Volkswagen has just revealed a new budget-friendly Sport trim of one of its most popular vehicles. It will give you several sport-themed enhancements while being easy on budget-conscious buyers. That's not something so easily accomplished these days.No, it's not the Polo GTI that VW is keeping for Europe. Nor is it a tweaked Jetta, which is VW's cheapest new vehicle available in the US. The upgrades come to the 2027 Taos compact crossover. Let's take a closer look. Taos Gets A Little More Sport Volkswagen The Volkswagen Taos was given a working over in 2025 that delivered new styling, a more powerful engine, and upgraded equipment, so for 2026 it left well enough alone. Volkswagen isn't going to do the same this year, though, especially with Taos being one of the company's best-selling vehicles. Through the first quarter of 2026, it's neck-and-neck with Atlas for the top spot, so keeping it fresh is important.That freshening comes by way of the new Sport trim. Just like with the Jetta, and in contrast to the also-sporty R-Line grades, this one sits near the bottom of the lineup, just above the basic S model.Sport comes standard with black-finish 18-inch wheels as well as roof rails and a rear spoiler. If you wanted wheels that tall on the Taos last year, you needed to pony up for the top-spec SEL trim level and its near-$36,000 price tag. If you're wondering why the wheels in the images are shiny, it's because VW hasn't snapped any pictures of the new trim level just yet (we asked). So we've included the 2025 model year SEL instead because most everything else is still the same.The wheels and spoiler you can't see aren't the only Sport details outside. VW adds a black 4Motion badge on the back, along with gloss black mirror caps and has refinished the front bumper trim, rear skid plate, and the exhaust tips in a gunmetal look. It's basically your typical blackout package the buyers so dearly love. The 1.5-liter turbo-four is the same as the others, including its 174 horsepower.Hop inside the Taos Sport and you won't find the red stitching of that GTI. Instead you'll get black cloth seats with logo embossing and yellow interior stitching. Tinted rear glass is also part of the mix, a feature standard on SE but not the S.If you still want the basic S model, Volkswagen is giving that one some upgrades as well. It will get the Composition Media infotainment system, which is a very dull way to say it gets two more speakers, voice commands, satellite radio, and offers Premium Speech with AI. It also gets VW's keyless entry system and some tweaks to the rear seat belt reminder. 2027 Taos, Other VWs Will Arrive Later This year Volkswagen Expect the 2027 Taos to arrive at dealers in August, but it won't be the only 2027 VW showing up with mild changes. The Golf GTI adds automatic high beams and keyless access to the base S model, for a start. The Golf R will offer a Euro Style package with sports seats instead of a sunroof and an Akrapovic titanium exhaust.Jetta models for 2027 will get the new stereo with extra speakers on S and Sport, and will have keyless access and push-button start on both. Volkswagen has tweaked the rear cameras on the Tiguan for 2027 for better image quality, and the SE R-Line Black gets a standard heated wheel.We've already covered the VW models with more substantial changes. The Atlas has been redesigned completely with new cabins, new tech, and a new engine, and VW will announce more details about the two-row Atlas Cross Sport later this year.The ID. Buzz has the biggest changes, since it didn't exist for 2026. We've gone through the changes to that one already, including the new Tourer camping van. Expect pricing for these 2027 VW models shortly before they show up at dealers.
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