Compare the2022 Ford EscapeVS 2022 Volkswagen Taos

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Volkswagen Taos doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The Ford Escape has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Taos doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Escape’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Taos.

The Escape SEL/Titanium has standard Parking Sensors to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or, for the Escape Titanium in front of the vehicle. The Taos doesn’t offer a front parking aid.

The Escape has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Taos’ blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Escape has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Taos.

The Escape’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Taos doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Escape and the Taos have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Escape the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 137 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Taos has not been tested, yet.

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Escape 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Taos. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Taos ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Escape’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Taos’ (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are almost 5 times as many Ford dealers as there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Escape’s warranty.

The Escape has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Taos doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 14th in initial quality. With 51 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is ranked 30th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 22nd in reliability. With 33 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is ranked 28th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 2 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The Escape’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 23 more horsepower (181 vs. 158) and 6 lbs.-ft. more torque (190 vs. 184) than the Taos’ 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Escape’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 92 more horsepower (250 vs. 158) and 96 lbs.-ft. more torque (280 vs. 184) than the Taos’ 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Escape is faster than the Volkswagen Taos:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Escape 1.5 Turbo’s fuel efficiency. The Taos doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Escape FWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Taos FWD’s standard fuel tank (14.8 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Escape AWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Taos AWD’s standard fuel tank (15.7 vs. 14.5 gallons).

The Escape has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Taos doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better stopping power the Escape’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Taos:

The Escape stops shorter than the Taos:

For better traction, the Escape has larger tires than the Taos (225/65R17 vs. 215/50R18).

For superior ride and handling, the Ford Escape has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Volkswagen Taos has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The Escape has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Escape flat and controlled during cornering. The Taos 4x2 suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Escape is .5 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Taos.

The Escape Titanium AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Taos SEL (27.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Escape has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Taos (7.3 vs. 6.6 inches), allowing the Escape to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Escape uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Taos doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Escape has 4.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Taos (104 vs. 99.5).

The Escape has 2.3 inches more front legroom, 1.1 inches more front shoulder room, 2.8 inches more rear legroom and .8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Taos.

The Escape has a much larger cargo volume than the Taos with its rear seat up (37.5 vs. 27.9 cubic feet).

The Escape’s cargo area is larger than the Taos’ in almost every dimension:

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Escape offers an optional power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or optionally by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The Taos doesn’t offer a power liftgate.

The Escape has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The Taos has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Escape uses the AdvanceTrac® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Taos doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

When three different drivers share the Escape (except S/SE), the optional memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for all three. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Taos doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Escape (except S/SE)’s optional easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Taos doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Escape Titanium offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Taos doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Escape SEL/Titanium’s exterior PIN entry system. The Taos doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Escape’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Taos’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Escape has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Taos only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

Both the Escape and the Taos offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Escape offers optional rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Taos doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Escape Titanium’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Taos doesn’t offer an automated parking system.