There may be someone out there who hasn’t kept track of the myriad new brands and model names flooding the car market. Someone, no doubt, distracted by more mundane matters. Like everyday life.
Into the car name carousel comes the Tayron, perhaps christened to attract Tyrone fans with a strong Omagh drawl.
You’ve probably not heard the name, but the format and styling will look familiar. This is yet another crossover created by committee. Clipboard in hand, the public is polled at one end and out the other comes a PowerPoint presentation suggesting a little more rear legroom is needed. And so the Tayron is born.
In the very near future this will all be done by artificial intelligence, sending instructions to automated car plants where the only humans involved are a handful of security guards and electricians.
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But let’s not disappear down that dystopian rabbit hole just yet. After all, we are talking about an SUV crossover, that category of car where charisma takes a career break.
The Tayron is a reproportioned version of the Tiguan. Yes, it’s yet another cookie-cutter crossover SUV from the German brand. In fact, this was the Tiguan Allspace in a previous generation, before someone decided that extra legroom warranted a whole new name.
Which is odd, considering how the Tiguan has carved out a solid spot in the Irish motoring landscape alongside stalwarts such as the Golf. It’s as if the marketing folks at VW were eager to justify their well-paid roles.
As with the old Allspace, the Tayron has seven seats – unless you opt for this plug-in hybrid. So why lose the third row just because you want a plug socket? Blame the underfloor battery pack, which occupies the space where the third row is housed in the diesel version.
That’s a ball dropped badly for a car that’s pitched at space-conscious midsized families, particularly when its Korean counterparts can keep three rows and deliver plug-in hybrid power. But we’ll get back to that in a moment.
Tiguan regulars will need a sharp eye to spot the difference between the cars. Both boast some mildly aggressive SUV traits, with stylish alloys to add a veneer of sportiness. However, from the side profile, the back end of the Tayron has clearly been stretched, particularly the rear overhang.
Behind the wheel, all is very Tiguan. Steering is light, the suspension soft and the drive is composed, competent and rarely challenging, if never enthralling.
Still, it’s easy to handle for its 4.7m size, thanks to the myriad safety features, warnings and cameras.
As for the interior trim, it’s a carbon copy of the Tiguan, with clean lines and sharp tech, a mix of digital screens and, sadly, a limited number of physical buttons.
In the back seat, the Tayron’s extra stretch is evident, even without the third row. This is adult territory, with proper legroom and comfort that’s usually not afforded to midsized crossovers. And, of course, there’s an enormous boot of 705 litres – or up to 850 litres if you go for the seven-seat diesel version.
And that brings us back to the elephant in the boot: the five-seat hybrid versus seven-seat diesel.
Let’s compare like for like: both in R-line 75 trim, both automatic and both loaded with kit.
The seven-seat diesel delivers a bigger boot and two extra seats. If you really need that space and seat format, then the debate probably ends here.
Or rather it trails off down a side road about third-row legroom. The reality is that most of these third rows are little more than a pair of jump seats for primary schoolchildren. And that’s fine while they are in that phase, but children have a terrible habit of growing up – and fast. Before you have clocked up decent mileage, you may well find yourself back on the market.
That’s why, if you really need a practical third row of seats, you are better off biting the bullet and opting for the likes of the VW Multivan. Yes, it’s a pimped-up van, but if you need the space, then stop deluding yourself that you can comfortably carry seven in a sports car.
Seating conundrum aside, we come to the real choice: plug-in petrol hybrid or diesel.
Recent price increases for public EV charging have led to some debate about whether it now costs as much over similar mileage to publicly charge an electric car as it does to run an equivalent diesel car.
This is not quite the same debate, for here you get 100km on EV mode and then the rest on petrol.
The VW Tayron claims EV consumption of 18.9 kWh/100km, which is decent for its size. With the battery discharged, the Germans still claim a respectable 6.3l/100km (44.8mpg) – a figure we bettered in testing, which is rare.
As for the 19.7kWh battery pack, on a typical three-pin home plug, this will take 12 hours to recharge to 100 per cent, but it can do it in just 2½ hours on an 11 kWh home charger.
Against this the diesel claims a fuel economy of 5.8l/100km (49mpg).
If you keep that hybrid battery charged at home and do your driving on battery power, then you are likely to get 100km for less than €6, assuming 30 cent per kWh.
Run your Tayron only on petrol? Then it’s going to cost you about €11. So if you have a PHEV, it pays to plug it in.
In comparison, the diesel model is going to cost €10 over the same 100km. That suggests victory for the plug-in.
To seal the PHEV deal, there are the price savings. The R Line 75 specification PHEV is €60,200, while the same spec diesel is €71,005.
But if you are going for a five-seater, then why not opt for the same spec and PHEV engine set-up in the Tiguan, or its Czech cousin the Skoda Kodiaq, which boasts the same set up and spaciousness as the Tayron?
Valid points, but the equivalent Tiguan is listed at €57,970, while the Kodiaq is €58,400. The extra legroom and boot space is worth the option list increase for the Tayron, while, like it or not, the VW badge arguably carries resale kudos that’s superior to the Skoda.
Even among practically-minded middle-class family car buyers, brand snobbery is still strong and VW carries greater cachet.
Of course, a family-sized crossover is unlikely to truly enthral. And a plug-in hybrid VW crossover with a name that few have heard isn’t going to land you in any motoring debates. This is the oat milk of modern motoring: an eco-friendly, subtly different lifestyle choice.
Yet that fits the bill for many middle-class family motorists who will appreciate the subtle styling, the big boot and legroom and the VW badge. Kudos to the committee, then.
Lowdown: Volkswagen Tayron PHEV 1.5 R Line 75
Power: 1,498cc four-cylinder petrol engine combined with 150kW (204hp) electric motor powered from a 19.7kWh (net) battery pack. Front-wheel drive with six-speed eDSG automatic transmission.
Electric-only range: 116km
Consumption: 18.9kWh/100km on EV-only; 6.3l/100km (44.8mpg) with battery discharged; 0.4l/100km combined (WLTP)
Emissions (motor tax): 11g/km (€140).
Price: €60,405 after grants (Tayron range starts at €56,745 for 7-seat diesel)
Our rating: 3/5
Our verdict: Solid, sensible and best as a five-seat PHEV
