Volkswagen Touareg - long-term review

When anyone steps into the TG Garage's VW Touareg for the first time, the main talking point is the simply enormous infotainment and instrument screen. I say screen singular because while it’s actually two pieces, they merge into one another to give the appearance of a single, massive pane. The instrument screen is roughly 37cm wide and the infotainment screen a further 42cm. That’s 79cm – not far off a metre of information display at your disposal. This is standard on our R-Line Tech model but a £2,410 option on lower specced versions.

It looks stunning and works well – although there is one minor grumble on my part – unless you have the home screen selected, there isn’t a clock anywhere in sight, which can be irritating. If there is a setting to address this issue, I haven’t found it yet. Regardless, ever since Tesla set the bar for screen size, everyone else has been playing catch-up, and this effort from Volkswagen is pretty special.

The last time I spent a decent amount of time in a Touareg was when I ran a second-gen model for six months in 2012. I liked it, but secretly hankered after a Range Rover Sport. Since then, thanks to the demise of the Phaeton, the Touareg has acquired the position of flagship for the world’s largest carmaker, so it carries a certain weight of expectation. The current third-gen model is super-comfortable, laden with gadgets and tech, and has a far more premium feel than the previous model. Prices start at £49,645, but ours came in at a whopping £74,755. However, compared to its stablemates the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus, it’s the deal of the century. And every time a Range Rover Sport SVR blasts past, I revel in the understated-ness of my Touareg.