Volkswagen Touareg Launch Edition review: a large, capable SUV – without the snobbery

If you’re looking for a large SUV, then this is one of the best value propositions on offer.

Volkswagen Touareg Launch Edition, from $89,990

If you’ve been end-of-financial-year appliance shopping, you’ll have had the experience of being lured from the whitegoods section – where there’s a fridge you actually need – by a ginormous TV. There’s something compelling about the sheer scale of these things. You’re suddenly overcome by desire to rewatch the entire David Attenborough oeuvre with insects a metre high.

If I were Harvey Norman, I’d put TVs right next to the recliner department and offer irresistible buy-them-together deals. Although there’s a danger of scruffy hordes wearing out the massage function and refusing to leave until the end of Life on Earth.

I don’t want to leave the car I’m in, the new Volkswagen Touareg, and not just because Tasmania has turned into a fridge. Sure, I’ve got the seat heating turned up to BBQ and the Shiatsu working overtime. Yes, it’s much cosier in here than out there in the snow and unlike other motoring-based masseurs, I’d actually pay for this one.

But I’m also distracted by the Blade Runner-sized screen in the dash. No Attenborough reruns playing, just a crisp control system that’s graphically spot-on and logically watertight. It’s seamlessly integrated into the cabin and recognisably from the same electronic family as those sampled recently in Audis and Porsches. That’s no surprise, because brands within the Volkswagen group share technology rather than starting from scratch. But it seems easier than even their latest systems. Veedub has trumped its own team.

Volkswagen Touareg Launch Edition

This screen, and other pleasing goodies such as a head-up display and technicolour ambient lighting, is part of an add-on pack called Innovision which – I’m willing to bet – is in every showroom example of the new Touareg. Because, like Harvey Norman’s 65-inch 4K OLED telly, it’s going to lure you across the shiny tiles from the hatchback you need into this large SUV. Then it’s going to persuade you to part with another $10k on top of the $89,990 Launch Edition price for the one with everything.

That’s a lot for a Volkswagen but compared with its Audi and Porsche equivalents, a snip. They all share a lot more than the electronics – everything from the car’s fundamentals to engines are developed for use across the group. It’s a measure of the competitive state of the market that Volkswagen is unusually keen to outline this in great detail at the test drive event. On its reckoning, for example, an Audi Q7 specced to the same level as its Launch Edition Touareg – with air suspension, 20-inch alloys, massage seats and so on – would cost $46k more.

Of course Audi will tell you that the differences run deeper but having just completed the run from Hobart to Lake St Clair in the Touareg over slushy dirt, I would need a lot of persuading. The Audi has a smidge more power but the Touareg is quiet, smooth and utterly reassuring in its road manners despite the rude nature of the Tasmanian roads. It’s lighter than before (by 120kg) because almost half the body is aluminium and its 190kW turbo-diesel V6 pulls cleanly, driving all four wheels via an eight-speed auto.

If you buy a Touareg for drag races at the traffic lights then you’re seriously misguided but, at just 6.5 seconds to 100km/h, it steps off smartly for something this large (4.9m long and 2.1 tonnes). Fuel consumption is well within acceptable levels at 7.4 litres per 100km – a figure Volkswagen would hardly risk exaggerating after Dieselgate. (It has been trying so hard to earn its way out of the naughty corner.) There are dial-up modes, including for off-road and snow, with enough ground clearance (213mm) for light-duty excursions from the tarmac, and it feels planted full-time.

Volkswagen Touareg Launch Edition

The cabin has cathedral-like space and for the driver, vision is first rate. Happily, my outworn complaint about obstructive A-pillars is not relevant here; consideration for corner vision has been engineered in. The tailgate opens electronically and the rear end lowers for easier loading, with a 1m expanse of uncluttered space capable of swallowing 810 litres of luggage – or 1800 litres with the rear seat folded.

There’s also every safety system you can think of, including emergency braking if it predicts a pedestrian has suicidal tendencies, a rear-view camera and intelligent matrix headlights which adjust for other traffic. And, of course, the Launch Edition comes loaded with gear, including everything already mentioned such as kneady leather seats plus four-zone air-con, tinted rear windows, satnav, park sensors, keyless access and more.

If you detect a hint of desperation in all this – new vehicle sales this year are worse than Tassie weather – then you’re probably right. But buyers are the beneficiaries. And, if you’re looking for a large SUV, sans brand snobbery, then this is one of the best value propositions on offer. The Touareg is as generic as all the others, of course, and no vehicle that starts for $90k can be called cheap. So it’s four stars, but 4.5 on value. Why pay for a Sony when a Hisense does the job?

Volkswagen Touareg

Engine: 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 (190kW/600Nm)

Average fuel: 7.4 litres per 100km

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive

Price: From $89,990

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars