Volkswagen Touareg 2024 Review

No, your eyes do not deceive you, the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI has indeed gone down in price. It’s had a reduction from $89,240 to $86,790 (plus on-road costs).

That puts the Touareg 170TDI in line with the likes of the Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (from $83,950), Lexus RX 350h (from $90,279) and Mazda CX-90 GT (from $85,530).

Volkswagen, however, has its eyes set on the German premium brands, pointing out the Touareg’s new pricing puts it head-to-head with smaller rivals like the BMW X3 (from $83,100) and Mercedes-Benz GLC (from $103,370).

Not only is the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI cheaper than before, the standard equipment list has also been significantly boosted.

It wasn’t exactly deficient before, with 19-inch wheels, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry/start, heated and 18-way electrically-adjustable front seats (driver’s with memory), leather upholstery, 30-colour ambient lighting, wooden dash inserts and a power tailgate.

However, a raft of previously optional equipment has been thrown in, most notably the trick dynamic Matrix LED headlights but also lots of extra technological and safety equipment we’ll cover off in a moment.

Six body colours are offered but only white is standard; silver, grey, red and black cost an extra $2200, while blue adds $2700.

Other options include a panoramic sunroof for $3300 and the big-ticket $8500 Sound and Comfort package, which does ratchet up the luxury with soft-close doors, quad-zone climate control, a 14-speaker stereo, head-up display, electric steering column adjustment, memory for both front seats and heated rear seats.

VW’s standard five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty applies and three- and five-year servicing packages are offered that save over pay-as-you-go.

The 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI’s five-star ANCAP rating is an older one, having been awarded in 2019, but the safety offering is still well up-to-date.

There are plenty of airbags and VW’s IQ.Drive active safety suite includes adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, lane and blind spot assist and front and rear cross traffic alert.

This has now been bolstered by the addition of manoeuvre braking, a surround-view camera, self-park, speed sign detection and dynamic road sign display.

The most generous inclusion in the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI is the full-size 12.3-inch digital instrument and 15.0-inch infotainment displays, which were previously part of an $8700 option pack.

Not only are the bigger screens included, but smartphone mirroring is now wireless, though there are also five USB-C ports (three front, two rear) and wireless phone charging.

The infotainment system uses both gesture and voice control and has AM/FM/DAB+ radio, 3D sat-nav and houses all the various vehicle controls including the air-conditioning.

It takes a little bit of learning to find the easiest way to navigate the system and quickly find what you’re looking for, but it’s reasonably intuitive and adjusting the temperature and fan controls are thankfully at least a one-touch process.

What’s more, Apple CarPlay now displays full screen, rather than having large black borders surrounding a smaller picture, with the giant icons making selecting your intended feature much easier when on the move.

If you do tick the Sound and Comfort box, the head-up display works very well, displaying speed and navigation information, but the dynamic road sign display is also a neat feature, warning the driver of upcoming turns (including direction).

In most respects, the powertrain of the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI is identical to what came before.

It’s a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel producing 170kW/500Nm through an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive.

The extra equipment has increased the SUV’s weight by around 80kg, however, which has lifted the claimed 0-100km/h time from 7.5sec to 8.0sec.

How fuel efficient is the Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI?

The weight increase has also had a detrimental effect on economy, officially at least, with the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI’s combined claim of 7.3L/100km an extra 0.5L/100km compared to its predecessor.

In the real world, there seems to be little effect. During our drive, economy hovered around the mid-6L/100km on the highway but a little extra care dropped that into the mid-5s.

Even at the official extra-urban claim of 6.4L/100km, the 90-litre fuel tank gives the Touareg 170TDI a theoretical range of more than 1400km!

Being mechanically identical to its predecessor, there are no surprises behind the wheel of the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI. This is not at all a bad thing.

The one difference this entry-level variant has over those further up the range is the use of conventional steel springs rather than air suspension. As such, this isn’t a car that isolates you from the road; you’re aware of the surface you’re driving over, but not in an intrusive manner – it’s somewhat a Volkswagen trait.

Those wanting some extra compliance might do well to try the air-suspended (though more expensive) 210TDI, but regardless, it’s a polished drive experience and the advantage of this set-up is excellent control. There is never any wallow or wobble, the stability giving great confidence regardless of road condition.

Dynamically, there are no great expectations of the Touareg as it’s difficult to imagine anyone ever driving it enthusiastically. Nevertheless, if the opportunity or occasion presents itself, it’s comforting to know it won’t be out of its depth.

There is a Sport mode that adds steering weight and sharpens the powertrain, but even in Normal it’s accurate enough with plenty of grip, it’s not overly reliant on its front tyres and can be comfortably hustled quicker than it’ll ever need to be.

In more typical use it’s quiet, refined and easy to drive. While a large car, it certainly doesn’t feel at all cumbersome.

Like its dynamic ability, the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI will go further off-road than most will ever require of it.

It no longer has a dual-range transfer case like the original, but there are off-road and snow modes, and 216mm of ground clearance is comparable to some dual-cab utes.

How much can the Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI carry?

In a similar manner, the maximum towing capacity of the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI is a dual-cab-matching 3500kg, though the caveat to that is the maximum downball load of 280kg.

While not a hard-and-fast rule, the typical 10 per cent calculation suggests a maximum of 3000kg is more realistic.

Even so, that should be sufficient for plenty of caravan, boat or trailer duties, and even at max downball load there’s a payload of around 300-350kg to play with, which is useful.

If you’re after a roomy premium SUV then the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI couldn’t really fit the bill any better.

It doesn’t have seven-seat capability – Volkswagen’s data suggests the vast majority of buyers in this segment want five seats – but the upside of this is an enormous 810-litre boot that expands to 1800 litres with the rear seats folded.

There is only a space-saver spare, however.

That rear bench can slide forward to increase luggage space at the expense of legroom or recline for occupant comfort.

There is space to burn, a pair of USB-C ports and a 12V outlet for charging, and in-built window shades as well, which are always welcome.

Up front, the driving position is excellent and widely adjustable, there’s plenty of storage for drinks and odd ’n’ ends and nice premium touches like the full-width open-pore wood across the dash and new ambient lighting arrangement.

Prior to this update, there was a strong case to be made that the Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI was all the car you could ever need: spacious, comfortable, economical and extremely practical.

Now, however, it might be all the car you could ever want, too.

The price cut is nice, but the substantial increase in equipment, especially goodies like the large digital screens, flashy headlights, VW puddle lamps and self-park, means this entry-level premium SUV now feels anything but entry-level.

It has eradicated those reminders that you bought the base variant and thus miss out.

This is an extremely accomplished and impressive package that definitely deserves to be on shopping lists.

2024 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI at a glance:
Price: $86,790 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel
Output: 170kW/500Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 192g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)