REVIEW | Latest VW Touareg excels in ride quality and fuel economy

The Volkswagen Phaeton launched in 2002 was a good car that bombed in sales because it had the wrong badge, as well-heeled customers weren’t ready to accept a “Volksie” in the luxury sedan ranks of the Mercedes S-Class and Audi A8.

The Touareg that premiered the same year has been more successful at positioning the VW badge in the executive SUV league and it competes favourably in sales against blue-chip rivals such as the Mercedes-Benz GLE and Audi Q7. The Touareg shares a platform with the Q7 and the Porsche Cayenne.

In August the large VW landed in South Africa with a facelift and an injection of hi-tech as the first refresh since the third-generation Touareg was launched in 2018. The updated Touareg 3.0 V6 is available in two grades: the Elegance, priced at R1,457,900, and the R-Line for R1,763,900, both inclusive of a five-year/100,000km maintenance plan and a three-year/120,000km warranty.

A facelift sees the Touareg getting a sharpened design with a new radiator, headlights and front apron, while the rear end acquires a continuous horizontal LED strip for the tail light clusters and a Volkswagen logo illuminated in red.

The latest tweaks include IQ.Light HD matrix headlights that use interactive LEDs to provide maximum road illumination without blinding other vehicles.

Inside, VW’s executive SUV has an enhanced level of standard equipment, including USB-C connections with charging capacity increased from 15W to 45W for quicker charging of smartphones and other gadgets.

The Innovision Cockpit, comprising a 12” digital instrument panel and 15” infotainment system, has been updated with lane-level navigation and HD map data. The leather-lined cabin has a more premium feel with softer centre console trims and adjustable ambient lighting offers 30 colours.

The Touareg’s high-quality cabin ambience is a match for its more premium-badged German rivals. It has a clean and classy look with an uncluttered dashboard that employs mostly digital — and mostly user-friendly — controls.

The giant infotainment touchscreen has large icons and intuitive menus and the haptic feedback controls on the steering wheel are not as finicky as in some other cars.

The nearly R1.8m price includes a well-stocked list of standard luxuries, including adaptive cruise control, panoramic sunroof, navigation, wireless smartphone charger, four-zone climate control and a parking camera. The sporty R Line has decorative aluminium inserts, brushed stainless steel pedals, black headliner and diamond turned 20” alloy wheels.

The front two seats are electrically adjustable and have heating and cooling functions as part of the highly specced package. The large cabin comfortably takes four to five adults with rear seats that have manually adjustable backrests for comfort and can be slid forward to increase boot space.

The 810l boot is enormous with the aid of a space-saver spare tyre, and the rear seats flip down for bulkier items.

The Touareg is no soft roader and has respectable adventure capabilities by virtue of permanent 4Motion all-wheel drive, hill descent control, a slip-control differential and driving modes for off-road and snow. The 4Motion system maximises traction by continuously adjusting power distribution to the front and rear wheels based on driving conditions. 

While the Touareg Elegance rides on steel suspension with a fixed 215mm ground clearance, the more expensive R-Line has adaptive air suspension that can be adjusted for ride height with a rotary controller in the centre console. The car automatically lowers for better aerodynamics when cruising, but can be lifted to 258mm for improved ground clearance when off-roading. Another rotary controller selects the different road and off-road drive modes.

The R-Line also has all-wheel steering that maximises high-speed stability but reduces the turning circle at low speeds to aid manoeuvrability and parking.

It wafts with comfort on its air suspension, ironing out bumps that would spill the drinks in the cupholders of regular cars. The plush ride is one of the standout features of VW’s SUV and is accompanied by a solid feel and soft-spoken operation. Supplying the power is a hushed 3l V6 turbo diesel that fits in perfectly with the Touareg’s refined nature. With burly outputs of 190kW and 600Nm, throttle inputs elicit a surge of swift and silky power, smoothly managed by an eight-speed auto transmission. The big SUV is brisk off the mark with a 0-100km/h time of 6.5 seconds and runs to a 228km/h top speed.

The effortless performance is accompanied by impressive fuel economy with the test vehicle averaging 7.9l/100km, which matched the factory claim. In an automotive market fast-tracking to EVs and petrol hybrids, diesel still has its day.

The price puts the Touareg into prestige territory but justifiably so. The VW-badged SUV has earned its place in the premium league with its swift, silent and soft-riding driving experience and it isn’t afraid of getting its wheels dirty.

VW Touareg vs rivals:

• VW Touareg V6 TDI R-Line, 190kW/600Nm — R1,763,900
• Land Rover Discovery D350 S, 257kW/700Nm — R1,808,400
• BMW X5 xDrive 30D M Sport, 210kW/650Nm — R1,828,637
• Mercedes-Benz GLE 300d 4Matic AMG Line, 213kW/550Nm — R2,079,297