The second-generation Touareg has been on sale since 2010, using the PL72 platform, and in the past 8 years, other high-end SUVs under the Volkswagen Group have been replaced with the new MLB Evo platform, from the Q7 to the Cayenne, to the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus, the Touareg replacement is the latest.
 
Judging from the previous MLB Evo platform models, it has changed from taking into account off-road and road, to getting closer and closer to road performance, and the same is true for the Touareg, the second-generation Touareg was officially announced, off-road performance is a big selling point, but in this generation, the off-road option package has been reduced, and the whole system is equipped with air suspension as standard, although it is still full-time four-wheel drive, but compared with the previous generation of Touareg, it has been weakened a lot in off-road.
 
The powertrain of the third-generation Touareg does not have much choice, only the introduction of a 2.0T EA888 engine with a maximum horsepower of 252 hp and a maximum torque of 370 Nm, which is not very different from the tuning of the other 2.0T EA888, and a 3.0T EA839 engine with a maximum horsepower of 340 hp and a maximum torque of 450 Nm. There will be diesel engines in Europe, but they can only be imported through parallel imports, which is relatively niche. In terms of transmission, the DSG dual-clutch transmission is not chosen, and ZF's 8AT is used, which is a good thing for users who will struggle with the reliability of dual-clutch transmission.
 
This generation of Touareg's driving performance has a greater relationship with the engine, the 2.0T engine has no problem in performance, the official 000 acceleration score is 6.8 seconds, but to drive a medium and large SUV with a curb weight of more than 2 tons, the speed will often be pulled in a medium and high range, and the engine noise and vibration will be more obvious than the 3.0T version. The 3.0T version is much more relaxed, with 340 hp, 450 Nm, and 0-100 acceleration in 5.9 seconds. Because the base displacement is large, the "confidence" is relatively sufficient, and the front section of the throttle will ease a lot, without the tightness of the 2.0T version, there will be a soothing feeling in daily driving, but after giving the power demand, the second half of the throttle provides a lot of power, and the entire power connection is relatively smooth, and there will be no sudden schizophrenia between soothing and surging.
 
All Touareg models come standard with air suspension, which is adjustable in five positions, and the top-of-the-line model has four-wheel steering with 20-inch wheels as standard. In driving, the feeling of a large car is strong, the tuning of the suspension has little to do with the sport, the comfort orientation is obvious, the cushioning is very good when going through large and small bumps, and the 20-inch wheels are just right. When cornering, the adjustable anti-roll bar is added, the support is sufficient, and the roll suppression is very good.
 
The interior of the third-generation Touareg will make people feel bright, because it is different from previous Volkswagen models, using a 13-inch LCD instrument panel, Volkswagen calls this "innovation cockpit", the central multimedia system is a 15-inch LCD touch screen, with a black middle seam in the middle of the two screens, and the sense of integration is relatively strong when the screen is turned off, and it can indeed be called "a sense of science and technology". This multimedia system will feel relatively novel when you first get started, but after half an hour, there is basically nothing new, because the public has reduced the learning cost of this system to a very low level, mainly used to control the basic functions, and there is no particularly strong playability.
 
The materials used in the interior are relatively polarized, and soft materials are used to wrap them in places as far as the eye can see, such as above the dashboard, near the armrests of the door panels, high-end models will have mahogany trim panels and ambient lights on the center console, and low-end models are ordinary chrome trims, but in places with more physical contact, such as under the center console and under the door panels, hard plastics are used, and the steering wheel does not have much sense of design.
 
Although the wheelbase of the Touareg reaches 2899mm, it is not reflected in the rear space, and adults sit in the back seat, and the legroom will not be particularly spacious. The length of the seat cushion is sufficient, but the padding is stiff and the wrapping is weak, and the angle of the seat back can be adjusted, but the angle of the most reclining is the normal level. The Q7 of the same platform has a 7-seat version, but the Touareg only has a 5-seat version, and all the space saved is contributed to the trunk space, under normal circumstances, the trunk space reaches 810 liters, the rear seats can also be adjusted forward, and the space is extended to 1800 liters after the backrest is folded down.
 
In terms of reliability, the second-generation Touareg suffered from engine water ingress failures in the later 2015-2017 models, due to the limited headlight profile, which could allow rain to enter the engine through the engine air intakes when driving in rainy weather for long periods of time.
 
The third-generation Touareg received a 5-star rating in the E-NCAP crash test, scoring 89 points in the adult occupancy and 86 points in the child occupancy section.
Volkswagen Touareg review report