Volkswagen Touareg vs Toyota Land Cruiser

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 LandCruiser 300 GR Sport is a total knockout when it comes to its looks, comfort and practicality. It’s stupidly easy to drive and has a fuel efficiency that should make you swoon but the servicing is a bit annoying and it’s not the most affordable option on the market. However, even though it hasn't benefited from any updates this year, you don't feel like you're missing out on any luxuries.

My son adores it, wants it and will be very disappointed when we hand it back. Naturally, he gives it a 10/10.

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.

Design is 100 per cent subjective. I love the look of the LC300 GR Sport because it features what I feel is a timeless, handsome shape.

For some, it may look too big and brutish, because you could throw a bunch of beefy words at it, and somehow, they’d all fit the roadside presence of this extra-large SUV.

What visually sets the GR Sport apart from its siblings are the multitude of black accents across the body from the rear badging, wheels and arches, door handles and roof racks. The grille is also distinctly different in its horizontal design with the Toyota badging capitalised in a bold white font for extra effect. 

Head inside and the cabin looks ruggedly capable with the dimensions of the centre console and dashboard complementing the external looks.

Technology looks upmarket, joinery is solidly put together and the leather upholstery adds to the plush comfort of the seats but there is a sense of capability in the physical buttons and dials still found on the dashboard.

Which is where I start to really like the LC300 GR Sport because everything is where you expect it to be - this is not a car you’ll get flustered in but nor does it have that generic Toyota look.

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 front row is roomy and even with a co-pilot, you feel like you have yards of space to settle into. The seats offer a wide seat and plush padding, as well as heat and ventilation functions which adds comfort for longer trips.

Individual storage is good with a large glove box, two cupholders, two drink bottle holders and a large middle console that also features a 'cool box' function for drinks or snacks.

The comfort of the front is replicated in the backseat, which deftly accepts the height of my 183cm father. The width of the seat can easily accommodate three adults in relative comfort or, if you have a few tots in tow, three child seats.

Amenities and storage in the back row are what you'd expect for a top model in this class. The rear outboard seats feature heat and ventilation functions and there is dual air-conditioning and climate control, as well as, four directional air vents.

The fold-down armrest features two cupholders while the doors hold a drink bottle each and a small storage bin. There are also two map pockets and you can access the middle console cool box with a rear-mounted button.

The GR Sport does remind you that it's a big car with its 235mm ground clearance and my seven-year-old son declared I needed to hold all of his stuff this week as getting in and out is a ‘two-handed- operation'. Like him, I too am grateful for the grab handles and side steps in this car.

The technology is well-rounded and simple to use. The 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system looks great and is responsive to touch. It has built-in satellite navigation and a Toyota Connected Services app with three years of complimentary updates. There is also wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, AM/FM radio and DAB+ radio but there’s not much else to access in this system.

The mostly analogue instrument cluster features a 7.0-inch tech screen and this is where you can do a lot of your customisations with display and safety.

The charging options are solid up front with the choice of a USB-A and C port, 12-volt socket and a wireless charging pad. The rear gets two USB-C ports and a 12-volt socket as well.

The boot is cavernous with its 1131L of luggage capacity and that’s with all seats in use. The squared shape of the boot and the 90-degree angle the boot lid opens to are quite practical, especially when fitting bulky items or loading things in the rain.

All GR Sports come with a powered boot lid and a domestic 220-volt socket for charging larger items while adventuring.

The LC300 series is offered in six grade levels for our market and the second-from-top-spec GR Sport model (the Sahara ZX is slightly more expensive) is on test here. It’s priced from $145,876 before on-roads which is almost $4K dearer than last year’s pricing but doesn’t feature any new upgrades.

Its price point also positions it more towards the top-end of the upper-large SUV market, compared to its rivals. Sitting at the top of that list is the Lexus LX500D F Sport at $180,061 MSRP and then the Land Rover Discovery D300 at $129,020 MSRP.

The most affordable rival is the Nissan Patrol Warrior for $104,160 MSRP but it's important to note that the Patrol is only available with a hefty 5.6L V8 petrol engine, there's no diesel variant. Which is something to consider when you're at the bowser.

In terms of luxuries, there is a heated steering wheel, powered front seats with heat and ventilation functions, leather upholstery and synthetic leather trims throughout. The rear outboards seats also have heat and ventilation functions and a sunroof comes standard.

The technology looks premium with a 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system and a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster headlining the dashboard. There's some 'old world' charm with the CD/DVD player at the front.

Tech is rounded out by the wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built-in satellite navigation, Toyota Connected Services App, head-up display, three USB-C ports, one USB-A port, two 12-volt sockets and a wireless charging pad. There is also a 220-volt domestic socket located in the boot and a premium 14-speaker JBL sound system.

The key practical features include a powered tailgate, cool box (middle console), four-zone air-conditioning and climate control, push-button start, keyless entry and a full-size spare wheel.

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 LC300 models all share the same 3.3-litre V6 twin-turbo diesel engine that produces a hefty 227kW and 700Nm of torque. Making it powerful enough to easily handle its 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity.

The GR Sport has a 10-speed auto transmission and has a full-time 4WD system with high and low range. It also has front, rear and centre diff locks, so adventuring pursuits should be a breeze but check out Crafty’s off-road review on this model for more 4WD insights.

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?

It's big and has a lot of power, so it should be pretty thirsty ... right?

Wrong! The official combined fuel-cycle consumption figure is 8.9L/100km and my real world usage came out at 9.8L/100km after doing a mix of long open-road trips and some urban stuff.

Based on the official combined fuel cycle and the two fuel tanks, which equal 110L, you’d be able to get a theoretical driving range of 1236km.

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 GR Sport is a massive car but it doesn’t handle like one. That's not to say it handles like a small car but it doesn't feel like a truck to drive.

The power is effortlessly gutsy and there's no issue keeping your speed consistent on hills. The 10-speed auto transmission manages its gear changes and power hits smoothly. The rumble of the V6 engine is also quite therapeutic when it comes time to tackle an overflowing causeway or muddy road.

The GR Sport feels solidly grounded and even on winding roads, the roll in corners isn’t bad at all. Less so than a Prado, actually. 

The ride comfort is very good in the GR Sport grade as it has special adaptive suspension and that means that you really aren’t bothered by the road surface. Besides some whistling from the roof racks, there’s also little outside noise and it feels refined in the cabin because of it.

The wide windows and high seating position offers great visibility all around but I'm very aware of how large the car is as I can't see my son when he walks around it. The sensors alert you but make sure all kids are accounted for before you start moving.

Despite its size, the GR Sport is very nimble to manoeuvre with a small 11.8m turning circle and steering that is responsive.

Parking has been no issue for me this week and while the 360-degree view camera is a bit too fish-eye lense for me, its clear and you get used to it pretty quickly.

The GR Sport is the only grade not covered by the LandCruiser 300 Series' 2022 five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Toyota doesn’t have any plans to get it rated but it still features all of the safety equipment of its top-spec Sahara siblings.

Standard items include AEB, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping aid, lane departure alert, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert, 360-degree camera system, trailer sway control, parking sensors (front and rear), and a rear parking support brake.

Other safety highlights include an alarm system, SOS emergency call button, stolen vehicle tracking and an automatic collision notification system.

The GR Sport has 10-airbags but misses out on the newer front centre airbag.

There are ISOFIX child-seat mounts on the rear outboard seats and three top-tether anchor points. You can absolutely get three child seats installed but you miss out on a third row due to the grade level. Which might be a bummer for larger families who are wanting this spec.

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 GR Sport comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and if you stick to your service schedule, you get an additional two years of engine coverage.

There is capped-priced servicing for up to five years or 100,000km, which entails a total of 10 services or two a year as servicing intervals are a pain at every six months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first.

Services are $400 which equates to $800 per year, which is a bit expensive but not outrageous for the class.