Paul Murrell tests the 2019 Volkswagen Touareg Launch Edition with pricing, specs, ride and handling, safety, verdict and everything the over-50 driver needs to know.
Summary: First we drove it in the sands of the Sahara. Now we’ve driven it on the snowy roads of Tasmania. It excelled in both locations. And as a bonus, higher spec and a lower price.
2019 Volkswagen Touareg Launch Edition SUV
Pricing: From $89,990 (plus ORC)
Warranty: Five-years, unlimited km (VW is the first premium brand to go to five years)
Safety: 5-star ANCAP
Engine: 3-litre V6 turbodiesel (little changed from the previous model, unlike almost everything else)
Power: 190kW at 4000rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 22500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed ZF automatic
Drive: 4Motion all-wheel drive with dynamic torque distribution, electronic diff lock
Body: 4878mm (long); 1984mm (wide); 1686mm (high)
Ground clearance: 213mm
Cargo area: 810 litres/1800 litres (seat-up space rises by 113 litres over the old model)
Weight: 2086kg
Towing capacity: 3500kg braked, 750 unbraked
Tyres: 285/45 R20
Wheels: 20-inch alloys
Spare wheel: inflatable space saver (it inflates to full-size for temporary use)
Turning circle: 11m
Fuel tank: 75 litres
Thirst: 7.4L/100km (combined, diesel)
seniordriver consumption: 8.4L/100km over 217km (launch drive route)
[review]
IT’S NOT OFTEN we get a chance to test a new vehicle under such contrasting conditions as in the sands of the Sahara and on the snowy roads of Tasmania, but we’ve experienced the new third generation Touareg in both. It’s taken ten years to get here, but we can report it’s well worth the wait.
The new range kicks off with the Launch Edition and other versions will follow in due course.
Higher spec. Lower price. What’s not to like?
Nobody’s likely to complain when they offered more for less, so the new Touareg Launch Edition will be welcomed by dealers and potential buyers alike.
The new model comes in at $900 less than the previous 180TDI model (but only if it was fitted with the $5400 Driver Assistant Package). Not only that, but it gets a swag more standard equipment and a huge advance in technology over the outgoing model.
At $89,990, the new model gets more power (10kW, more torque (50Nm), easy open tailgate, IQ light matrix LED headlights, softer Savona leather with massaging, heated and ventilated front seats, 9.2-inch Discover Pro navigations system with gesture control (that works!), App-Connect, four USB ports, wireless charging, four-zone climate control and tinted (privacy glass) rear windows.
Better yet, there’s a raft of new safety features including predictive pedestrian monitoring, adaptive lane guidance, park assist, traffic jam assist, emergency assist and front and rear cross traffic assist.
Tackling some big names.
From a company that once touted itself as “the people’s car” and offered just one fairly Spartan model, the new Touareg is moving into the big league. Without a hint of false modesty, VW director of customer experience and marketing, Jason Bradshaw suggests that not only can the Touareg Launch Edition compete with its stablemates (he’s talking about Audi and Porsche, of course, with which the new Touareg shares its MLB platform), but also rivals from Mercedes-Benz and BMW. We’d throw Range Rover and a few other highly regarded large SUVs into that mix as well.
More realistically, most people will benchmark the new Touareg against less lofty opposition such as the top-end models of Toyota Prado, Ford Everest and Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The Touareg will take the fight to all of them.
Let’s cut to the chase.
There are some real surprises in the value-for-money equation.
BMW’s X5 XDrive 30D is an obvious competitor. Its base price starts at $112,990. Throw in the options needed to put it on an equal footing with the Touareg (air suspension, memory electric seats, massaging front seats, ventilated front seats, window blinds, tint, heated front seats, four-zone climate control, wireless charging) and that rises to $126,690 (we’re using figures supplied by VW here), or $36,700 more than the Launch Edition.
The Mercedes-Benz GLE 350D kicks off at $110,300. Add in the missing standard features fitted to the VW, and the price rises to $119,350.
It’s a similar story with the Land Rover Discover SD4 HSE. Base price is $99,750 but the options push that to $113,580.
The Volvo XC90 Momentum? The entry price is closer to the Touareg at $93,900 but those options once again lift the price to $104,550.
And finally, let’s look at Audi’s Q7 200kW model, built on the same platform as the new Touareg. Entry price is a substantial $106,900, but that doesn’t include air suspension ($4690), electric steering column adjustment ($950), 20-inch alloys ($2300), massaging heated and ventilated seats ($7500), assistance package ($5863), window tint ($1100), matrix LED headlights ($4850), ambient interior lights ($1300) or blinds for the rear windows ($680). All up, that’s a $136,133 invoice (plus on roads).
Now, it’s fair to say that you may not want all the options offered on the Touareg if you were choosing them individually, but even deleting the ones you don’t want, you’d still be paying a substantial sum more than for the Touareg that gets them all.
Three options. One LCT/GST sting.
The new Touareg simplifies things by offering just three options: metallic paint, panoramic glass sunroof and the Innovision Package.
Metallic paint is a substantial $2000, but to be fair, there’s a lot of it, and the quality is impressive. There are three: silicone grey, deep pearl black and, exclusive to the Launch Edition, reef blue.
The panoramic glass sunroof that we continue to advise against (and continue to be ignored by a substantial number of buyers when we do) is $3000.
Finally, the Innovision Package is $8000 and includes the 15-inch Discover Premium infotainment system, 12.3-inch curved Active Info display, windscreen-projected head-up display and additional ambient lighting with 30 selectable colours. To be honest, we could live without these features (especially the 30-selectable ambient interior colours!) but the screens are really impressive and head-up display is becoming more and more useful in a world of constantly changing speed limits and heavy-handed enforcement.
So, add in the metallic paint and Innovision Package, skip the panoramic glass sunroof, and the sticker price is still a tenner below $100,000 (but don’t forget on road costs).
The sting in the tail of all this is how much of your option dollars end up in the tax man’s pocket. The LCT component of even the metallic paint option is $462 while GST adds a further $140. Of the $3000 sunroof cost, $692 is LCT and $210 is GST. Worst offender is the Innovision Package: the base price is $5594, leaving $1846 in LCT and $559 in GST going straight into government coffers.
Strike a light!
One of the greatest advances in modern cars is the headlights.
We could give you the detailed explanation we were supplied, but we have better things to do with the next three hours. Suffice to say that the LED matrix IQ lights in the new Touareg are adaptive and incredibly sophisticated.
Using 128 individually controllable LEDS, there are 11 different headlight patterns covering almost every conceivable road or off-road situation, from city driving, dipped headlights, main beam, advanced (or partial) main beam, overtaking, oncoming vehicle and even sign glare reduction (dealing with highly reflective road signs).
Oncoming cars aren’t blinded, but you’re able to see as far as on main beam, including the sides of the road; cars ahead aren’t blinded by main beam lights shining in their mirrors; the road to the right of a vehicle you are overtaking is illuminated more brightly when the indicator is activated; there’s even a very wide dipped beam set-up for driving in the city and suburbs.
Bloody brilliant!
Riding on air.
If it’s hard to describe the ride comfort of the Touareg, how it defies the laws of physics is impossible to describe.
The eight-speed ZF automatic transmission operates almost imperceptibly while the dynamic torque distribution between front and rear axles ensures torque is always sent to where it’s needed most. Up to 70 percent can be directed to the front wheels and 80 percent to the rear wheels, but some torque is always being delivered to both. The 4Motion all-wheel drive system will suit most users, although some will lament the absence of low range. Driving in snow, as we were, gave us the opportunity to assess snow mode which notably added to stability and confidence in icy conditions – it works by adjusting throttle, gearbox and stability control systems to suit the reduced traction.
Air suspension is now standard (using ambient air, so it’s called an “open air” suspension) and this system keeps the big SUV firmly but comfortably in contact with the road. At low speeds, the air-filled suspension can raise the height of the vehicle, and a turn of a rotary dial makes the dampers firmer or softer as required. Corners and bends can be taken at speeds that really shouldn’t be possible in a two-tonne SUV and body roll is commendably supressed.
Initially, the lane guidance assistance technology felt a little too keen and intrusive but we resisted the temptation to disable it and after a few kilometres of letting it have its head, everything felt more natural.
Eighteen-way adjustable electrically adjustable front seats (including pneumatic bolsters in the cushion and backrest) complement the air suspension perfectly. The icing on the cake is the special massage function using ten pneumatic air pillows, each inflating up to 6cm, to provide eight different pre-set massage programs to front seat occupants.
More practically, the lack of a seven-seat option will dissuade some buyers.
One small feature we greatly appreciated is the location of the exterior mirrors. Too many large SUVs (and other vehicles) mount the external mirrors low on the A-pillar. In many cases, this creates a blind spot, obscuring kerbs, roundabouts and even bollards. The Touareg mirror has been cleverly sited to overcome this problem, enhanced by a small quarter window at the leading edge of the door (where a quarter vent window would have been, for those of us who remember).
Another breakthrough.
Finally, kudos to Volkswagen for being the first luxury brand to launch a five-year unlimited km warranty. We’ve been rabbiting on about this for some time: all the major manufacturers have moved to five-year warranties, but luxury brands are obstinately holding to their three-year warranties (with the exception of Lexus, who offers a four-year warranty). Hopefully, Volkswagen’s initiative will lead to more top-end brands expanding their warranties.
Perhaps now would be a good time to start agitating for an increase to the free roadside assistance period which remains at 12 months.
Summary.
It remains to be seen whether the new Touareg will be seen as a bargain-priced Audi Q7, or just a quite expensive Volkswagen, but smart buyers will be flocking to VW dealers to lay down a deposit. Improvements in safety, connectivity, premium feel and driving attributes all combine to make a strong case.