Facelifted SUV shows its hand in lower-rung plug-in hybrid guise
WILL RIMELL
TESTED 18.2.24, GLOUCESTERSHIRE ON SALE NOW
Five years after the launch of the third-generation Touareg, Volkswagen has refreshed its flagship as it looks to keep pace with rivals such as the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE. We have previously reviewed the diesels and the top-rung plug-in hybrid Touareg R, but have now spent some more time in the standard eHybrid.
It’s available in Elegance trim only and uses the same set-up as the £80,370 R – a 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine paired with a gearbox-mounted electric motor – but with a lower system output of 375bhp (compared with the R’s 455bhp). Both hybrids retain the same 14.3kWh battery as before, bucking a trend from rivals that have gained increased capacity as part of recent facelifts – the X5 and GLE now offer 25.7kWh and 31.2kWh respectively.
We found that the diesel Touareg continued to offer fantastic comfort, performance and luxury befitting its flagship status, and that’s also true of the eHybrid.
What is disappointing is the Touareg’s electric performance. On the one hand, the SUV showed decent efficiency on medium-length journeys with a full battery (highs of 60-70mpg), but the battery depleted at a rather alarming rate, leaving longer runs an economical challenge and raising questions about Volkswagen’s choice to not upgrade that tiny ba
