Volkswagen Touareg mid-life refresh now on sale

24 July 2023

Now available to order in the UK, the large Volkswagen Touareg SUV has received a minor facelift, which includes cosmetic tweaks, improved tech and a suspension upgrade.

To keep the model competitive with newer family SUV choices like the latest Jeep Grand Cherokee and Mercedes-Benz GLE, Volkswagen says that it has revised the design and specification of its Touareg range by “implementing the wishes of customers” to deliver “top quality and outstanding comfort.”

Starting with the SUV’s mild exterior refresh, Volkswagen has tweaked the car’s front grille and bumper design to give the Touareg a “sharper” look. The SUV’s rear will also feature a new LED strip that stretches across the boot lid and an illuminated Volkswagen badge. The revised model sits on 21-inch alloy wheels with a new-look design.

The brand’s glare-free ‘IQ.LIGHT’ Matrix LED headlights are on the optional extras list after the update – a feature formerly reserved for the range-topping ‘V6 Black Edition’ trim.

Stepping inside, the SUV is now available with a 12-inch digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel as standard – which was only offered with mid-range models and above – and a 15-inch infotainment display in the centre of the dashboard.

The voice control and sat-nav features that this infotainment package offers have been updated, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now wireless. Volkswagen has also upped the output of the car’s USB ports, meaning plugged in devices like smartphones and tablets will charge at a faster rate.

The brand has also used soft-touch materials to trim the centre console, in response to customer feedback.

A suspension upgrade incorporates a new roof load sensor that can adjust the suspension settings when it detects that something is strapped to the roof. ‘Active roll compensation’ tech is also included, depending on the trim chosen, which gives the car more stability in tight turns, as well as ‘all-wheel steering’ for tighter turning circles.

Five powertrain options are available, all based on the 3.0-litre engine currently on sale. The 381hp ‘Elegance’ trim and range-topping 462hp Touareg ‘R’ are only on offer with a petrol hybrid powertrains, while the ‘Black Edition’ grade is available with petrol and diesel options with outputs between 231hp and 340hp.

Prices for the refreshed SUV range start of around £68k, rising to £80k for the high-performance Touareg R.

The Volkswagen Touareg has received mixed reviews from the UK media, and its current Expert Rating of 63% is lower than most other Volkswagen models we have analysed. One of the main issues is that the Touareg is not that much cheaper than its highly-regarded sister model, the Audi Q7.