Volkswagen Touareg Car Review

Share This Article

Get the latest industry news
stories into your inbox!

Say hello to…

…the heavily revised Volkswagen Touareg, a large SUV with true off-road capability and a premium feel. Key upgrades include a new infotainment system and improved suspension. The Touareg is also one of the few models on sales to still be available with a diesel engine. Volkswagen offers the large 4×4 with a choice of two diesels, both 3.0-litre engines with either 231hp or 286hp, there’s also 340hp and 381hp 3.0-litre petrol hybrid and plug-in hybrid and a fast 462hp plug-in hybrid which uses the same 3.0-litre petrol engine.

Three trim levels are available, however, they are also linked to particular engines. Both the ‘lower’ powered petrols are available in Elegance trim, the diesels are only available as Black Editions and the top 462hp car is badged R.

Specifications:

Elegance
Black Edition
R

Standard equipment on the Elegance trim level includes 20-inch alloys, auto LED headlights, black roof rails, manual height adjust for front seats, headlight washers, heated front seats, rear view camera, leather upholstery, 4x USB-C ports, 12-inch digital dashboard, 15-inch infotainment touchscreen with satnav, wireless charging, powered tailgate, keyless entry and start, panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control, drive modes, parking sensors front and rear and driver attention alert.

Standard equipment on the Black Edition includes 21-inch alloys, auto LED headlights, black roof rails, powered front seats with memory, headlight washers, heated front seats, surround view camera, leather upholstery, 4x USB-C ports, 12-inch digital dashboard, 15-inch infotainment touchscreen with satnav, wireless charging, powered tailgate, keyless entry and start, panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control, drive modes, parking sensors front and rear, four-zone climate control, air suspension with off-road drive modes and driver attention alert.

Standard equipment on the R version includes 22-inch alloys, auto LED headlights, black roof rails, powered front seats with memory, headlight washers, heated and cooled front seats, surround view camera, leather upholstery, 4x USB-C ports, 12-inch digital dashboard, 15-inch infotainment touchscreen with satnav, wireless charging, powered tailgate, keyless entry and start, panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control, drive modes, parking sensors front and rear, four-zone climate control, air suspension with off-road drive modes and driver attention alert.

Is The Volkswagen Touareg Suitable For My Fleet

While most company car drivers and fleets are choosing electrified cars – and the Touareg is available as a PHEV – there are still some fleets that need the range and towing capacity of a diesel to enable them to cover greater distances on a frequent basis. The obvious downside to the diesel is that it sits in the 37% benefit in kind tax band, so perhaps a cash option is best.

The Touareg can also cover those long distances while carrying five people in total comfort and carry a large amount of luggage. However, it’s worth noting that only non-plug-in versions have the biggest 810 litre boot, buy a PHEV and the battery takes up some of that space, reducing the volume to 665 litres.

Leasing A Volkswagen Touareg

Intelligent Car Leasing is offering the Touareg with the higher powered diesel for £932 a month on a 3+36 contract including 20,000 miles a year. As a comparison, a Range Rover Sport with similar equipment levels on the same contract terms would cost more than £1,500 a month.

Driving A Volkswagen Touareg

Diesel may be out of favour for most fleet applications and but in large SUVs, particularly those that both do high mileage and need to go off-road or tow, it still makes a lot of sense.

And the 3.0-litre diesel in the Touareg is especially suited to the task. First and foremost, refinement is impressive. However, the 286hp version we tested also delivered better fuel consumption than the official figures. 36.3mpg may only be 1mpg better than the WLTP stat, but on long motorway runs we saw the car return well into the mid-40s mpg figures.

The engine and automatic gearbox also delivered the power wonderfully smoothly. Couple this to suspension that in comfort mode actually did what it said and you had near-limo levels of refinement.

The drive and suspension modes also allowed for either a firmer ride and near-sporty behaviour at one end of the spectrum or raised suspension and true off-road ability at the other.

While the Touareg isn’t really a car you’d think of as sporty, it can cover ground quickly if needed without a hint of drama.

Fit a set of all-season tyres and the Touareg would be a car that could do almost every task thrown at it.

Comfortable leather seats and a high-quality interior also help the premium, refined feel to the Touareg.

Using the latest Volkswagen infotainment system means that all the most used controls are easy to find and the screen is crystal clear and quick to respond to inputs.

However, almost the only noticeable negative to the car is that the settings don’t allow for the adaptive cruise control to ignore speed limit signs. In other words, if you use cruise control and then pass a change of speed limit sign, the car will automatically adjust to that speed. This wouldn’t be a problem if the system worked properly. However, it had a tendency to read signs that either didn’t apply or, for instance, were on the back of lorries.

It’s not something that would put you off choosing a Touareg, but it is annoying.

Fortunately the rest of the car just makes long journeys easier.

FleetandLeasing.com Verdict On The Volkswagen Touareg

Less showy than some more obvious choices in the large SUV camp, but just as capable at covering high mileage in total comfort and at a more competitive price.