Volkswagen Touareg vs Audi SQ7

What's the difference?

A car as impressive as it is frustrating, the Touareg R is a vehicle for a very specific buyer. Someone whose daily commute consists of limited distances, someone who can always charge at home overnight and someone who appreciates the subtlety of the performance and luxury the Touareg brings.

For everyone else - there are better options. Performance-focused PHEVs can be tricky to charge and extract the full benefit from, and at this price you have access to some serious performance-oriented combustion SUVs or the choice of going fully electric.

While this R-badged VW might be the most mind-bending of the lot then, it also has the most 'specific' appeal.

There are newer options than the current Audi SQ7 and SQ8, including those which use the same platform, but don't write these luxury large SUVs off just yet.

It's a rare thing that a vehicle costing $200,000 has an air of pragmatism about it, but the SQ7 does. Its sensible leather upholstery, decent practicality, towing capability and near-excess of interior space make it a great family wagon.

As a counterpoint, the sharper looking SQ8 has minimal trade-off in comfort and interior room (at least for five) and is the kind of statement piece you'd expect for the price — especially in one of its loud paint colours.

Whichever way you leap, it's true that while the SQ7 and SQ8 are ageing, they are doing so gracefully and remain a superb option in this segment.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

The Touareg, as always, screams big Volkswagen. It’s more subtle than the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 with which it shares its underpinnings, yet looks as slick as either up close.

It’s defined in its face by a massive black grille, integrated light fittings, and as usual with Volkswagen, some pretty subtle highlights and tail-lights in attractive LED patterns.

The wheels sell the vibe of an R. They’re enormous and gloss black, matching the theme and style of its smaller siblings, black highlight trims replace chrome or body colour bits to set it apart from the rest of the range.

It doesn’t look quite as modern as something like Kia’s Sorento or EV9, and it doesn’t look as elegant as the Volvo XC90 or as defined as the Land Rover Defender, all in the same price bracket.

This helps the Touareg maintain a certain mainstream appeal, and a sporty edge, without being too egregious.

Still, some might want some more overt visual flourish to indicate they’re driving a vehicle which is capable of sprinting to 100km/h from a standstill in 5.1 seconds.

Perhaps I’m in a different camp, one which appreciates the ‘sleeper’ nature of a giant family SUV capable of incredible driving feats when pushed.

Inside is always a pleasant surprise in a Touareg. While it might be the most affordable of the giant SUVs on this platform, it maintains the air of luxury and plush nature of its more expensive counterparts from Audi and Porsche.

You’re met by nicely trimmed leather seats and a chunky VW R steering wheel, massive screens and lavish amounts of padded leather surfaces everywhere. It feels every bit the luxury SUV the price indicates, in case you were worried you’d be getting something which feels more like a T-Roc than an Audi. For what it’s worth I quite like all the Volkswagen switchgear.

If you're getting an SQ7, you'll want to tick the 'Black Pack' box because otherwise there are a lot of high-gloss silver details, especially at the rear that don't suit this tall and slightly awkward SUV.

The SQ8 is more convincing, appearing wider on the road with its new 'singleframe' grille design seemingly sucking it even closer to the tarmac like some kind of overgrown Audi RS3.

Both get an attractive new 2D design for the Audi rings and L-shaped grille details. These aid the SQ7's front end which is more muscular and purposeful than before.

The attractive lights have moved higher up the front end for enhanced presence, too. You get Matrix LEDs as standard but these candles are the hardcore HD Matrix items that feature laser light for further even longer light throw at night. They are simply awesome.

Fresh 22-inch alloy wheels and minor changes to badges finish off the exterior treatment for both cars.

The SQ8's bold specification — finished here in 'Sakhir Gold' — sets it apart from other SUVs as the metallic gold paint shimmers in the sunlight. The SQ8 is also available with whopping great 23-inch alloy wheels that you see here.

Inside, both cars share a similar architecture with 10.1-inch touchscreen for the multimedia and an 8.6-inch item below for heating and ventilation settings. 

The SQ7 is a great example of a design ageing without dating, its confident horizontal lines and well-proportioned cabin features are as attractive as they were at launch, if less impressive than the related VW Touareg's whopping 15-inch screen or the minimalist Range Rover Sport.

Adding to the feeling of quality is that signature Audi smell — a combination of leather and the Sensory Package's perfume, no doubt. The SQ7 keeps a round-bottom steering wheel which remains one of the best in the business, it's just the right size and diameter trimmed with dimpled leather.

Final flourishes include the optional contrast red stitching and seatbelts as well as eye-catching turned aluminium trims.

It’s a big SUV with big interior dimensions. It feels spacious and wide on the inside with a large centre console area for spreading out and a highly adjustable driver’s seat.

The seats are plush and comfortable, and visibility is pretty solid out of the cabin. Again, you're greeted by excellent touchpoints, from the steering wheel to the door cards and there’s even lashings of padded leather trim down the sides of the centre console for your knee to rest on.

Volkswagen’s screens are usually some of the best in the business and that continues here. They’re bright, sharp and served up with attractive and mostly functional and easy-to-navigate software.

The hardware behind them is also enough to keep them lightning fast when reacting to inputs, with satisfyingly smooth animations, too.

The one thing I like a bit less is how a few of the menus can be confounding. It took me a while to figure out I needed to set the default battery level higher than its current charge to get the engine to stay on, and I’d also love a button to simply switch between EV and hybrid mode.

In fact, the lack of buttons is one of the major issues in this car. Sure, the enormous centre screen is an impressive feature, syncing up with the dash design nicely, but you’re also forced to negotiate with touch elements for key climate functions. No matter how fast or slick the software is, there’s no compensating for a toggle or dial you can easily reach while you’re focused on the road.

For what it’s worth, the wireless Apple CarPlay worked seamlessly with the car in my time with it (and looked good too) while the wireless charger is rubberised and in a good location so your phone will be able to at least maintain its state of charge on the go.

Storage is plentiful up front, with large pockets with integrated bottle holders in each door, a large dual cupholder set-up in the centre console with variable edges and a large armrest console box.

In the back seat I have enough room for myself behind my own driving position at 182cm tall. It’s plenty wide and tall, but I don’t feel as though I had an enormous amount of legroom considering the size of the vehicle.

Still, the width will give you space for three adults across in relative comfort. Yes, there’s a large raise in the floor in the centre position to accommodate the all-wheel drive hardware underneath, but the width of the floor should allow a centre passenger to put their feet on either side.

Big door openings and the wide cabin make for easy child seat fitting, and there's even built-in window shades alongside two rear climate zones with physical controls, large bottle holders in the doors and a drop-down armrest, with some flimsy nets on the backs of the front seats to round things out.

Boot space is allegedly enormous at a quoted 810 litres, but the shape of it is less than ideal. Sure it’s nice and wide and oblong shaped at the base, but the rake of the boot quickly eats into the amount of height available, making it tricky to fit larger objects.

The space accommodated our CarsGuide three-piece luggage set with ease, but it didn’t leave much room to spare. It doesn’t feel like it’s double the 400 litre space typical of a one size-down SUV. 

There’s also a needlessly complex two-piece shelf, which lifts with the tailgate, but the boot wouldn’t completely close with the luggage set present unless you removed it. To the Touareg’s credit, the second row seats hinge forward significantly to expand space by a fair bit.

Under the floor there’s only a repair kit, as the huge PHEV battery takes up the rest of the space. A decidedly less than ideal flat tyre option.

The difference between aged and dated is best summed up, though, by the excellent usability of the SQ7's cabin controls.

The separate screen for ventilation, for example, makes it simple to adjust seat or vent temperatures without interrupting the main screen's navigation instruction or other media systems.

When using wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto the top screen is entirely devoted to the other software with no remnants of Audi's system. It runs smoothly at all times.

Switching back to Audi's system, and there's a lack of contrast to the dark main screen and navigation. The touch targets are huge, though, and the satisfying click of the haptic feedback is welcome when driving. It seems expensive and natural in a world of feel-free touch operation.

Audi's 12.3-inch digital driver's display remains one of the best in the business. Legible and customisable with bespoke sport modes and the ability to show a full-size map, if you wish.

You can keeping devices charged with a wireless pad or there are two USB-C ports under the cushy centre armrest. A 12-volt socket is also available, and two more charge points are found in the back.

If there's one criticism in the front, it's the fairly limited storage. The door bins are big enough for a 600mL bottle but not much more and beneath the armrest the tray is shallow. The only other storage spots are the two cupholders which are the perfect size for a small take-away coffee.

While on the critiques, the drive mode selector is awkwardly hidden near the passenger below the touchscreen.

The seats are amazingly comfortable with ample support and power adjust for everything, including under-thigh length and bolsters. Several massage programs can be accessed through the menus, too.

Continuing the comfortable seating, the SQ7's second row is capacious with plenty of head, leg and toe room even for those over 180cm.

The bench slides forwards and backwards manually and the backrest is adjustable. A fold-down armrest contains two more small cupholders, and there are two separate climate zones, two vents and heated outboard seats.

However, folding and unfolding the second row is a bit complex and quite heavy work with a strange mix between electric and manual movement to access the third row — a Nissan Pathfinder does this better.

Once back there, the third row is passable for adults providing the second row is slid forward.

There are ISOFIX ports and top tether anchors for both power-deployed third row seats, so you can fit up to five children's seats in an SQ7.

The SQ8's second row is still generous but you do lose a small amount of headroom owing to the sloping roof design.

You also sacrifice some boot space, at 608L with five seats and 1755L with the second row folded. That's still a lot but the spacious SQ7's 793L/1921L figures are even better and 295L with all seven seats up is respectable. Both have sturdy 40/20/40 split-fold rear seats.

As the vehicles are equipped with air suspension, owners can raise or lower the boot floor to make it easier to load bulky objects if needed. A power tailgate is standard on both models.

A retractable luggage cover, netted pocket, boot lights and some underfloor storage complete the boot, however both cars lack a spare tyre of any sort. A tyre inflation kit is included.

Audi's range of Q7 and Q8 large SUVs starts at $117,284 for the 45TDI and there's a plug-in hybrid version from $152,284, both before on-road costs. The flagship SQ7 and SQ8 are $174,815 and $178,815, respectively.

The pair is a rare example of a discounted new car, albeit by a slim $585, so you'd expect these behemoths to offer comprehensive standard specification.

Features such as 22-inch alloy wheels, ambient interior lighting, soft close doors, power-adjust heated and ventilated seats, quad-zone climate control, 'Valcona' leather upholstery, a 17-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, full-length sunroof, navigation and a head-up display are included.

Naturally, options are available in packs and standalone choices with all vehicles we drove featuring at least one of the expensive box-ticks.

The 'Sensory Pack' seems a logical choice, bundling a 23-speaker, 1920-watt sound system with raising tweeters, 'Dinamica' headlining, massage seats, heated rear seats, Audi's air ioniser and interior perfume, extended leather upholstery and rear sun shades for $14,400.

Another major option is the $10,900 'Dynamic Package' with active roll stabilisation and Quattro Sport rear differential.

Stand-out stand-alone options include HD Matrix LED and Laser headlights combined with customisable OLED rear signatures ($3950) and the black exterior styling packages ($1850, or $2550 for the Plus version).

The as-tested price for the tow pack-equipped ($1500) 'Daytona Grey' car we spent most time in was rather high at $209,215 before on-road costs — that's over $30K worth of extras.

The Touareg offers a performance-focused plug-in hybrid (PHEV) drivetrain. Usually this means a little turbo four-cylinder engine and an electric motor, but instead this big SUV offers a 100kW electric motor and a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-petrol engine which combine for a whomping “total system power” of 340kW/700Nm.

This allows a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 5.1 seconds. Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and Torsen central differential. Up to 70 per cent of power can be sent to the front wheels, with up to 80 per cent of power going to the rear.

It is capable of driving at up to 135km/h under electric power alone, with the V6 kicking in beyond that speed.

It’s a rare set-up for two reasons. Firstly, it’s a plug in which maintains a large six-cylinder engine, and it runs even electric power through the transmission to all four wheels.

Some PHEV rivals, for example, use front combustion-drive only with no mechanical connection between the engine and the rear axle, which is driven purely electrically.

When it comes to towing specs, the Touareg offers solid official figures of 750kg for an unbraked trailer and 3500kg braked, although the maximum towball download is 220kg.

The SQ7 and SQ8 both use a 4.0-litre twin-turbo 'hot vee' V8 petrol after the diesel SQ7 was abandoned in mid-2022.

It is the same engine you'll find in just about every application of this MLB platform, including the Porsche Cayenne, Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus — though it makes more power elsewhere.

In Audi's two medium-sporty SUVs it produces 373kW at 5500rpm and 770Nm between 2000-4000rpm.

In practice, it's a swelling, punchy engine without much top-end sparkle — though 4.1 seconds to 100km/h is nothing to scoff at.

The V8 also produces a rather splendid soundtrack, striking the right balance between Detroit burble and motorsport bark for this application.

An eight-speed torque converter auto transmission has been retuned for improved shift logic and it remains buttery smooth. It's pleasing enough just manoeuvring slowly around a car park, where you can feel just well calibrated the long travel throttle and transmission logic are.

Like other plug-in hybrids, the official combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle fuel efficiency number for the Touareg R is an eyebrow-raisingly low figure which you know won’t be achievable in the real world, but is probably technically feasible in lab-style conditions. 

In this case, it’s 3.3L/100km. When I picked up the car it had a low charge level, and the next day I was able to top it up to just 50 per cent because I don’t have a power point in my garage, and the achingly slow 3.6kW maximum AC charging speed is severely limiting if you need to rely on the public network, as the 17.9kWh battery is relatively large.

This should bring you to the obvious conclusion the Touareg R is not a good hybrid if you can’t charge at home, as you’ll never extract the full benefit of the electric set-up. Perhaps adding evidence to this is its official energy consumption which comes in at a painful 21.1kWh/100km.

As for hydrocarbons, in my week of driving (in which I tried to pick up charge wherever I could) I saw over 14L/100km. Makes sense for a heavy petrol V6 SUV. I’d say you’re likely to see a figure like this on a longer journey or if you drive it with enthusiasm as the R badge encourages. To add additional pain, it requires 98RON premium unleaded fuel.

With a realistic maximum pure-electric range of closer to 40km compared to the official WLTP-rated 51km (more on this in the driving section of the review), the R is also best for people whose daily commute is relatively short.

I can’t imagine, for example, the best benefit of this car will be extracted from someone who lives in the urban sprawl and commutes to the city every day with distances in excess of 50km for a return journey.

Additionally, the hybrid mode is very EV-heavy, draining the battery relatively quickly unless you manually put it in preservation mode.

For nerds who could be bothered, this mode is potentially a nifty feature allowing retention of some EV range at the end of a long freeway journey. But it takes a certain buyer to even be bothered with this.

Can you see why plug-less hybrids are the Australian new car buyer’s electrification configuration of choice?

With 2340kg to heave around, not even the 48-volt mild hybrid system can save the SQ7's fuel consumption — it's a thirsty beast.

The rated ADR combined cycle (urban, extra-urban) figure is 11.8L/100km and indulging in the ample performance resulted in 16.5L/100km on the trip computer. The SQ8 was much the same.

The SQ7 is certified to tow up to 3500kg (braked), equal to a Toyota LandCruiser or Nissan Patrol.

A fairly large 85L tank gives the SQ7 a theoretical driving range of around 720km from a fill-up. Naturally, 98 octane unleaded is required.

Here’s where things get a bit frustrating, and your experience will vary dramatically depending on how you use this car.

One thing we can get out of the way immediately is the Touareg is deeply technically impressive when you attack a few corners. Its immediate electric thrust is capable of propelling this large object forward with eye-widening speed, and the air suspension, wide grippy tyres, Torsen centre differential and tidy steering tune conspire to make it mind-bending to carve corners in.

It’s flat, stable, and far more accurate and agile than expected. The only hint as to the sheer physics of wrangling the Touareg around bends is the tyres screaming out in agony as the suspension and all-wheel drive system work their magic to keep it all under control.

Once the electric torque pushes you out from the corner, the deep satisfying thrum of the 3.0-litre petrol V6 quickly takes over as you lurch forward on the almost fluid-feeling suspension. It’s laugh-out-loud satisfying and certainly enough to capture passengers' attention.

In this sense, the R fulfils its mission of transforming the big Touareg into a handling and acceleration hero, but despite all the cleverness it doesn’t feel as sharp or lean as the Golf R, T-Roc R or Tiguan R.

There’s still a massive battery, as well as huge complexity and weight to deal with, no matter how technically fast it is. There’s always the unsettling feeling of this amount of weight moving around, and the occasional slight delay from the transmission as it figures out what’s going on between the electric motor and big engine.

Then there are the compromises. Normally, I’m a huge fan of how plush and luxurious the Touareg feels. It’s usually such a step above its station in the VW Group, occasionally even feeling preferable to its platform relations, but the R has some issues.

For a start, the enormous 22-inch wheels and low-profile tyres ruin the day-to-day ride quality, crashing over bumps and road imperfections, despite the fact there’s also air suspension supposedly providing a buffer between you and the tarmac.

Even in the more comfort-oriented drive settings you can hear and feel every bit the moment the wheels contact a pothole or bump. Clearly, it’s tuned more toward handling than maintaining the same luxury feel as the rest of the range.

The transmission is also occasionally hesitant, either from a standing start or when switching between electric thrust and the engine. This is much better when the battery is charged up from the reserve level, as there isn’t enough charge when driving around as a hybrid to push a big, heavy (and always) all-wheel drive very far.

But hybrid driving is also frustrating, for reasons mainly related to the software. With the battery charged, the 51km of claimed driving range feels a tad ambitious. I was able to charge it to about 50 per cent (the battery is huge, at 17.9kWh, and I could only pull about 3.5kW from a local AC charging unit) and scored about 20km of driving range.

It drains quickly, even in the hybrid driving mode, as it relies on the electric motor a lot for initial take-off.

This means unless you set the battery preserve mode manually in the hybrid settings screen, it will likely run the battery dry before you’re even able to get it somewhere where it can take full advantage of the extra electric thrust.

As an electric vehicle it’s also only alright. The short time I was able to spend in full EV mode proved the battery will drain faster than advertised, and the regen is so-so for assisting in braking.

Other more performance-focused PHEVs suffer the same issue. For example, I felt largely the same way about the much-maligned four-cylinder PHEV Mercedes-AMG C63.

While hybrids like this may be impressive when conditions are ideal, they’re ultimately frustrating to use in reality. It’s a shame, because I wanted to like it more but it doesn’t quite capture the same magic of its R-badged forebears and siblings.

Our drive loop started in South-East Sydney where the SQ7's burbly V8 and air suspension fitted right in, easily soaking up the worst of the concrete expansion joints and sharp-edged potholes.

It is a joy to waft around in the refined SQ7 with its remarkably good vision out the front and back (with 360-degree cameras to help elsewhere). Standard rear-wheel steer allows the back tyres to rotate up to 5.0 degrees, giving the 5072mm long SQ7 a better turning circle (12.5m) than a Q3 small SUV.

Its driven home further by the excellent drive mode customisation. Along with the standard programs, you can set an 'Individual' mode up with various selections for the suspension, steering, powertrain response and exhaust noise.

Following the SQ7, our time in the SQ8 took in some more twisting roads and the combination of 23-inch alloys with firmer suspension settings meant that, even in 'Comfort', 'Auto' or 'Balanced' drive modes, the coupe-styled model had a busier ride.

Both SQ7 and SQ8 featured 'Sport' adaptive air suspension, sitting 15mm lower than normal with the ability to drop the ride height up to 40mm in 'Dynamic' mode or raise it 50mm in lift mode to get out of sticky situations.

Audi chose not to specify the Dynamic pack on the SQ8, though, and the difference is noticeable compared to the SQ7. The coupe SUV rolls a little more in hard cornering and doesn't engage the rear end in quite the same way.

Back in the SQ7, turn in may feel a little less sharp owing to the taller height but the active roll stabilisation and Quattro electronically-controlled limited-slip differential splitting power between the two rear wheels makes for a more confident vehicle with better punch out of corners.

Grip is prodigious and the SQ7 is always in control with 285/35R22 Bridgestone Turanza T005 tyres.

A 2.4-turn lock-to-lock steering system is well-judged, remaining light in Comfort but adding enough weight and precision in Dynamic.

The brakes — 400mm front rotors clamped by six-piston calipers with optional ceramics — are reassuring and feel Autobahn ready. 

The Audi SQ7 with Dynamic Pack is like an Olympic swimmer that's put on some kilos and had a few kids but can still gap his teenage son in a 50-metre freestyle race.

This is perhaps the perfect expression of Audi's 'S' models USPs, being totally normal when pottering despite huge reserves of talent. 

The Audi SQ7 is currently unrated by local ANCAP safety authority but Euro NCAP awarded a Q7 50TDI a maximum five stars in 2019.

It features eight airbags, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, surround-view monitor and exit-warning system to stop occupants dooring cyclists.

The adaptive cruise control is smooth and natural, although we found the lane-keep and lane-trace programs to be a little overbearing. Both can be easily disabled by holding the button at the end of the indicator stalk for about five seconds.

The standard five year, unlimited kilometre warranty features with one year of complimentary roadside assistance provided (renewed for another year with each service at an authorised dealer).

Servicing is required once every 12 months or 15,000km and the most affordable way to do it is with pre-packaged service plans bundled in with purchase. These come in at $3400 for five years (a saving of $668 over the a-la-carte program) or $2050 for the three year plan (a saving of $222).

Even in its most affordable form this makes servicing average $680 a year which is a far cry from most affordable brands, but it could be worse considering the complexity of the powertrain.

Audi recommends SQ7 and SQ8 owners bring their car in for a service every 12 months or 15,000km.

Service pricing is not cheap, with a five-year package costing $4600 for either model. For reference a basic service plan for a BMW X5 costs $3450 for five years.

Audi has moved to a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty with owners able to extend that (for a fee) up to nine years with Audi Advantage. An extra two years of warranty and scheduled servicing costs $4360 for the SQ7 and $4160 for SQ8.

Additionally, customers get access to Audi's loyalty programs with event invitations, ambassador experiences and discounts offers from select partner companies.