Before we arrive at the driving, we've got to talk price – the reveal was a shock for all the right reasons.
When was the last time a new car arrived with a lower price than its predecessor? Well, the sweet starting price is the main reason behind the Touareg's tardy arrival.
The refreshed Touareg 170TDI entry grade lists at $86,790 before on-road costs, or $2450 less than the car it replaces.
New features include trick HD Matrix LED headlights with 38,000 individual diodes in the pair of front-facing lamps. Their beams can perform a sort of vehicular mating call with jazzy entry animations but their real trick is incredible functionality on dark country roads.
Additionally, the 15-inch 'Innovison' multimedia touchscreen (that finally boasts full-size wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) is now included, rather than being an $8700 option, effectively dropping the price by $10,970.
New ‘Coventry’ 19-inch alloy wheels, open pore wood trim, black 'Vienna' leather upholstery, power-adjust seats with three-stage heating, dual-zone climate control and wireless charging pad round out the spec.
The Touareg is never going to compete at the low end on price with a Kia Sorento, Nissan Pathfinder or Hyundai Palisade but they're not its true rivals.
With MLB underpinnings befitting luxury nameplates (including the Audi Q7 and Bentley Bentayga), the Touareg's a match for the Volvo XC90 and Lexus RX as well as BMW's X5 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE.
The $99,990 210TDI Elegance introduces 20-inch ‘Braga’ alloy wheels, air suspension with adaptive dampers, heated and ventilated seats with massage function and an extra 40kW/100Nm of grunt.
For $10,000 more again, the sporty R-Line gets 21-inch alloys, R-Line body kit, R-Line steering wheel with perforated leather upholstery, black headliner, alarm rear privacy glass, aluminium cabin inserts and upmarket ‘Puglia’ leather upholstery.
The Sound and Comfort pack brings rear seat heating, a Dynaudio premium sound system, quad-zone climate, memory front seats and power-adjust steering column, head-up display, tyre pressure monitoring, soft-close doors, head-up display, and alarm. The cost is $8500 for 170TDI and $8000 for the 210TDI. A panoramic sunroof is $3300 extra.
The R gets everything above paired with 22-inch 'Estoril' alloy wheels, night vision, blue brake calipers, an exterior black pack and R-exclusive steering wheel.
Any colour other than Pure White is gonna set you back a chunk of cash. Four Metallics, Chili red and three monochrome shades each cost $2200 while the blues (Meloe on non-R and Lapiz for R) are $2700 extras.
Rear-wheel steer and active roll stabilisation are exclusive to the R-Line diesel due to the R's battery-related packaging constraints.