Compare the2024 Chevrolet TraxVS 2024 Volkswagen Taos

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Trax are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Taos doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Trax and the Taos have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

Chevrolet’s powertrain warranty covers the Trax 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.

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

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Trax has a standard 760-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 Trax’s reliability 69 points higher than the Taos.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet above average in initial quality. With 83 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet above average in long-term dependability. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Volkswagen is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Chevrolet 3 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The Trax 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.

The Trax stops much shorter than the Taos:

For better traction, the Trax has larger standard tires than the Taos (225/60R17 vs. 215/50R18). The Trax RS’ optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Taos (245/45R19 vs. 225/45R19).

The Trax has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Taos doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Trax is 1.6 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Taos.

The Trax ACTIV handles at .84 G’s, while the Taos SEL pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Trax ACTIV executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Taos SEL (27.5 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The front grille of the Trax offers available 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 Trax uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Taos doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Trax has 1.8 inches more front legroom and .8 inches more rear legroom than the Taos.

The Trax’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Taos does not have an oil pressure gauge.

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

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Trax 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.