The “biggest leap forward” for VW’s flagship SUV.
You might not have realised it, but Volkswagen’s range-topping SUV, the Touareg, has actually been with us for quite a while. The third generation of the Wolfsburg all-terrain barge made its debut at a standalone event in Beijing, where it wowed the crowds with its bold styling, innovative technology, and clear upmarket pretensions.
“The new Touareg sets a benchmark at the top of the automotive world, and shows what VW can do in terms of design and technology. It is a reflection of our brand.” — Chairman, Board of Management, Volkswagen
Despite being a global model, the third-generation Touareg is the first time that VW is putting a heavy emphasis on the Chinese market and their tastes, which is entirely understandable given the enormity of the market itself and the potential that the Touareg has to dominate the space there. As such, the Touareg’s new design is far more bold and distinctive, with plenty of small styling details like the complicated light signatures (front and rear), the generous lashings of chrome, and hidden driver assistance sensors.
That said, as you move from nose to tail, it becomes clear that VW may have pandered to China to a degree, but restraint was exercised to ensure that the Touareg remained competitive globally. That is evident in the clean profile of the Touareg, which retains the recognisable VW windowline, as well as the rear, which is positively minimalist in comparison to the front.
Motivation for the Touareg comes from a pair of 3.0 V6 turbodiesel mills at launch, with 170kW and 210kW power outputs. Following these two will be a 3.0 V6 petrol (250kW) and a 4.0 V8 turbodiesel (310kW). All cars will get an eight-speed automatic gearbox, with 4Matic all-wheel drive. Aiding the drivability of the new Touareg are things like active roll compensation, which adjusts the roll bars to ensure a smoother ride through corners. There’s also air-suspension on all-four corners, as well as four-wheel steering, the latter a first for the Touareg.
The new Touareg has grown quite a bit. It’s now 77mm longer than the outgoing car (total 4878mm), 44mm wider (total 1984mm), though it sits some 7mm lower (total 1702mm). Behind the rear seats you’ll find a cavernous 810L of space, up 113L over the outgoing car.
We could talk about the improved cabin space as a result of the Touareg’s growth (it’s really big in there), but they’d much rather make noise about their new infotainment displays. Dubbed the ‘Innovision Cockpit,’ the Touareg packs a 15-inch widescreen infotainment screen, that works in tandem with a 12.3-inch digital instrument display ahead of the driver. VW says that the system is so customisable that customers can turn a Touareg “into their Touareg” by customising every damned thing in it, on it, and around it.
But not to worry, there are still anologue controls for “frequently used” switches, like audio volume and the like.
As with any new car, the Touareg comes chock-full of advanced driver assistance technology, with features like traffic-jam assist, lane-keeping aid, autonomous emergency braking, night-vision camera, and a driver drowsiness alert. LEDs provide lighting all round the exterior and interior, while the cabin can also be bathed in natural light thanks to the 1270mm panoramic sunroof.
The new Volkswagen Touareg is confirmed for arrival here in Australia by the second quarter of 2019, likely with a mostly-diesel lineup, and maybe the V6 petrol if we’re lucky. Local spec and pricing will be announced closer to the point of launch, so stay tuned to CarShowroom as we bring you updates as they come.
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