Compare the2026 Volkswagen TaosVS 2025 Jeep Compass

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Model Availability

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volkswagen Taos 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 Jeep Compass doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Taos deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Taos’ side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Compass’ side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The Taos has a standard Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Compass doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Taos SE/SEL has standard Maneuver Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Compass doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Both the Taos and Compass have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Taos has Rear Traffic Alert (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Compass’ Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Taos and the Compass have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.

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

	Taos	Compass
	Driver
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	32%	41%
Neck Stress	413 lbs.	445 lbs.
Neck Compression	28 lbs.	38 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	103/74 lbs.	326/489 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.7 inches	.8 inches
Neck Stress	135 lbs.	235 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 Volkswagen Taos is safer than the Jeep Compass:

	Taos	Compass
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.6 inches	.8 inches
Abdominal Force	115 lbs.	134 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	673 lbs.	928 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	338	355

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

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Volkswagen Taos is safer than the Compass:

	Taos	Compass
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Structure	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Torso Max Deflection	1.18 in	1.3 in
Torso Deflection Rate	8 MPH	9 MPH
Pelvis Force	1406 lbs.	1517 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Compression	112 lbs.	223 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	1.65 in	2.13 in
Shoulder Force	312 lbs.	491 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.54 in	1.77 in
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	781 lbs.	937 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Taos, with its four-star roll-over rating, is 3% to 5.7% less likely to roll over than the Compass, which received a three-star rating.

Warranty

The Taos comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Compass’ 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Taos’ corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Compass’ (7 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Volkswagen vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Volkswagen 1 place higher in reliability than Jeep.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Taos gets better mileage than the Compass:

			MPG
Taos
	FWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	28 city/36 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	25 city/33 hwy
Compass
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/32 hwy

The Taos AWD’s standard fuel tank has a gallon more fuel capacity than the Compass (14.5 vs. 13.5 gallons).

The Taos has a standard locking fuel door with a power remote release convenient to the driver. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Compass. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volkswagen Taos higher (7 out of 10) than the Jeep Compass (6). This means the Taos produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Compass every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Taos’ front brake rotors are larger than those on the Compass:

	Taos	Compass
Front Rotors	12.3 inches	12 inches

The Taos stops much shorter than the Compass:

	Taos	Compass
70 to 0 MPH	176 feet	195 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	127 feet	144 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	134 feet	151 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Taos 4Motion®’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Compass Trailhawk’s standard 65 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Taos’ wheelbase is 1.7 inches longer than on the Compass (105.5 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Taos is 1.1 inches wider in the front and .4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Compass.

The Taos SEL 4Motion® handles at .85 G’s, while the Compass Sport pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Taos SEL 4Motion® executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.2 seconds quicker than the Compass Trailhawk (27.4 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 29.6 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Taos 4Motion®’s turning circle is .5 feet tighter than the Compass Trailhawk’s (34.8 feet vs. 35.3 feet). The Taos’ turning circle is 1.2 feet tighter than the Compass 4x4 Sport/Latitude/Limited’s (35.1 feet vs. 36.3 feet).

Chassis

The Volkswagen Taos may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 400 pounds less than the Jeep Compass.

Passenger Space

The Taos has 1.5 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more rear headroom and .1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Compass.

The front step up height for the Taos is 2.9 inches lower than the Compass (16.5” vs. 19.4”). The Taos’ rear step up height is 4 inches lower than the Compass’ (16.7” vs. 20.7”).

Cargo Capacity

The Taos has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Compass with its rear seat up (27.9 vs. 27.2 cubic feet). The Taos has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Compass with its rear seat folded (65.9 vs. 59.8 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Taos easier. The Taos’ cargo hatch lift-over height is 27 inches, while the Compass’ liftover is 31.1 inches.

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

	Taos	Compass
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	34.3”/65.2”	32.4”/65.7”
Max Width	48.5”	53.8”
Min Width	40”	38.1”
Height	37”	29.6”

Ergonomics

The Taos’ front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Compass’ rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

On a hot day the Taos’ driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Compass can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Taos’ 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 Compass’ standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the Taos to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Compass doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The Compass Latitude/Trailhawk/Limited’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Taos SE/SEL’s standard adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

The Taos has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Compass.

Model Availability

The Taos is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Compass doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

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