This 3rd-gen facelifted Volkswagen Touareg arrives in a sole locally-assembled R-Line spec.
While many may think Tiguan when discussing Volkswagen SUVs in Malaysia, it is worth reminding that the German automaker has actually once officially sold its larger sibling over here too. In fact, the second iteration of the Touareg had indeed landed locally, with this particular model incidentally being the first Malaysian (and so far only) VW to pack a diesel under its hood as well.
That however is now to be a story that dates back some 12 years ago already, and with no news regarding the official arrival of the third-gen Touareg back when it first came on the scene back in 2018, it did seem that this current iteration of large VW SUV may not be making its way over here. Though in what is most kindly put as being better late than never, Volkswagen has (rather interestingly) decided that 2024 was finally the right time for it to finally bring in the flagship of its international fleet to our shores.
Now delving right into the details regarding this new locally-available Touareg, the main thing to know is for it to be landing locally in a sole R-Line spec, with a rather attractive price tag of RM 469,990. This comparatively lower sticker price to its other RM 500k+ continental counterparts — in the form of the GLE and X5, not to mention the RM 599,990 Cayenne as well — is made possible thanks to this large VW SUV being locally-assembled in DRB-Hicom’s Pekan plant, which is incidentally where the aforementioned Mercedes-Benz is put together also.
In speaking about the Cayenne too, the Malaysian-spec Touareg shares as well the same basic 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 and 8-speed automatic transmission as found under the hood of the locally-assembled version of the Porsche. But while the Stuggart stallion headlines with 353 PS and 500 Nm of torque, the VW has to instead make do with only 340 PS and 450 Nm.
Having said that, the Touareg could still apparently be made to hustle to the century mark from a standstill in just six seconds flat. Coming as standard with self-levelling air suspension and 4Motion all-wheel drive as well, this large VW SUV will likely be comfortably and confidently waft up to its ‘bahnstorming 250 km/h top speed with minimal drama.
Turning towards the other features with this Touareg, a set of IQ.Light HD LED matrix headlights are joined up front by a light bar that runs right across its imposing grille. A set of 20-inch Braga two-tone alloy wheels meanwhile make an appearance down its side, while its rump is finished off by full-width taillights with L-shaped graphic and a red illuminated VW emblem.
Moving within the Touareg now, the currently button-averse VW has outfitted the large SUV with its Innovision Cockpit infotainment system, which consists of a 12.3-inch digital instrument display and a massive 15-inch central infotainment touchscreen. Other key creature comforts that are standard with this flagship Volkswagen is a four-zone automatic climate control, 30-colour ambient lighting, heated and cooled front seats and a 13-speaker 730 W Dynaudio Consequence sound system with DSP – Dolby Pro Logic II.
Volkswagen has also been rather keen to highlight that the Touareg lands locally with 5 USB-C ports that each can deliver up to 45 W of power, which supposedly is sufficient to charge even a MacBook Pro. Though 5 is also unfortunately the total number of seats that is to be found within this large SUV, with it to compensate somewhat in this regard by featuring a decently large 810-litre boot, that expandable to 1,800 litres with its individually-split rear seats are folded.
As for safety on the other hand, the Touareg’s IQ.Drive suite includes the typically long list of active and passive safety features, but also adds two unique bits of kit that is a first for Volkswagen in Malaysia: Front Cross Traffic Alert and Night Vision, with the latter being able to detect objects via its infrared camera as far as 130 m ahead.
The Touareg is available in five colours – Lapiz Blue, Silicon Grey, Grenadilla Black, Oryx White and Dolomite Silver. The aforementioned price of RM 469,990 is also to include the Volkswagen Assurance Package (VAP), which consists of a five-year, unlimited-mileage extended warranty and a five-year maintenance package.
