Volkswagen Touareg R 2024 Review

As we’ve detailed previously, the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R sits atop the facelifted large SUV range at $129,990 plus on-road costs. Big money, but also a substantial $13,000 cheaper than an equivalently-specced (ie with sunroof) V8 TDI that it effectively replaces.

Fellow large PHEVs at this price point include the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe (from $129,950) and Volvo XC90 Ultimate T8 (from $128,990), but Volkswagen won’t be at all upset if you consider the Touareg R instead of the BMW X5 xDrive 50e (from $149,900), Range Rover Sport PHEV 460 (from $178,650) or the Audi Q8 60 TFSI e it shares its powertrain with (from $152,500).

Everything, basically. Sit tight as there’s a bit to cover when discussing the standard equipment in the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R.

Externally we start with black 22-inch alloys, matched by the blacked-out grille, mirrors, window surrounds, roof rails and exhaust tips.

There’s a unique tune for the steering and air suspension and the front brakes use massive 400mm discs with six-piston callipers, while the tyres are 285/35 at each corner for plenty of footprint and R puddle lamps replace the standard VW logo.

Enter through the soft-close doors and there’s quad-zone climate control, 18-way power-adjustable front seats with heating, ventilation, three-position memory and massage, heated rear seats, a panoramic sunroof, power tailgate, adaptive Matrix LED headlights, 30-colour ambient lighting and high-spec Puglia leather upholstery with embroidered R logos on the seat headrests.

The only option is paint colour, with metallics costing $2200 and premium metallics – like the hero Lapiz Blue – an extra $2700.

Volkswagen’s standard five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty applies and pre-paid servicing plans are offered for three ($2050) or five ($3400) years, offering savings of $222 and $668 respectively over paying as you go.

The standard Volkswagen Touareg carries a five-star ANCAP rating from 2019 and it’s unclear whether this carries over to the R due to the different powertrain, as sometimes performance variants are excluded.

Regardless, in addition to the proven crash structure and plentiful airbags there is a truly extensive list of active safety equipment: adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, cross traffic alert, self-park, surround-view cameras and driver monitoring, in addition to a couple of new features such as speed sign recognition and dynamic road sign display.

Starting at eye level, the most visible technology features of the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R are the giant digital displays, consisting of a configurable 12.3-inch screen for the instruments and a massive 15.0-inch central screen for the infotainment.

The latter has all the features you’d expect, including wireless smartphone mirroring, AM/FM/DAB+ radio, 2D/3D sat-nav, voice and gesture control, and tunes are played through a 14-speaker Dynaudio stereo.

There is plenty of less obvious tech, too, including an excellently informative head-up display and night vision in addition to wireless phone charging.

Some learning is required to get the best out of the infotainment and find the smoothest and quickest way to navigate it, but a huge bonus is the fact that CarPlay now fills the full screen, not only eradicating the ugly black bars surrounding a smaller display but making the large icons easy to hit on the go.

As the first plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) offered locally by the brand, the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R combines a 250kW/450Nm 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine with a 100kW/400Nm electric motor for impressive combined outputs of 340kW/700Nm.

Allied to an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive, even a hefty tare mass of 2433kg (so around 2.6 tonnes with a full tank and driver) can’t stop it reaching 0-100km/h in 5.1sec.

The combined claim of 3.3L/100km for the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R is pure fiction in the real world, but it does have the opportunity to be impressively frugal for a machine of this power and weight.

The 17.9kWh battery provides a claimed range of 51km, and while you’ll have to be careful to achieve that, more than 40km is quite easily achievable.

Even when depleted, the hybrid system does a good job of harvesting and deploying energy, and over a 130km drive loop consisting of 100km/h country roads – where electrical power is at its least efficient – and some excellent pedal-to-the-metal twisties, the Touareg R returned an average of 12.8L/100km.

That might not sound amazing, but for a car like this not to be in the high-teens when driven in such a manner is impressive.

Typically, though, like all PHEVs you’ll either use no fuel on short trips and probably in the region of 8-9L/100km if the engine is running, depending on your use case.

Charge times are around eight hours from 20-100 per cent on your typical wall plug or around 2.5 hours from 20-100 per cent on a 7kW wallbox or public charger.

There are two questions to tackle here. Can the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R justify its performance branding (after all, this is an R not an R-Line) and what compromises have been made to its daily useability in an effort to make that justification?

Let’s start with the former. Making the VW engineers’ lives more difficult is the fact they couldn’t use the physics-defying active anti-roll bars and rear-wheel steering often fitted to cars like this (including the 210TDI R-Line) as the battery pack means there isn’t room.

Happily, it doesn’t need it. In fact, it’s better without it. Too often these systems are effective but make the car feel strange; by eradicating roll they also eliminate the sensation of going quickly. Their absence in the Touareg R make it feel conventional, but it also has truly extraordinary grip.

It’s worth remembering this is the platform that underpins the Audi Q8, Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne, and while all those manufacturers put their own spin on things, there’s an inherent talent in it that shines through.

There’s none of the nose-heaviness that can afflict large SUVs, and while you’re aware of its size it doesn’t feel anything like its weight. Chuckable is the wrong word, but it can be driven with a commitment you wouldn’t expect, especially as the R treatment has removed the slight on-centre dead zone in the standard Touareg so as soon as you move the steering wheel you get a response.

The ESC Sport stability system is also much more lenient than in a standard Touareg, to the point that if it’s intervening you’re probably very glad of that intervention. The smell that emanates from the front of the R after enthusiastic driving is evidence of how hard those monster front brakes are working, but to their credit they hang on remarkably well.

If there’s a slight chink in the R’s armour it’s the powertrain. Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with the outright pace provided by the electrically-assisted turbo V6 and the battery charge seems to be managed in a manner that in Sport mode you always have some battery power to help out with acceleration.

Unfortunately, the engine is also incredibly quiet, to the point that it can be difficult to discern where in the rev range you are, which is no doubt a function of the latest noise and emissions regulations but it’s a shame as Audi’s ‘S’ products prove it can sound quite good if it’s allowed to.

What’s more, the gearbox will override manual selections. A typical scenario on a twisty road could be that you approach a corner and try and downshift too early from third to second because you can’t really hear how hard the engine is revving.

The downshift request is ignored, which is okay because there’s abundant torque to pull you out in third, but once you reach full throttle the gearbox kicks back down to second. Once aware of it, the issue can be driven around but it is a bit clumsy.

Nevertheless, it’s difficult to imagine anyone who experiences the Touareg R in full flight refuting its suitability to wear VW’s high-performance badge.

The really good news is that this dynamic prowess comes at no cost to daily useability. Any fears that 22-inch rims and a sportier suspension tune will result in every lump and bump being sent to the occupants are unfounded. The R is as comfortable as any other Touareg.

Possibly more so, thanks to the ability to run on electric power alone. It’s not particularly efficient when doing so – a short and calm urban drive led to an average of 27.5kWh/100km – but everything about the Touareg R – its size, weight and the rolling resistance of high-performance tyres – conspire against EV range.

There are two important factors. The real-world electric range of 40-45km will be enough for many to commute or do the school drop-off and there’s sufficient power available to accelerate with reasonable alacrity without firing up the ICE every time.

It’s worth noting, however, that the latest BMW X5 PHEV offers a claimed 110km of EV range and the Range Rover Sport PHEV (both more expensive vehicles) 112km, which would be a lot more useful.

While the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R retains the off-road and snow modes of the standard car, ground clearance is limited to 180mm and the low-profile tyres will be more susceptible to punctures.

For gravel roads and the like, though, no problem.

Impressively, the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R retains the same 3500kg maximum towing capacity as the regular variants, not something that’s often the case with hybrids.

There is a caveat to that, though, which is a maximum tow ball download of 220kg. Not a deal breaker by any means, as many large caravans still have a downball load of less than 200kg, but it will be something to take into account.

The Touareg R’s gross vehicle mass (GVM) is higher at 3020kg to account for its hybrid system so even at max downball load there’s 367kg of payload to play with. This is a tare figure though, so there isn’t a massive amount of headroom in it, but certainly better than some others.

Unsurprisingly, the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R builds on the strengths of the regular variants with ample space, a flexible second row that slides, reclines and folds, and the enormous boot volume (810L seats up; 1800L seats down) is unaffected, though the space-saver spare tyre has been replaced by a mobility kit.

It’s just all a bit fancier. The nicer materials up front with the contrast stitching and performance steering wheel and the added luxury for those in the outboard rear with heated seats and their own climate control zone.

In-built sun shades are another great addition for Australian summers.

The boot isn’t only voluminous, but the clever cargo management system is standard, allowing you to partition off certain sections to stop items flying around.

There’s also air suspension controls to make it easier for the dog to jump in, a reversible carpet/rubber mat for the dirty paws and a 12V outlet as well.

The 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R could’ve gone very wrong. Attempting to make a performance car out of a giant SUV, never mind one saddled with the complexity of a plug-in hybrid drivetrain, could’ve ended up in a right mess, but thankfully the opposite is true.

It’s a very well-judged product, the lack of the typical R mode found in VW’s hi-po vehicles a suggestion that the engineers knew the limits of what they were trying to achieve.

This also prevents it straying too far from the role it’ll perform most of the time, that of family transport.

As ever, making the most of the PHEV powertrain will require some diligence (ie plugging it in regularly) and the right sort of use case, but if we run through its attributes the Touareg R is a spacious, well-equipped and high-tech SUV that can operate in silence day-to-day.

It can also happily tow a caravan into the high country then leave the ’van behind and go hunting hot hatches (though it might not catch them) on some fantastic roads.

It’s a fitting flagship to the new Volkswagen Touareg range.

2024 Volkswagen Touareg R at a glance:
Price: $129,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 3.0-litre V6 petrol-electric
Output: 250kW/450Nm (electric motor: 100kW/400Nm)
Combined output: 340kW/700Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Battery: 17.9Wh lithium-ion
Range: 51km (ADR)
Energy consumption: 21.1kWh/100km (ADR)
Fuel: 3.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 75g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)