Compare the2025 Mazda CX-30VS 2024 Volkswagen Taos

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-30 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Volkswagen Taos doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 CX-30 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.

The Mazda CX-30 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.

The CX-30 has standard Whiplash-Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Taos doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

With its standard Smart Brake Support with Pedestrian Detection, the Mazda CX-30 is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Volkswagen Taos, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

	CX-30	Taos
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
	Crossing Child - DAY
12 MPH	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH	AVOIDED	-9 MPH
	Crossing Adult - NIGHT
12 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
12 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	-14 MPH
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	-14 MPH
	Parallel Adult - NIGHT
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	No Slowing
37 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Brights	2.3 sec	No Warning
37 MPH Low beams	-35 MPH	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Low beams	1.7 sec	No Warning

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-30. But it costs extra on the Taos.

The CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360° View Monitor 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.

The CX-30’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 CX-30 and the Taos have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Volkswagen Taos:

	CX-30	Taos
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	148	285
Neck Injury Risk	26.7%	32%
Neck Stress	216 lbs.	413 lbs.
Neck Compression	18 lbs.	28 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	179	224
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.7 inches
Neck Injury Risk	33.5%	45%
Neck Compression	85 lbs.	207 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	380/386 lbs.	643/432 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Volkswagen Taos:

	CX-30	Taos
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	73	111
Hip Force	275 lbs.	394 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	197	393
Spine Acceleration	60 G’s	69 G’s
Hip Force	525 lbs.	673 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	178	338
Spine Acceleration	30 G’s	46 G’s
Hip Force	583 lbs.	939 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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 CX-30 is safer than the Taos:

	CX-30	Taos
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Restraint Design	GOOD	GOOD
Distance from Back of Head	24 mm	38 mm
Dynamic Test Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Seat Design	Pass	Fail
Torso Acceleration	12.1 g’s	13.3 g’s
Neck Force Rating	Low	Low
Max Neck Shearing Force	0	0

(Lower numerical results are better in all tests.)

The Mazda CX-30 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Taos is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

Warranty

Mazda’s powertrain warranty covers the CX-30 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 CX-30’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Taos’ (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the CX-30’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.

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 CX-30’s reliability 48 points higher than the Taos.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 9 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Mazda higher than Volkswagen.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mazda above average in long-term dependability. With 5 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 2024 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda 20 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

The CX-30’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 33 more horsepower (191 vs. 158) and 2 lbs.-ft. more torque (186 vs. 184) than the Taos’ 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The CX-30’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 92 more horsepower (250 vs. 158) and 136 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 184) than the Taos’ 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Mazda CX-30 4 cyl. is faster than the Volkswagen Taos:

	CX-30	Taos
Zero to 60 MPH	7.8 sec	8.5 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	16.5 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	88.3 MPH	83.9 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the CX-30 with its standard engine gets better fuel mileage than the Taos 4Motion (26 city/33 hwy vs. 24 city/32 hwy).

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the CX-30 (except Turbo)’s fuel efficiency. The Taos doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Brakes and Stopping

The CX-30 stops much shorter than the Taos:

	CX-30	Taos
70 to 0 MPH	177 feet	185 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

The CX-30 2.5 S Premium 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 CX-30 2.5 S Premium executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Taos SEL (27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the CX-30 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Taos (8 vs. 7.6 inches), allowing the CX-30 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Cargo Capacity

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the CX-30 Premium has a standard power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button. The Taos doesn’t offer a power liftgate.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the CX-30 Preferred/Carbon/Premium, the memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for both. Each keyless remote activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Taos doesn’t offer a memory system.

The CX-30 Premium has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning 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.

When the CX-30 Preferred/Carbon/Premium is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Taos’ mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The CX-30’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.

Both the CX-30 and the Taos offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the CX-30 Select/Preferred/Carbon/Premium 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.

Compared to the Volkswagen Taos, the Mazda CX-30 eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its optional integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the rear view mirror.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the CX-30 owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the CX-30 will cost $635 less than the Taos over a five-year period.

The CX-30 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the CX-30 will retain 54.31% to 55.58% of its original price after five years, while the Taos only retains 48% to 51.38%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Mazda CX-30 will be $1242 to $1901 less than for the Volkswagen Taos.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Mazda CX-30, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Volkswagen Taos isn't recommended.

The Mazda CX-30 outsold the Volkswagen Taos by 31% during 2023.