Compare the2025 Nissan KicksVS 2024 Volkswagen Taos

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Kicks 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 Kicks 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 Nissan Kicks 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 Kicks SR offers an optional front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Taos doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Kicks SR has a standard Around 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 Kicks’ 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 Kicks 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Kicks 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 Kicks’ corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Taos’ (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 66 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Kicks’ warranty.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Kicks’ 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.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 75 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 68 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 10 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

On the EPA test cycle the Kicks AWD gets better fuel mileage than the Taos 4Motion® (27 city/34 hwy vs. 24 city/32 hwy).

The Kicks 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 Kicks has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Taos doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Kicks 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.

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

For greater off-road capability the Kicks has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Taos (8.4 vs. 7.6 inches), allowing the Kicks to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Kicks is 3.9 inches shorter than the Taos, making the Kicks easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Kicks has a much larger cargo volume than the Taos with its rear seat up (30 vs. 27.9 cubic feet).

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

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

The Nissan Kicks outsold the Volkswagen Taos by 13% during 2023.