Compare the2023 Audi Q3VS 2023 Volkswagen Taos

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The Q3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Taos doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q3 and Taos have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q3 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Taos’ child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Audi Q3 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q3. But it costs extra on the Taos.

The Q3’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Taos.

The Q3 Premium Plus has a standard Top View Camera System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Taos only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the Q3 and the Taos have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The Audi Q3 weighs 479 to 735 pounds more than the Volkswagen Taos. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates the general design of front seat head restraints for their ability to protect front seat occupants from whiplash injuries. The IIHS also performs a dynamic test on those seats with “good” or “acceptable” geometry. In these ratings, the Q3 is safer than the Taos:

	Q3	Taos
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Restraint Design	GOOD	GOOD
Distance from Back of Head	18 mm	38 mm
Dynamic Test Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Seat Design	Pass	Fail
Torso Acceleration	10.6 g’s	13.3 g’s
Neck Force Rating	Low	Low
Max Neck Shearing Force	0	0
Max Neck Tension	147	334

(Lower numerical results are better in all tests.)

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 front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q3 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 134 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Taos was not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2016.

Warranty

The Q3’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the Taos’ (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

Reliability

The Audi Q3’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Taos’ engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Q3’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Taos’ camshafts. If the Taos’ belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Q3 has a standard 680-amp battery. The Taos’ 640-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Q3’s reliability 52 points higher than the Taos.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 17 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

The Q3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 70 more horsepower (228 vs. 158) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 184) than the Taos’ 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Audi Q3 is faster than the Volkswagen Taos:

	Q3	Taos
Zero to 30 MPH	3.2 sec	3.7 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	7.8 sec	9.4 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	4.9 sec	5.9 sec
Quarter Mile	16.1 sec	17.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91 MPH	84 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The Q3 has 2.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Taos FWD’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Q3 has 1.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Taos AWD’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 14.5 gallons).

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q3’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Taos:

	Q3	Taos
Front Rotors	13.4 inches	12.3 inches
Rear Rotors	11.8 inches	10.7 inches
Opt Rear Rotors	12.2 inches

The Q3’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Taos are solid, not vented.

The Q3 stops much shorter than the Taos:

	Q3	Taos
70 to 0 MPH	160 feet	185 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	125 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Q3 has larger standard tires than the Taos (235/55R18 vs. 215/50R18). The Q3’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Taos (255/45R19 vs. 225/45R19).

The Q3’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Taos SEL 4Motion’s 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q3 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Taos S. The Q3’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Taos SEL 4Motion.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Audi Q3 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 Taos 4x2 has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Q3 is .4 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Taos.

The Q3 handles at .91 G’s, while the Taos SEL pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Passenger Space

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Q3’s rear seats recline. The Taos’ rear seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Q3. The Taos doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Q3 has a standard 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.

Towing

The Q3 has a 1500 lbs. towing capacity. The Taos has no towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The Q3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Taos uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Volkswagen. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 32% lower rating, Volkswagen is ranked 28th.

Ergonomics

When different drivers share the Q3, the optional memory seats and mirrors make it convenient. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Taos doesn’t offer a memory system.

If the windows are left open on the Q3 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Taos can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Q3’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Taos’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Q3’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Volkswagen charges extra for heated mirrors on the Taos.

The Q3’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Taos offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Q3 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Taos SEL.

Both the Q3 and the Taos offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Q3 has standard 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.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi Q3, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Volkswagen Taos isn't recommended.

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