Volkswagen Touareg vs Volvo XC60

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 Volvo XC60 Ultimate B5 Bright is a fine example of a family car that actually caters to families. There are plenty of practical features inside to help everyday living and it has a good amount of occupant and boot space for the class. I like how it handles on the road and its running costs are reasonable for a luxury SUV. It's not as flashy as its rivals but it's still stylish.

My husband and son spent a lot of time in the XC60 and they have enjoyed a high-level of comfort on our journeys together. We all love the built-in booster seats in the back row because of the independence they offer.

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 XC60 looks mature and graceful with its wide stance and well-proportioned body. The pronounced bonnet and stylish grille confirm its luxury SUV credentials.

The LED headlight design has been inspired by ‘Thor's Hammer’ (gotta love that Scandi heritage!) and the chrome accents around the windows accentuate the optioned darker tint.

Despite having a stately kerb-side presence, it’s not a boring looking car. The 20-inch dual-coloured alloy wheels and sleek body panelling help the XC60 appear almost sporty. Overall, its exterior design looks like it will age well.

The interior style of the XC60 can be summed up in two words - understated elegance.

The cabin isn't as flashy or wowing as some of its rivals and that might be because it lacks the visual impact of customisable ambient lighting, or because the chunkier dashboard looks more solid and dependable than sleek and fancy.

Regardless, the high-quality leather-accented upholstery and trim options elevate the space to earn the 'luxury' tag.

There is a plethora of soft-touchpoints throughout the car and visual highlights like chrome accents, an illuminated crystal shifter by Orrefors and a solid-feeling steering wheel.

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.

Families will appreciate the XC60's cabin. Both rows of seating are roomy for the class and the front seats are supportive and comfortable with multiple adjustments available.

However, there is an electric toggle dial that controls the lumbar-, side-, and under-thigh supports as well as the massage function, but flipping between modes can be a bit confusing at first.

I enjoy having the practical two-position memory function on both front seats, as I’ve been travelling a lot with my husband and the heat/ventilation features on the front seats have been great during a recent run of strange weather.

The back seats are well-cushioned and the bench is wide with three adults being able to sit without too many grumbles. 

I have plenty of room for my 168cm height and my seven-year old is able to get in and out without any trouble thanks to the higher ground clearance.

Our absolute favourite feature is built-in child booster cushions in the outboard seats. They have two height positions to accommodate different heights/weights and it’s been wonderful for my son to have the autonomy of buckling himself in. But also just awesome for my husband and I because it’s one less thing to think about! 

Storage throughout the car is good for the class with the front enjoying a mid-sized middle console, large glove box, two cupholders and two large drink bottle holders. The extra-large storage bins in the front doors are also very handy. 

In the rear, you have two retractable cupholders in the fold-down armrest, two map pockets and two drink bottle holders in each door.

The other amenities are great with the individual climate control and four sets of directional air vents – ideally located on the back of the centre console and on the B-pillars. 

Charging options are solid with both rows enjoying two USB-C ports and the front also getting a 12-volt outlet and wireless charging pad. The boot has a 12-volt socket, too.

Onto the other technology, the 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is responsive and relatively easy to get around once you spend some time with it. Along with the Google subscription, you also get wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster shows the navigation map and the head-up display incorporates directions, which is great.

The cluster itself isn’t customisable, though, and I like fiddling with things like that to personalise the driving experience.

Another practical feature is a secondary key fob which can be programmed to control the maximum speed the car can travel and the audio volume.

I'm sure this would be handy for parents of any P-platers out there who often borrow the family car.

The key fobs are easily distinguishable. too. The spare for our test vehicle is a bright orange colour, so there are no 'whoops, I grabbed the wrong key' arguments, either.

The boot space is a great size at 483L offering plenty of room for holiday luggage. The back seat has a 60/40 split and a ski-port to open up storage options.

The loading space is level and there is a temporary spare tyre underneath the floor. You can adjust the height of the car using the air suspension and I love a powered tailgate.

There are four variants for the XC60, split evenly between the B5 petrol engine and the T8 plug-in hybrid. Our test vehicle is the top-spec Ultimate grade coupled with the B5 petrol engine.

Without any packages, this combination will cost $80,990, before on road costs, which is a $1000 price hike for the 2024 model year.

The standard features list for the XC60 is robust and there are some great premium features, like the electric and heated front seats that feature electrically adjustable under-thigh support, lumbar support and side-bolster support.

The front seats also have a two-position memory function, which I find helpful whenever I share the driving with my husband as there is no hassle for me to get back to a comfy driving position after he drives! 

Other premium features include a heated steering wheel, pre-entry climate control (perfect for those super-hot days), premium leather-accented and high-quality trims to choose from.

The technology highlights include a complimentary four-year subscription for the built-in Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play Store which are accessed via the portrait-style 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system.

There is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a very handy four-zone climate control system.

Other practical features include a handsfree powered tailgate, keyless entry, keyless start, coloured head-up display and a ticket holder on the windscreen, for those odd occasions where you have a physical ticket!

Now, here come the optional packs our model has been fitted with. There’s the 'Climate Pack' for $150 that adds headlight cleaners and a 'Lifestyle Pack' for an additional $13,800.

The latter sounds expensive but you get some lovely features in the pack, like a panoramic sunroof, improved Bowers & Wilkins sound system, Nappa leather upholstery, front seat ventilation, front seat massage function, air suspension and tinted rear windows.

Add on $2050 for the 'Thunder Grey' paintwork and it slides in at $96,990, before on-roads. and that places it towards the top-end of the market compared to its rivals, but the BMW X3 xDrive30i M Sport still just beats it with a $97,900 price tag.

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.

Volvo is aiming to offer only fully-electric powertrains from 2026 and the new XC60 B5 petrol variants feature a mild-hybrid element designed to improve fuel economy, especially in stop-start traffic.

Our test vehicle has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol powertrain with a maximum power output of 183kW and 350Nm of torque. It’s an all-wheel drive and has a smooth eight-speed auto transmission.

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 official combined cycle fuel figure is 7.6L/100km and my real-world usage averaged 8.1L/100km.

That’s pretty economical given that I cover a good mix of open road and urban driving and am not precious with the power.

Based on the combined cycle number and the large 71L fuel tank, expect a driving range of around 934km. To give you an idea of time between fills, I drove it for 14 days before having to fill up.

You can’t sneak in any blends or lower grade fuel though as Volvo recommends a minimum 95 RON premium unleaded be used.

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 XC60 is a relaxing car to drive, it does what you expect it to do most of the time. It has enough power to handle open-road touring with ease and while the suspension is on the firmer side, the ride feels well-cushioned.

The only time it skips a beat for me is when you're easing off the accelerator, slowing down, but then need to pick up speed again.

Say, when you find a gap in traffic and begin to merge. There can be a short delay before acceleration happens and it feels somewhat clumsy. But these moments are few and far between.

The cabin is quiet, with minimal wind and road noise. Our family had no issues chatting. It only gets loud inside when heavy rain hits that big panoramic sunroof.

Adaptive steering makes the XC60 feels nimble and horribly tight city streets less daunting. It’s easy to manoeuvre in a small car park, as well.

The clear 360-degree camera system and sensitive front and rear parking sensors also help to make light work of a parking. 

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.

It’s not often common to associate a luxury brand with reasonable on-going costs but the Volvo XC60 is offered with very competitive pricing and terms.

The five-year/unlimited km warranty is normal for the class but you can pre-purchase a three-year/45,000km or a five-year/75,000km servicing plan.

The three-year plan is priced at $1750 (averaging $583 per service) and the five-year plan is priced at $3000 (or an average of $600 per service). Both plans are cheaper than a pay-as-you-go option and are inexpensive compared to some rivals.

Servicing intervals are good at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.