VW Touareg 2024

May 23, 2022 at 11:32am ET

The Volkswagen Touareg turns 20 this year, and to celebrate, the automaker is launching a special-edition model. It’s called the Touareg Edition 20, and VW spruces it up inside and out with exclusive design touches.

The Touareg receives unique Meloe Blue paint on the exterior, and VW pairs it with high-gloss 20-inch Bogota wheels exclusive to the anniversary edition model. The automaker also darkens the side and rear windows and adds Edition 20 badging to the pillars. VW finishes the wheel arches and rear diffuser in a black glossy paint finish.

Gallery: Volkswagen Touareg Edition 20

Inside, VW continues the Edition 20 theming. The company installs illuminated sill panels with the Edition 20 logo. The interior also receives black Savona leather seats with diamond stitching and contrasting Ceramique (light beige). VW adds red and beige piping to the dash panel, steering wheel, and door inserts, while the leather gear shift lever gets an Edition 20 logo. Both VW’s Travel Assist and its Innovision Cockpit with the 15-inch infotainment display are standard in the special-edition model.

Volkswagen will offer the package with four drivetrain variants – the pair of V6 TDIs, the V6 TSI, and the plug-in hybrid V6 TSI. The PHEV offers the most oomph, pumping out 375 horsepower (280 kilowatts) and 442 pound-feet (600 Newton-meters) of torque. All four powertrains pair with VW’s eight-speed automatic and its all-wheel-drive system.

VW no longer offers the Touareg in the US. It was never a high seller for the brand, and the company discontinued selling it here a few years ago. However, VW continues to offer the SUV in other markets where it has found success. Since launching the SUV in 2002, VW has sold over one million examples of the SUV. VW introduced it two decades ago with an available 5.0-liter V10 TDI Diesel engine that cranked out 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque.

The Volkswagen Touareg Edition 20 launches in mid-June in Europe, with prices starting at €77,530 ($82,694 at today’s exchange rates). VW says it’s available to order now.

Source: Volkswagen

The Volkswagen Touareg R plug-in hybrid performance SUV is coming ever closer to Australian showrooms, with the brand confirming plans are advancing for a local launch for Volkswagen R's flagship model.

Volkswagen Australia has confirmed it is "in discussion" with its German counterpart to bring the 340kW/700Nm, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Touareg R to Australia, as the fifth Volkswagen R model on sale locally, following the Golf, Tiguan and T-Roc R product onslaught planned for 2022.

While a launch date has yet to be confirmed for the large PHEV, it's understood a local arrival could occur as soon as 2022 (or as late as 2024).

Unveiled in February 2020, the Touareg R was previously ruled out for an Australian launch, owing to poor fuel quality and a lack of emissions regulations, which have seen fuel-efficient plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) prioritised for other markets with such targets – but two recent factors have changed that decision.

"First, the V8 [Touareg] has sold out, and there isn't going to be another one. There is a position at the top of the passenger car and SUV range for a halo vehicle," a Volkswagen Australia spokesperson told CarAdvice, noting that the plug-in R's performance, price and capabilities align with those of the outgoing V8.

"[Secondly] the Federal Government recently announced at last that we would have decent petrol ... only 10 years behind Europe, not 13," the spokesperson added, noting that Volkswagen Australia was told "you can't have [the R]" by the brand's global operation prior to the V8's local success and the fuel quality announcement.

Pricing for the model has yet to be confirmed, though it's understood it will fall closer to the V8 diesel-powered 310TDI R-Line's $136,490 before on-road costs than the V6 diesel 210TDI R-Line's $108,990 before on-roads sticker.

Powering the high-performance SUV is a 250kW/450Nm 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine, paired to a 100kW/400Nm electric motor to develop a combined 340kW and 700Nm – up 30kW, but down 200Nm over the current most powerful Touareg currently offered Down Under, the diesel 310TDI.

Drive is fed to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission, enabling a 5.1-second sprint from zero to 100km/h.

A 17.9kWh (gross, or 14.3kWh net) lithium-ion battery is good for a 47km range on electric power alone according to Europe's WLTP test cycle, and a combined WLTP fuel economy claim of 2.7L/100km. A 7.2kW home wallbox can recharge the battery from empty to full in 2.5 hours.

If Volkswagen Australia's talks proceed as desired, the Touareg R would become the first plug-in hybrid Volkswagen ever sold in Australia – and there's a chance it (and the improved fuel quality standard due in 2024) could open the gates for more PHEV models to be imported by Volkswagen Group Australia, along with cleaner petrol engines in the brand's regular models.

It's a major departure from the last R-badged Volkswagen Touareg sold in Australia, the 2008-10 R50, which sought power from a 5.0-litre twin-turbo diesel V10 good for 258kW, 850Nm, and a 6.8-second 0-100km/h sprint time.

The Touareg R would become the fifth Volkswagen model on sale Down Under, joining the Golf R hatch and wagon, and Tiguan R SUV due in February 2022, and the T-Roc R small SUV due in the second half of 2022.

Stay tuned to CarAdvice for all the latest Volkswagen Touareg R news.

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.

Read more about Alex Misoyannis

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