Volkswagen Touareg review – sublime interior but sedate to drive

Verdict – is the Volkswagen Toureg a good car?

If you want a comfortable and luxurious SUV, the Touareg’s excellent interior will certainly be up to scratch. However, some may find it difficult to resist the allure of brands with a bit more of an established prestige image in this part of the market. It’s unfortunate there’s no option of seven seats given its size, and we’d like to see a wider choice of engines. As it is, the Touareg is likely to remain a niche pick in the UK, which is a shame given some of its impressive abilities.

Volkswagen Toureg models, specs and alternatives

​​Sitting at the top of VW’s extensive range of SUVs is its flagship, the Touareg. Although the car has been around since 2002, it is now in its third generation and now has a look that brings it into line with the rest of the VW range, albeit with a more upmarket look than some of the brand’s numerous other SUVs. Some buyers might gasp at the Touareg’s starting price of just over £68k, and top-of-the-line R models begin from just under £81k before options.

The Touareg has since been joined by mid-size SUVs like the Tiguan, seven-seat Tiguan Allspace and entry-level Volkswagen T-Roc and T-Cross crossovers, plus electric ones. To give the Touareg room to breathe, it’s been made more premium, with powerful engines, slick technology and high-quality materials.

That seems like a brave move, particularly as it puts the Touareg in direct competition with such desirable machines as the Range Rover Sport, Mercedes GLE and BMW X5, as well as the Volvo XC90. The Audi Q5, Q7 and Q8 are arguably its rivals, too – especially as the latter two share their mechanical underpinnings with the Touareg. Their list prices aren’t too disparate when you compare engines and trims like for like, but ultimately the Volkswagen is offered on some very compelling PCP deals.

As a result of the redesign, the Touareg is wider, longer and slightly lower than previous iterations, giving it a more athletic look. As with other flagship models from the Volkswagen Group, it also features a prominent grille and lashings of chrome to make it look both distinctive and expensive. A facelift in 2023 brought even sharper design, with a bolder front end and a fashionable horizontal light bar at the back.

Those bigger dimensions also mean there’s plenty of space inside for adults to stretch out, although there's no seven-seat option here, with the focus on luxury instead of maximum practicality. That’s out of kilter with most of its rivals and may be a drawback for some, although the good news is that there's a massive 810-litre boot and a heavy-duty 3.5-tonne towing capacity nonetheless. Clever tech like Trailer Assist makes reversing a caravan or horsebox an easier job, too.

Despite its load-carrying credentials, enthusiastic drivers will be pleased to know the Touareg shares its basic underpinnings with the Porsche Cayenne, Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus, with some of the magic of those three sprinkled on the more affordable VW. Clever active suspension, where fitted, counters body lean for improved composure compared to the previous models, while the engine and automatic gearbox are well suited to the type of cruising most SUV drivers will want to do – even if the big wheels mean the ride can feel quite firm at times. Smaller-wheeled cars (the most basic version comes on 20-inch wheels) ride much more comfortably, even on the basic steel-sprung car, which does without the air suspension of posher models. In fact, a car with spring suspension and 20s will be comfier than one with air suspension and 21s.

Buyers have plenty of trims to choose from in the standard Touareg range; in the past, those have included SE, SEL, R-Line Tech and R-Line Tech Plus, but since the 2023 facelift, only Elegance, Black Edition and R trims are available.

The sporty Volkswagen Touareg R is the range-topper. It’s the first R-badged VW to feature electrification; it’s actually a plug-in hybrid. Fittingly, the R is still the most powerful version, with 456bhp at your disposal and a 0-62mph time of just 5.1 seconds. It feels very heavy due to the hybrid components, while the air suspension is unchanged compared to the Black Edition model’s. Perhaps more importantly, you can get the same engine in a Porsche Cayenne for slightly less money. As a result, the ‘R’ treatment doesn’t really work on something this size, and the Touareg R is likely to remain a rare sight on UK roads.

All petrol, diesel and hybrid models use 3.0-litre V6 engines and send power through an eight-speed auto gearbox and 4Motion four-wheel drive system. Most Touaregs will be bought with diesel engines (these have either 228bhp or 282bhp, and are smooth and quiet), although the sole pure-petrol option, which makes 335bhp, makes an appealing choice for anyone with a lower annual mileage. So does a lower-powered plug-in hybrid version, which uses a greatly toned-down version of the R’s power train, with 375bhp instead of the full-fat R’s 456bhp. No Touareg is slow, with even the least powerful diesel doing 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds, while the R can crack that milestone in just 5.1 seconds. Be prepared for some fairly horrendous fuel bills with use like that, though.

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The interior really steals the show, thanks to VW's fantastic 'Innovision Cockpit', featured for the first time in the new Touareg. It sees the dashboard heavily angled towards the driver, with a 12-inch digital instrument cluster appearing to flow into a 15-inch central infotainment panel. This is meant to be customised by each user like a smartphone, with drag-and-drop tiles of information and various car settings assigned to your 'driver profile'. Not only does it look great, it’s intuitive and responsive to use. On older Touaregs it was standard from R-Line Tech upwards, or optional on other trim levels. After the 2023 facelift, it was standard across the range. The whole interior feels beautifully built, placing the Touareg ahead of many rivals.