2011 Volkswagen Touareg: First Look

• Competes with: Lexus RX 350, Acura MDX, Mercedes-Benz M-Class
• Looks like: VW’s new face — of recent Golf and GTI vintage — is taking hold
• Drivetrains: Diesel V-6 or hybrid engine (European versions) with eight-speed automatic transmission; all-wheel drive
• Hits dealerships: April in some international markets; perhaps later in the U.S.

Volkswagen unveiled the redesigned Touareg today, and it’s clear the automaker’s latest face — you saw it on the new Golf and GTI – is spreading lineup-wide. Unlike its Tiguan sibling, the Touareg has a clean separation between its grille and front air dam, with Audi-like design cues in the headlights and taillights. (It makes sense since VW owns Audi; VW’s Compact Coupe Concept at last month’s Detroit auto show bore many similarities to the Audi A5.)

The Touareg goes on sale internationally in April. There’s no word yet as to whether that date remains the same for U.S. dealerships.

VW laid out the Touareg’s cabin fairly conventionally. Climate controls fall below a large center display screen, and the steering wheel adopts the same controls as the Golf’s and GTI’s. A 6.5-inch touch-screen display with stereo readouts is standard. The rear seat reclines a few degrees and slides forward and backward 6.3 inches. The global car’s backseat will have an optional power-unlatching function and “folds down in seconds,” Volkswagen says. Let’s hope that means it no longer requires the infernal three-step folding process the previous-generation Touareg’s backseat needed.

Engines for the global Touareg include a diesel V-6 as well as a yet-unnamed gas/electric hybrid drivetrain; both use a new eight-speed automatic transmission. The hybrid drivetrain can move the Touareg in electric mode at up to 31 mph. It’s also capable of some 29 mpg, VW says. Details are sparse as to whether that’s a city, highway or combined figure, however; we’ve dropped a line to a VW spokesman and have yet to hear back.

Volkswagen will offer two four-wheel-drive systems in the Touareg. Both offer off-road modes with the requisite drivetrain settings for mud-crawling; the more robust of the two systems has locking center and rear differentials plus a transfer case with low-range gearing. Such hardware suggests the new Touareg, like the current one, is ready for some pretty serious terrain.

No pricing has been announced yet, but the outgoing Touareg isn’t cheap: It starts at $40,850. Here’s hoping the redesign accompanies a lower price, too.

More photos below.

Comments

Am I understanding this correctly that the hybrid will get LESS mpg's than the diesel? If that's the case it reminds me of the Mailbu hybrid. All disappointment.

Maybe it's the new design, but it looks smaller than the current Touareg....

I can't wait to check one out...i just hope they put it on a diet!

yay the new "king of the desert" is here

NICE

Lower price? Don't hold your breath this is VW we're taking about.

It seems nice overall, and I'm glad milage is up. but the rear end isn't as nice looking as the current one... it seems like Cayenne met an Audi. In my opinion the current rear end is downright unique, but this, not so much.

Beautiful vehicle. If only it offered a manual transmission.

The E-motor: The vehicle can operate on the electric motor alone at speeds of up to 50 km/h, which reduces fuel consumption in city driving. In this case the V6 TSI is turned off, and it is disconnected from the transmission by a disengagement clutch. In this condition the Touareg V6 TSI Hybrid operates with zero emissions. Electric current flows from the battery to the E-motor via the power electronics which incorporates a pulse controlled inverter. On the later production version, there are also plans for a special E-switch that the driver can activate for pure electric driving.