Volkswagen Touareg vs Toyota Kluger

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.

The Toyota Kluger GXL Hybrid has been the ultimate SUV this week, as it fits my gear and family in comfort, the on-road handling is excellent and the fuel usage makes owning this long term actually feasible.

This is a great example of a mid-spec seven-seater that is both functional and comfortable. There’s lots to satisfy here and even though it hasn’t been updated, it may be a case of ‘if it aint broke, don’t fix it’.

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.

The Kluger epitomes what a large SUV was originally meant to look like. A big body and with enough ground clearance to earn the tag, but the shape is all long lines and gently curving panelling and that makes it look sleek rather than rugged.

Make no mistake, the Kluger is large at 4966mm long, 1930mm wide and 1755mm tall. It's only only 24mm shorter in its length than its big 4WD Toyota Prado cousin. It's size and road presence assures you that it's capable, but it's not trying to convince you it's a 4WD.

Despite not seeing any design updates, the Kluger still feels relevant and more than holds its own when it comes to kerbside handsomeness.

On the inside, the black synthetic leather trims, softly padded touchpoints and interesting dashboard make the cabin both pleasant to look at and spend time in.

The 12.3-inch multimedia display looks lovely with its clear graphics, but it’s still nice to see some traditional elements - like the gear selector, analogue instrument cluster (with a 7.0-inch digital display) and lots of buttons and dials to play with.

Interestingly, there isn’t a traditional transmission tunnel, which means you get a practical flat floor in the middle row and, thus, more legroom for middle seaters. 

It's a forgiving cabin that lots of different drivers will find something to like in.

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 Kluger is both practical and comfortable for passengers as each row gets a great amount of head- and legroom – yes, even third-rowers, but the low level of amenities in that row will render it a 'sometimes seat' for adults or older kids.

The 208mm ground clearance, wide door apertures and low-sitting seats makes it a very easy SUV to get in and out of, even for kids. The access to the third row is also good as the 60/40 split middle bench seat can be slid forward.

The electric front seats offer lots of adjustments, including lumbar support on the drivers side, but both seats get heating. They’re also well-padded and quite comfortable on a longer journey.

The outboard seats on the middle row offer the most comfort as they have longer under-thigh support, but the entire row benefits from heavy padding and the seat backs can recline.

The third row offers a curious 60/40 split and is wide enough for two adults to not be squished like sardines.

Although the Kluger is a seven-seater, families will be bummed that there are no child seat anchor points in the third row. But the middle row has two ISOFIX child seat mounts and three top-tether anchor points. It is more than wide enough to accommodate three seats side by side and you’ll have enough room for the front passenger when a rearward facing child seat is installed, too.

Individual storage is above average for the class, but the front row gets the best of it. There are two handy shelves built-into the dash, a glove box, a deep middle console (that swallows my arm) and cubbies in the centre console that include a phone cradle and two cupholders. There's also a sunglasses holder and little cubby beside the driver's knee.

In the middle row, you get two map pockets, two cupholders in a fold down armrest, and a drink holder in each door. While the third row gets a couple of cupholders.

Amenities are well-rounded for the most part, with the three-zone climate control and well-positioned directional air vents in the roof for the back two rows. Middle-rowers also get reading lights and two USB-C ports.

Technology is easy to use and looks great as the 12.3-inch display uses the same multimedia system as Lexus. The built-in satellite navigation is simple to set up and shows clear directions with lots of route customisations available.

There is wired Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay, but you do have to initially connect the CarPlay via a cable.

Rounding out the cabin is the great-size boot that offers 241L with all seats in use, but that can jump up to 552L when the third row is stored.

The level loading space makes it easy to slide larger items in and out of, and there’s a handy underfloor storage compartments for smaller items. You get a full-size spare tyre underneath the car and a powered tailgate in this model.

You have to love a simple three-grade line up with variant names that aren't hard to say! The Kluger starts with the base GX, mid-spec GXL and then the flagship Grande model.

All Kluger models share the same all-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain, and our test model is the mid-spec GXL, which is priced from $70,440 before on-road costs.

Its price positions it in the middle of its seven-seat hybrid rivals; the Hyundai Santa Fe Elite ($65,000 MSRP) and the Kia Sorento GT-Line AWD ($73,330 MSRP), but it should be noted that the Sorento hybrid is only offered in one high-spec grade level and the Kluger can’t always match the Sorento’s plush features.

The GXL is still fairly well-specified and includes eight-way powered front seats with heating, adjustable lumbar support (driver's seat), black synthetic leather upholstery, a powered tailgate, rain-sensing wipers, dusk-sensing LED headlights, keyless entry/start and a full-sized spare tyre.

There is also 12 months of complimentary access to Toyota Connected Services, which allows you remote access, via the myToyota Connect app, to safety and security features, multimedia connect and driving insights.

The other technology is well showcased in the 12.3-inch multimedia display that has touchscreen functionality, in-built satellite navigation, wired Android Auto, wireless Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth and digital radio. You also get a single USB-A port, three USB-C ports, two 12-volt sockets and three-zone climate control.

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.

All Kluger grades are all-wheel-drives with a smooth continuously variable transmission. They share the same 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain that produces up to 184kW of power. Toyota does not quote a combined torque output.

At first look, these outputs may look underwhelming, but the on-road experience has shown that it’s more than enough to move the Klugers big body around without it feeling underpowered.

The Kluger has a braked towing capacity of up to 2000kg, which means you can hook up most of your weekend adventure toys!

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?

The Kluger may be massive but it has an excellent combined fuel cycle usage of just 5.6L/100km because of its hybrid powertrain.

Combined with its large 65L fuel tank, you should see a theoretical driving range of up to 1160km, which is really good for a family SUV and rivals diesel models of the same size.

I’ve been super pleased with the fuel usage of our test model because despite doing quite a few long distance trips, which is where hybrids are usually the most inefficient, I’ve managed a real world usage of only 5.8L/100km! That is a great result.

The Kluger only accepts a minimum 95RON unleaded premium petrol.

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.

The engine can sound like it’s under pressure, but that doesn’t translate to underwhelming power delivery. The GXL has enough grunt to make it a comfortable open-roader that’s confident on hills and overtaking.

The steering is light for such a big SUV, but with its 11.4m turning circle, it’s every parents dream when doing the school run or navigating small lanes or parks for after-school activities. It’s almost stupidly easy to drive and feels much smaller than what it is, even in the city.

Visibility is mostly good because of the large windows, but the B-pillar is larger than I’d like and I found myself checking my blind spots carefully. 

The ride comfort is really good and suspension is forgiving on the worst of the bumps without feeling like it floats on the road. Road noise is low, even at higher speeds, but occasionally you get a weird wind whistle through the air vents. 

Even those usually put off by a large SUV, should find this comfortable to get around in. Parking it is the only time you really notice its bulk. While the reversing camera is great quality, a 360-degree view system would have been much better.

The Toyota Kluger has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing done in 2021 and scored highly across its individual assessment scores. However, it only features seven airbags, which is a bit low for a car of this size, but the curtain airbags extend to the third row, which is good. 

The Kluger has lots of safety equipment, including daytime running lights, hill-start assist, seatbelt warning (all seats), lane departure alert, lane-keeping aid, traffic sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, a reversing camera (with guidelines) and front and rear parking sensors.

The Kluger does miss out on family friendly safety items, like child-presence alert and side exit assist. The adaptive cruise control isn’t as well tuned as I’d like as it doesn't hold it's speed all that well, slows down too soon behind a vehicle, and sometimes can be sluggish to return to a normal speed once a vehicle has left its 'radar'.

The GXL has AEB with car, pedestrian, cyclist and junction turning assist and is operational from 10-80km/h (up to 180km/h for car), but it is usual to see that starting point sit closer to 5.0km/h.

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.

The Kluger is offered with Toyota’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, but that can be extended to seven years if you service on time and with a Toyota service centre, which makes it competitive against some rivals.

There’s a five-year capped-price servicing program available, with services costing just $285, which is cheap for the class. Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.