Many had already written off the Touareg years ago. But the top model from Volkswagen will not only remain on offer – this summer there will also be a facelift to make it fit for the years to come.
After the new VW Phaeton, which was largely developed at the time, disappeared from the Wolfsburg-based model range a year before its premiere, the Touareg is the only model in the luxury class. Despite its elegant shape, the Arteon is no more than a chic Passat, if only because of its dimensions and small four-cylinder engines. For years, the Touareg, which is around five meters long, has played the role of Volkswagen’s flagship.
Visually, not much will change as a result of the facelift, but at the front the brother of the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 / Q8 will be given the brand face of the current Volkswagen model family.
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The Toureg already had high-tech LED headlights with a matrix function, but this is something that has been improved here, as has the lighting units at the rear. The front becomes even more self-confident with the revision and the details on the radiator grille and apron are sure to do the luxury SUV good to carry it into the second half of the decade.
The Touareg will also be one of the last diesel-powered VWs by the end of the decade. At prices starting at just over 70,000 euros, the customer can choose between a three-liter common-rail diesel with two output levels of 170 kW / 231 hp and 210 kW / 286 hp and a plug-in hybrid. It remains to be seen whether the 340 kW / 462 hp plug-in hybrid will still be called the Touareg R eHybrid, because the most powerful Touareg has nothing in common with a real sports model.
The sports models in this SUV league usually have at least 550 to 650 hp and therefore the Touareg PHEV is well motorized, but anything but impressively sporty. This role will come to the R version of the Tiguan, which VW is also entering into the race again.
The all-wheel drive Touareg can reach speeds of up to 135 km/h purely electrically. With the facelift, the electric range should increase slightly to over 60 kilometers. There is also a second step when it comes to chassis tuning, operating and driver assistance systems, so that the Touareg does not fall behind the competition – even from the company’s own group.
