VW Touareg review: A budget Bentley?

Meet the new VW Touareg!

The Touareg is the largest Volkswagen SUV you can buy, and it’s just had a mid-life facelift! But how much has actually changed? Well, Mat’s got his hands on one to find out…

Starting with the design, it still looks pretty similar to the last edition, although there are a few notable differences. Starting at the rear, the Touareg now comes with a full-length light bar and a redesigned bumper. Along the side, there are some new alloy wheel designs, and all new editions of the Touareg come with black roof bars. You’ll find a redesigned grille, an updated bumper, and some new headlight designs. What’s more, these now come as Matrix LEDs!

Step inside and the design is pretty similar to the last edition, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing! There are soft-touch materials throughout the large cabin, and all cars now come with a large infotainment screen that also has some updated graphics. The car we have here also has a nice, large digital dial display which is very easy to read.

There are a number of engines available with the Touareg. You can get a 3-litre V6 turbo petrol that has 340hp, and then there are two hybrid models. They use the same 3-litre V6, and while one produces 380hp, the other produces 460hp - the latter car is the high-performance R model, no less! There is also a choice of two diesel engines available, both of which are 3-litre V6 turbo diesel.

The all-new Touareg starts from around £68,000, but is it worth it?! Or should you choose a competitor like the BMW X5 instead? You’ll need to stick with Mat to see for yourself!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:41 Design
02:32 Price
03:33 Interior
07:03 Back Seats
10:23 Boot
11:38 5 Annoying Things
13:54 5 Cool Things
16:16 Engines
17:16 Town Driving
21:03 Motorway Driving
22:10 Country Road Driving
23:44 0-60mph
24:31 Verdict

[wickywills]

I can't begin to explain how much I hate touch controls on everything. Why do manufacturers think that's a good idea? Why not just replace the steering wheel with a touch screen while you're at it.

[ericstockmann]

The price is ridiculous, but one of the things that makes this car appealing to me is how understated it is. It's very subtle, but if you know about cars, you know how refined these are.

[Lex-ofwo]

Love the moisture in the headlight feature. This way the bulbs don't dry out. Great design.

[TheColnago]

Great review. I bought this R version 2 years ago and it’s been a great car. Especially on long trips with the family and our dog. Plenty of room for everyone and luggage and this thing is really comfortable even if you spent over 10 hours behind the wheel. Best family car I have ever owned. Worth the price.

[LifeofBoris]

ah yes the new low tier Urus.
...I mean the high-end Kodiaq.

[TheVillain]

I particularly like how I'm not bombarded by ads in-between your videos.

Every car I’ve owned the last 10 years has a wiper service position!
And on VWs you can also activate it by holding the wiper stalk down for a few seconds after turning the ignition off.

[davidsimmons]

Thank you for being the kind of auto review person who will make the video shot at close to sunset or sunrise work so the car is the thing in the video that comes out the best even at the expense of blowing out the background and the review person… that is why I love and have watched you for years… you love cars and you can’t fake that kind of enthusiasm… hoping to meet you one day brother… find the thing you love to do and you never work a day in your life.

[zsot]

condensation: when reported as a fault, on a Skoda Octavia (2021), it was explained (in the service), that this isn't a bug, but a feature. in order to match the external atmospheric pressure, VAG headlights have "breather holes" (similarly to airline double/triple sheet windows). as long as the condensation is on the surface, like a misty layer, it's ok. the heat of the headlights should evaporate them and it'd not cause any damage. but if the water/condensation amount turns into a "puddle" in the headlights (or any lights for that matter), it needs to be addressed and it's probably the result of a crack (and not just the breather hole).

this was a Skoda Service explaining this issue.

[KAISERSCHL]

Honestly I don't mind the new styling because at the end of the day it is subjective to your personal taste. However what bugs me most about the new Touareg is that it strayed so far from what VW intended it to be when it first launched: a very comfortable, luxurious but must importantly CAPABLE off road vehicle. I considered a previous gen Touareg for purchase and it hat low range, rear and center lockers and you could even disconnect the sway bars. Saw many reviews online and it's off road capability was so underrated. Sadly VW went a different route with the newer gens and now they're thinking just upsizing the Tiguan will make the cut. Kind of bums me out because it used to be a serious contender to Land Rover and even some of the japanese off roaders like the Pajero and such. Seems the Touareg has lost it's identity.

[grassyknoll]

With that price it might as well be a Bentley for most people!

[donlaight]

Love watching these reviews. I am a professional driver my week involves shift work. I have identified a failure in design in most new cars. The dashboard illumination lights are on the same circuit as daytime running lights, so at night time when people set off from wherever and forget to turn on their headlights they remain oblivious.

[zack]

My parents have a first gen VW Touareg and it still runs like new. It's great for long drives, has amazing acceleration for overtaking and is suprisingly very capable off road, especially given that my parents live in Kenya and have taken that car to some of the most remote places, fording through rivers and not once has it ever stalled or broken down. The only drawback is fuel consumption, but all in all, the Touareg is one of the best SUVs you can get out there if you want style, practicality and capability without the overinflated price tag of a Range Rover.

[gregspark]

Have just traded my 5 year old Touareg onto a new Q5 Sportback . I miss the air suspension my Q5 lacks, but what I don't miss is the everything-on-touchscreen controls. The Q5 has buttons and switches for aircon and several other key functions that are far easier to use the touchscreen ones. And thankfully doesn't have the soft touch capacitive buttons on the steering wheel which are awful!

[wowable]

On about being a budget Bentley. The Bentega, which we know is based off the Toureg, was supposed to be built with in it VW Slovakia’s Bratislava plant along side the Cayenne. Until the British government caught wind and paid VW and Bentley £500, 000, 000 to build a new manufacturing facility in Crewe for it. Half a billion for a posh Toureg. Lovely.

[jdmguy]

I love the exciting and characterful design you always get with VW products. Stunning.

[PUNCAKEEEE]

I think the previous touareg looked better ngl

[mattmorris]

Just sent a 2020 black edition back after 3 years. it was a great car to own. the infotainment and lack of buttons was not an issue at all. 286 diesel was rapid and knocked out over 40mpg easily.

Great car.

[PrioCaptSend]

Nice to see a brand new car with fogged up headlights. 😂

[BuDDa]

Loved the previous one and I love this one too but that price tag is insane.