Volkswagen Touareg 2024 News

This is the list that's most fun to write but it’s sometimes hard to pick winners when you review as many cars as I do!This year has proven (once again) that the market is ruled by SUVs and Australia’s love affair with them isn’t slowing down any time soon. So, you may be surprised that only a few of them made the cut.Out of all of the cars I’ve been cruising in this year, these were my favourites (in no particular order).The LandCruiser got me good. There are enough old-school elements mixed in with premium tech and features to satisfy everyone (it has a CD/DVD player!). Rear passengers enjoy the same luxurious comforts as front rowers and you get one of the most practical shaped boots I’ve sampled. For adventuring families, it has great off-road and towing capabilities with effortless power and grunt. It also drives like a dream and is a comfortable road tripper. I love it and miss it.Station wagons are my favourite type of family-hauler. Technically this sits in the same category as a Toyota Prado (ahem) but it looks and behaves like a wagon. This is one of the smoothest driving experiences you can have. It has AWD and the old-school elements are seamlessly blended with easy-to-use tech. High comfort for longer journeys and its only downside was being a bit thirsty.It hurt my soul to hand the keys back. The driving experience is finely tuned with great power delivery and on-road comfort. The sedan/wagon hybrid style took a little while to get used to, but the practicality was a big win for my little family of three. It could fit the hubby’s golf clubs, do a big grocery haul and carry all the junk my eight-year-old seems to accumulate over a week. The boosted sound experience on the engine is one you simply have to hear once in your life.The Touareg is a great looking family SUV that caters to everyone with comfort and tech. It’s smooth to drive with power that is promptly delivered. The on-road experience is also a lesson in refinement, which a few other European brands can take notes on. Efficiency and ongoing costs are also good – what’s not to like?It made the list last year and the updated model won my heart again. Just a solid all-rounder that delivers great on-road comfort, steers well, has decent power and good features for a base model. The hybrid efficiency is hard to question and it’s a smart-looking sedan thanks to the substantial facelift. Annoyingly, it is heavily associated with ride-share and taxis but I’d have one in a heartbeat.It’s only fair to include my eight-year-old's top-five cars, as he tests them with me and is very loud with his opinions on them.He loves the ambient lighting in Mercs and whooped with joy whenever I had to get up to speed. The engine sounded cool and there were enough comforts in the rear.He loved all of the features in the second and third rows, including cupholders that are well-positioned on the doors.He loves a good ute and the manly internal styling won him (and my husband) over. The tray was the winning feature and acted as a cubby house.His nickname for it was the Batmobile. That really sums up how much he liked it.

Volkswagen has finally announced pricing for the 2024 Touareg large five-seat SUV. A neat surprise for those looking to buy, the diesel-heavy facelifted Touareg with more kit and technology is significantly more affordable than the outgoing car. The prices are down between $7550 and $11,150, with the biggest savings on the 170TDI entry grade.

Volkswagen is set to put more emphasis on plug-in hybrid technology as demand for electric cars falls off in Europe.The German brand’s global boss Thomas Schafer told UK publication Autocar: "It's a bridge technology. While battery-electric drive is plateauing out a bit at the moment, we still need this transitional technology."Schafer was surprised by the renewed interest in hybrids, which were considered old tech."Hybrids were a thing of the past. Last year, if you asked the same question, it would have been: 'Forget hybrids, it's expensive technology, it's not worth it.' Within the last six months, all of a sudden everyone wants hybrids,” said Schafer to Autocar.He stated that full electric cars are still the future for the brand long term.In Europe Volkswagen sells plug-in hybrid versions of the Tiguan medium SUV, Touareg large SUV, Golf small hatchback and Passat sedan and wagon. Volkswagen is just about to launch its first plug-in hybrid model locally, the range-topping Touareg R large SUV.The model is pitched as a performance flagship with a 3.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine paired with an electric motor making a hefty 340kW and 700Nm.No other plug-in hybrids have been confirmed and the Passat would be off the cards as the entire model line-up was axed in Australia last year.The looming spectre of the Federal Government’s New Vehicle Emissions Standards that will fine car makers for selling heavy polluting vehicles may change the equation, though.Price could be the biggest hurdle to overcome before adding plug-in hybrids to the local range.The Touareg R is priced from $129,990 (before on-road costs), which is $40,000 more than the base diesel-powered Touareg.That range-topping price point is likely to be filled by the brand’s coming range of electric cars.It will launch its first battery-electric vehicles - the ID.4 and ID.5 SUVs - in the coming months. These models are expected to be priced at about $80,000, which is a healthy premium on its petrol equivalent Tiguan R-Line.This would effectively rule out a plug-in hybrid version of the Tiguan but a Golf hybrid could find success.Exact timing for the arrival of the ID.3 electric hatchback, which is a similar size to the Golf, hasn’t been locked in but is expected sometime next year.The ID.Buzz electric people mover will arrive at the end of this year, but there is also a plug-in hybrid version of the similar proportioned Multivan in Europe.Plug-in hybrids may be left to Cupra, which is part of the broader Volkswagen Group.Cupra already sells petrol-electric versions of its Golf-sized Leon hatchback and T-Roc-equivalent Formentor.Cupra just revealed updated versions of these cars, which will arrive in Australia next year with up to 100km of pure electric driving range.It will also bring a plug-in hybrid version of the Tiguan-sized Terramar soon.The brand has found success with plug-in hybrids compared to the broader market.Cupra Australia boss Ben Wilks said before the FBT exemptions came into effect, PHEVs made up about one in five sales but are now more than double that.That means plug-in hybrids account for about 40 per cent of Cupra sales, which is well above the rest of the industry where plug-in hybrids account for about one per cent of new sales so far this year.“We’re seeing the shift at the moment with our plug-in hybrid versus our VZx , the top-of-the-range petrol engine,” said Wilks.“I think the beauty of our range is we have something for everyone. We are able to offer our ICE cars as we are bringing the electric cars to market.”

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