2024 Volkswagen Touareg review

Volkswagen Touareg Cons

Volkswagen is once again nipping at the heels of BMW and Mercedes-Benz with its flagship Touareg SUV.

The big, bad family hauler has been overhauled for 2024 with a new look, even more technology, and a sharper price than the car it replaces. That's right, after industry-wide price hikes and feature removal, the Touareg signals a move in the opposite direction.

On paper, the new Touareg shapes as a real luxury bargain thanks to its trick matrix LED headlights, a leather-lined interior featuring more big screens than a JB Hi-Fi runout clearance, and proper V6 turbo-diesel power on even the base model.

It even shares core bits of its chassis with the Bentley Bentayga, which is esteemed company at this price point. But luxury isn't experienced on paper. It plays out in the way things feel, and sound, and react on the road.

Does the Touareg live up to its on-paper promise in the real world?

The 2024 Volkswagen Touareg lineup has seen price cuts as well as increased specification across the range.

Prices exclude on-road costs

To see how the Touareg lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool.

This is a big, comfortable car.

It's also an expensive-looking one, with a flashy dual-screen setup dominating the dashboard and open-pore wood trim that could have been lifted from an Audi.

The fundamentals are excellent here. The driver and passenger sit in generously stuffed armchairs with heating, with acres of adjustment to dial in the perfect driving position for long trips.

Massaging and ventilation are on offer higher in the range, and further reinforce the luxury vibes.

Along with the death of the cheap-looking base infotainment system and analogue gauges from the last 170TDI, the Innovision screen setup has been treated to a few choice upgrades. The graphics have been polished, while Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are now wireless.

CarPlay now takes up the whole screen, rather than sitting in an awkward little window. It looks great, but it's strange that using the climate controls or seat buttons at the base of the screen blanks out that full screen display.

Beyond that, the system is snappy to respond and easy enough to navigate. Most of the icons are big and colourful, so they can be spotted and prodded simply on the move.

Volkswagen hasn't killed the haptic steering wheel buttons in the Touareg, which means you're still stuck with fingerprint-prone gloss black on the spokes – the sooner that goes, the better.

The 12.3-inch digital driver's display is crystal clear, and blends a range of thoroughly modern options with the option for classic-looking gauges. It's also been massaged for 2024, with new colours and graphics on offer.

With a storage bin under the dashboard (home to the wireless phone charger), cupholders on the centre console, a decent bin under the armrest, and spacious door pockets, there are plenty of nooks and crannies for snacks, devices, and keys on long road trips.

As you'd expect of a hulking family SUV, the Touareg has acres of space in the rear. There's enough legroom for lanky adults to sit behind lanky adults, and the front seats are set high to free up enough toe room for chunky winter boots.

Top tether points feature on all three rear seats, and there are ISOFIX points on the outboard rear seats.

Headroom is good, but the angled C-pillar does make it feel a bit tighter back there than maybe it needs to.

Then again, it puts the mid-sized Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz GLC in the shade for rear space – despite being priced in line with them, the Touareg is a more substantial car.

The boot is a broad space, complete with remote releases for the rear seats and a luggage cover that slides automatically up when you pop the boot to make loading big items easier.

The 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine in the Touareg 170TDI we drove hasn't changed for 2024, nor has the more powerful 210TDI sitting above it in the range.

To see how the Touareg lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool.

Big and relaxed on the open road, even the base Touareg is a lovely car in which to eat up the miles.

We spent most of our time in the 170TDI on the highway, but we did also have a quick go in the city where the light steering and smooth-moving diesel engine make it easy to pilot.

Ride quality on the base steel springs is good, keeping pimply city streets and harsh speed bumps out without too much trouble.

Despite the chubby tyres that come standard on the base 19-inch alloy wheels, it doesn't quite float through the world like more expensive models on their air suspension – but that's a very high bar, and ultimately the blend of compliance and control on offer here is pretty damn good.

The surround view camera makes it easy enough to place what's a relatively big car in tight spaces, and the steering is direct enough that you're not constantly twirling the wheel to squeeze into parking spots. It's well equipped for the school run, which no doubt plenty of Touareg owners will be doing.

Refinement is impressive. The 3.0-litre diesel V6 is whisper quiet at idle, and there hardly any vibrations or awkward noises in the cabin.

It's smooth off the mark, and has plenty of torque in the mid-range to surf around town for a luxurious, effortless feeling.

On the highway it immediately settles into a relaxed cruise, ticking over barely above idle in eighth gear doing 100km/h.

There's minimal wind noise from the mirrors, and minimal road roar from the tyres which means you don't need to raise your voice to chat with passengers, or turn up the radio to drown it out. That's not always the case in European cars.

Although it's technically the 'base' engine, the 170TDI has enough of a punch to feel potent on the highway. Put your foot down and the smooth-moving eight-speed automatic transmission drops a gear or two to put you in the meat of the torque band, offering a solid shove in the back.

Only when you really put your foot down to overtake at highway speeds is there a sense you'd want the more expensive 210TDI, such is the way it delivers its performance.

As for the ride? The R on its air suspension has an extra degree of belligerent wafty-ness about it, but even this base model on its steel springs is a comfortable cruiser. It dispatches big bumps, and doesn't do the awkward bouncing or bobbing thing some big, heavy cars can over highway crests and dips.

Volkswagen's adaptive cruise control is smooth and smart, maintaining a gap to the car in front with minimal fuss, and the active lane-centring function included as part of Travel Assist keeps you between the white lines without trying to wrench the wheel from your hands.

Touareg 170TDI includes:

Touareg 210TDI Elegance adds:

Touareg 210TDI R-Line brings:

The pre-update Touareg had a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing carried out in 2018.

It achieved scores of 89 per cent for adult occupant protection, 88 per cent for child occupant protection, 72 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 78 per cent for safety assist functions.

Standard safety equipment across the range includes:

Like the broader Volkswagen range, the Touareg is backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.

The updated Touareg is Volkswagen doing what it does best – taking it up to the German luxury establishment, without demanding the same money.

It looks and feels expensive, and there's real talent to back up the premium feeling in the base 170TDI with its V6 diesel.

Big, comfortable, and refined on the open road, it's an impressive large family SUV. Under the skin, parts of this Volkswagen are shared with the Bentley Bentayga and Audi Q7, and that depth of engineering really does shine through.

Throw in the fact it's picked up extra equipment and been treated to a price cut for 2024, and it's a seriously compelling alternative to more expensive mid-sized luxury SUVs from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi.

MORE: Buy a Volkswagen Touareg MORE: Everything Volkswagen Touareg

Content originally sourced from: CarExpert.com.au