Volkswagen AG recently pulled the wraps of the all-new Touareg at its world premiere held for the first time in China, its largest market. The Touareg’s European launch date is yet to be determined. Volkswagen’s premium SUV had raked up worldwide sales of nearly one million units for the previous two generations.
For the European market, Volkswagen will initially offer two V6 diesel engines for the new 2018 Touareg with outputs of 228 hp and 282 hp. Elsewhere, there’ll be a V6 petrol engine with 335 hp and a more powerful V8 turbodiesel engine with 415 hp. Specifically for China, there’ll be a new plug-in hybrid model with 362 hp.
The third-generation Touareg is wider and longer than before. The added exterior length has allowed for a significant increase in luggage capacity, from 697 to 810 litres, with the rear bench seat up. Cargo in the boot can be sheltered with an optional electrically-extending and retracting luggage compartment cover.
Despite increased length and width, the car is 106 kg lighter because of its mixed material construction of aluminium (48 per cent) and high-tech steels (52 per cent).
Inside, the Touareg premiers the new fully-digitalised Innovision Cockpit for the first time. The 12-inch Digital Cockpit and the 15-inch Discover Premium infotainment system merges for access to various functions without the need for any conventional buttons or switches.
The Touareg comes with driver assistance systems like Night Vision assistance system that’s capable of detecting people and animals in darkness via a thermal imaging camera, Roadwork Lane Assist that offers semi-automated steering and lane keeping, accelerating and braking up to 60 km/h, Front Cross Traffic Assist, active all-wheel steering, a new roll stabilisation with electromechanically-controlled anti-roll bars, IQ.Light LED matrix headlights and a head-up display.
Volkswagen has been aggressively expanding its SUV range – they now include the new T-Roc, the Tiguan, the new Tiguan Allspace (Europe) and Tiguan L (China), the new Atlas (USA) and the Teramont (China), plus the now completely-redesigned Touareg as Volkswagen’s top SUV model. Volkswagen will also be further extending the lower end of its SUV range with the compact T-Cross. The first all-electric SUV from Volkswagen is also a sure thing – the I.D. CROZZ – arriving in the market in 2020.
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