The new Volkswagen Touareg will arrive in Australia initially in just one specification and with just one engine. The 2019 Volkswagen Touareg Launch Edition will sport a $89,990 list price tag (driveaway pricing is not yet available).
While a date hasn’t yet been set for the third-generation Touareg’s Australian launch, speaking with Chasing Cars at an SUV preview event this week, Volkswagen product manager Todd Ford said the SUV’s arrival is “right around the corner, in just a couple of months.”
“It really ramps up the luxury feeling. It’s going to put a scare into some of the other luxury German manufacturers,” Mr Ford said.
Our initial impressions of the 2019 Touareg were gleaned from driving the SUV across Morocco in late 2018. You can watch our Touareg in Morocco video here – and see why Chasing Cars has scored it 8/10.
The German-built Touareg rides on the Volkswagen Group’s MLB platform, rather than the MQB chassis common to the majority of the VW range. MLB supports large longitudinal engines, and the Touareg sits on the same underpinnings as the Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne, Bentley Bentayga, and even the Lamborghini Urus.
Product planners have an all-V6 engine range in mind, and the launch engine is a three-litre turbo diesel V6 producing 190kW/600Nm. Towards 2020, this Euro 5-standard engine will be replaced with two, cleaner Euro 6 powerplants, which will also be three-litre V6s. One will produce 170kW, and the other 210kW.
The 190TDI Launch Edition is well specified, with a full suite of safety technology including AEB with cyclist and predictive pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring and rear and front cross traffic alert. Early adopters also score air suspension and matrix LED headlights as standard, plus 20-inch wheels, high-grade Savona leather upholstery, quad-zone climate control and full keyless entry and start.
Infotainment-wise, the Touareg Launch Edition packs the basic system, though it’s far from spartan. There is a 9.2-inch touchscreen with navigation and a midsize colour screen for the driver between traditional analogue gauges.
We haven’t seen the traditional setup on the new Touareg, as in Morocco, all cars were fitted with the technofile’s dream – the Innovision Package, which subs out the “small” touchscreen for an enormous 15-inch version, a 12-inch Active Info Display for the driver, a head-up display, while adding multi-colour ambient lighting. This package doesn’t come cheap, though – it adds a huge $8,000 to the price of the vehicle.
The other options amount to a $3,000 panoramic sunroof with 92% tint, plus $2,000 for the three premium paints (a metallic grey or blue, and a pearl black). A non-metallic white costs nothing.
Volkswagen product marketing manager Jeff Shafer said he expected the Launch Edition to remain for no longer than six months, by which time the 170kW and 210kW iterations of the new Touareg will likely be ready. The lower-powered car will come with lower specification than the Launch Edition, while the 210kW will likely be a higher-end spec.
We’ll be at the local Touareg launch to experience the car on Australian roads. Until then, make sure you’ve checked out our epic African special on this remarkable new SUV.