the Polo’s numerous qualities. The Taigo and T-Cross are great small SUVs, but which should you buy?

Volkswagen Taigo vs T-Cross compared

Styling

This is arguably the main difference between the Taigo and T-Cross. The Taigo is a longer car with a coupe-like sloping roofline, whereas the T-Cross is boxier and more compact. The T-Cross has silver bumper inserts that make it look like a butch 4x4.

As it’s bigger and has a window behind the rear doors, the Taigo looks like a slightly more expensive car than the T-Cross. This is backed up by the fashionable lightbar across the tailgate.

Look closer and you’ll notice a number of shared parts, including the headlight bulbs, door handles and wing mirrors. Many of the paint colours and alloy wheel choices are shared across both cars, too.

Interior and technology

Since its facelift, the T-Cross has a touchscreen that sits proud of the dash, rather than being installed within it (like older T-Crosses and the Taigo). Besides the shape of the screen surround, the interiors are almost identical. The actual screens are the same, running the same infotainment system and featuring the same shortcut keys to jump between features. There are two scroll wheels: one for volume and one for zooming in and out of the sat nav map.

The materials used are functional and durable; there isn’t an awful lot of soft-touch material throughout these cars’ interiors. But the build quality is strong, and the focus on usability makes it easy to use the systems without feeling overwhelmed.

Dimensions and practicality

The Taigo is longer and lower, while the T-Cross is shorter and more upright. That means rear headroom is marginally better in the T-Cross, although both offer plenty for an adult of average height. Legroom is generous enough in both cars, too – provided the T-Cross’ sliding bench is in its rearmost position.

The Taigo’s extra length is most noticeable in the boot; the 440-litre space comfortably beats the Taigo’s 385 litres. It seems strange that the T-Cross is the only one to offer a sliding rear bench, and sliding the bench all the way forwards gives you 445 litres of boot space – but at the total expense of legroom.

Engines and performance

In both of these cars, you can choose:

• A 95hp 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine with a five-speed manual gearbox
• A 110/115hp 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox
• A 150hp 1.5-litre TSI petrol engine with the automatic gearbox

The entry-level 95hp engine will be ideal if you’re mainly going to be around town but, if you drive at motorway speeds on a regular basis, it’s worth upgrading to the more powerful 1.0-litre engine. That's mainly for the extra gear(s), but the extra power also comes in handy. In both cars, the 1.5 petrol is nice but unnecessary, because the 1.0 is more than powerful enough.

According to VW’s data, the Taigo is fractionally more economical than the T-Cross because of its sleeker shape. You’d only notice the difference in a laboratory test, and in real-world driving both are pleasingly good on fuel.

Value

At the time of writing, a brand-new Taigo is a bit cheaper than an equivalent T-Cross on VW’s website. That tends to continue when you compare used T-Cross and used Taigo models – we compared two extremely similar used examples available for sale at Motorpoint and found that the T-Cross was more expensive and higher mileage than the Taigo.

However, the Taigo is a more recent addition to the Volkswagen range. Because the T-Cross has been on sale longer, there are more to choose from and lower starting prices if you’re happy to consider an early T-Cross model.

Which is best?

Both of these cars are excellent small SUVs that are cheap to run and very easygoing. You could flip a coin to decide and you’d probably be happy with whichever way it landed.

But the Taigo edges this comparison, because it offers more boot space than the T-Cross for less money.

For more information on these cars, read our Volkswagen Taigo review and Volkswagen T-Cross review. Made up your mind? Shop used Volkswagen Taigo cars and used Volkswagen T-Cross cars for sale at Motorpoint.