The effect of the vanadium doping of cryptomelane K_xMn₈O₁₆ nanorods (200 × 10 nm) on bridging the tight-loose contact temperature gap in NO-assisted catalytic soot oxidation was investigated. Catalysts with 0–20% vanadium content were synthesized and characterized in terms of chemical composition, structure, and morphology by means of XRF, XRD, XPS, RS, and TEM/EDX/SAED. Based on three catalyst surface–soot particles contact modes of catalytic measurements (tight contact, loose contact, and contactless), it was found that the incorporation of vanadium into the cryptomelane framework substantially increases the deSoot activity by promoting beneficial NO oxidation into NO₂, with the strongest effect observed for 2.5% vanadium doping. The mechanistic role of NO in the kinetic coupling between ignition, catalytic combustion, and thermal afterburning is revealed, and the role of NO₂ acting as an oxygen carrier from the catalyst to soot particles allows for the rationalization of the observed catalyst performance (lowering the temperature of 50% conversion in loose contacts by ∼100 °C). The results are discussed in terms of the catalyst–soot interface model, where a gradual loss of contact points during the combustion process (passing from tight to loose contacts) is substantially compensated by the in situ generation of NO₂ controlled by the vanadium doping of the cryptomelane nanorods.