Overview

Where once you’d expect a big saloon to top a brand’s range, it’s more frequently an SUV these days. The Volkswagen Touareg is the perfect example, packing the fanciest tech and plushest feel of any car in the lineup. Helped by a facelift in late 2023, it goes tyre-to-tyre with the best large SUVs in the business.

These include competition that’s very close to home, notably the similarly five-seat Porsche Cayenne. There’s also the seven-seat Audi Q7 for those that need even more room. Other seven seaters include the Mercedes GLE, not to mention the BMW X5.

The most obvious changes to the Touareg occur on the outside. A new front and rear bring lightbars and a more aggressive, in your face look, while wheel size increases by an inch across the board.

Inside all models now get a 15.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system and 12.0-inch digital driver’s display. You get HD mapping for the sat nav and the USB ports have switched from A to C. The charge rate has tripled to 45w, so fast charging of compatible devices is possible.

The suspension and stability control gets a tweak, with a new load sensor on the roof to detect a roof rack and how heavy it is. Remote parking via and app is now available as an option, something that could be handy given the size of the Touareg.

If the updates sound reasonably minor, it’s because they are. The engine range is carried over unchanged, meaning a lineup of five powertrains based around a 3.0-litre V6. There are two diesels, one with 231hp and the other with 286hp, a 340hp petrol and two plug-in hybrids. The regular eHybrid gets 381hp and the high-performance R 462hp.

To find out if Volkswagen has done enough to push the Touareg to the top of the pile, read on for our comprehensive review. We’ll tell you how practical it is, how plush it feels and how good it is to drive. You’ll also find out if we’d recommend one of its rivals instead.