• Innovision Cockpit is easier to use than other VW systems
• Well-equipped and packed with tech
• Build and trim quality behind the class best

How is the quality and layout?

Compared to the exterior changes, the interior upgrades are quite mild. There’s new stitching on the top of the doors with squishier armrests underneath, and some padded kneepads on the centre console. It’s a welcome lift in quality, but the Touareg’s interior still isn’t as welcoming as a BMW X5‘s or Audi Q7‘s.

The controls for drive mode, suspension (on air-sprung models) and stereo volume are all physical and on the centre console, but virtually everything else is controlled by the touchscreen.

Infotainment and tech

Your view from behind the wheel is dominated by what VW calls its Innovision Cockpit set-up. It’s a pair of screens running from the instrument binnacle and right across the dash. The main touchscreen is a whopping 15.0-inches while the driver’s display is 12.0-inches. This seemed unusual back in 2018, but predicted the button-lite interiors we’re now seeing.

Thankfully there aren’t any non-illuminated temperature or volume controls like initial versions of the ID.4, and there are a few physical controls, too. The menus are reasonably easy to fathom and the responses of both systems are good. The driver’s display is trickier to navigate thanks to new touch-sensitive steering wheel controls, but is clear and displays loads of useful info.

Tiles can be personalised easily to arrange your key data into sections. Because of the acreage, virtual function buttons are easy to access without the need to guide your finger home. On top of this, the Touareg offers a head-up display, Night Vision (displayed on-screen) and new matrix LED headlights, which Volkswagen claims are the most advanced it has fitted to any car.

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Comfort

• Engines quiet at a cruise
• Seats are well-shaped and supportive
• Wind and road noise well contained

The overall refinement and low levels of mechanical noise are what dominate your first impressions, and that colour your overall perception of the comfort of the car. Up front, the driver’s seat is supportive and large, and comes with a massive range of adjustment.

We raise this point because on a car that’s tuned for cosseting motorway driving, this is very clearly important. With not much wind or road noise either, the Touareg is in its element here. You do hear and feel the engine at idle and they can sound a bit strained when pushed, though.