VW Touareg R

I won’t start again by telling you how much I hate SUVs because it would just result in a 1000 word rant. I don’t really care for them and view them as an unnecessary waste of precious resources. But when Volkswagen asks if you want to have a go in their 460HP Touareg R you don’t say no, do you?

So there I was, not expecting too much of a sort of car I intrinsically hate and trying to be as neutral as possible. For starters, I do actually like the current Touareg design. It has solid proportions and a quite aggressive but not pretentious design. I especially like how they integrated the lights in the front and carried the lines over the whole car. I’d even say that it is one of the better looking SUV’s currently on the market.
The overall size of the car wasn’t a surprise. It’s absolutely massive. But it hides its size pretty well through its proportions and “sleek” design. Tho colour however does stand out quite a bit. But again it’s bold without being pretentious. I personally adore the R’s Lapiz Blue paint and think that every R model should come in this colour. To finish the sporty design, the massive 22” black wheels perfectly match the black trims and the overall vibe of the car. 

Once you admired the shape and the outside of the car, you step inside and are instantly greeted by a selection of lovely materials and huge screens. First impression: Very nice. Very nice indeed! Overall, the quality and the design are massively better than the one found on the T-Roc R I tested about a year ago.

In terms of comfort, the Touareg is simply amazing. I honestly haven’t driven anything more comfortable yet. The seats are incredible and all the other silly extras that are designed to make your life more relaxing work as fine as they should. And trust me when I say that it was fitted with every single option imaginable. Every time I got into the car, I found some new and fun extra. Nightvision, massaged seats with multiple settings, air-cooled and heated seats, an integrated tow-hook, a lowering tailgate and many more. Realizing that the car is fitted with everything you could ever ask for, it is time to start thinking about the price such luxury comes in. And you’re right if your guess is that it won’t be cheap. The Touareg R’s base price is around 93’000 CHF which already is quite a lot considering it is „only“ a WV. With all the options, the car I tested was a whopping 122’000 CHF, which clearly makes it the most expensive press car I’ve had so far.

Now with such a steep price, you’d expect the car to drive heavenly and I can assure you that it does. Again. Big SUVs usually feel heavy, unbalanced and a hassle to drive around. Not the Touareg though. Even with a weight of more than 2600kg, it feels sort of light and nimble. Well, nimble might be a bit of a stretch. The weight does come from the size of the car, obviously, but it's carrying around something that really makes this car phenomenal. A hybrid system. Besides making the car heavier it also makes it more economical and overall just better in many ways. Personally, the hybrid system was the highlight of the car as it was truly amazing
The car is capable of doing around 50km in full-electric mode, which is plenty for most daily routes. Especially if you live near a city. Replenishing the juice on your home socket will take a good 13h, meaning the car is always ready the next day if you charge it overnight. But let’s get to driving now.

When starting the car, it always sets off in E-Mode. The instant torque moves the 2.6t with such ease, it makes you forget how heavy it is. On the move, everything feels amazing. The steering is perfectly light at low speeds and progressively picks up in hardness with increasing speeds. The brakes are solid and the suspension is superb. It has no noticeable roll when driving at humane speeds and on a curvy bit of road, it feels like it’s gliding through the corners. It’s quite soothing. But not as soothing as driving around town in e-mode. The lack of noise, the comfort and knowing that you’re not wasting precious fuel feels amazing. In hybrid mode, the car will alternate between the petrol V6 and the electric engine. And I can guarantee that it alternates without you noticing a thing. In Eco mode, the engine even turns off as soon as you lift the pedal and lat the car cast. Plus the car uses the energy generated by slowing down to charge the batteries again.

When in a more normal or even sporty mode, the engine eventually kicks in and when it stays there it’s a joy to use. It feels incredibly smooth and delivers enough torque in the lower rev range. The punch does fade in higher revs but it’s not slow by any means. It’s actually incredibly quick. The electric engine makes it launch off the line faster than most other cars and the petrol engine continues pulling perfectly at all civilized speeds.  

But as amazing as the car is, there are still a few things I didn’t really like. And that’s its tech. I may sound like I’m fifty but modern cars have too much tech and controlling everything via a screen is just idiotic. Another thing I hat are the safety systems. The car constantly tries to keep you a mile off every line it can see and it constantly brakes for you when it notices a corner or a car. What was incredibly annoying in the beginning wasn’t at the end of my few days. Once I let the car do its thing and listened to it, it becomes an amazing experience. Look at it as it driving you around as opposed to you driving it around.

Overall I can safely say that the car left a serious impression on me. It handled everything with ease and it was a joy to drive. Would I have one though? No. Would I have one if I didn’t dislike SUVs? Still no. What I’d have is a smaller SUV like the Tiguan with the hybrid system. I’d also like it to have an R badge, be Lapiz Blue and come with an Akrapovic exhaust. VW are you listening?

Learn more about the Touareg R e-hybrid on VW Switzerland.