2024 Volkswagen Touareg gets redesign and interior upgrades

Volkswagen has unveiled its facelifted Touareg some five years after the third-generation model first went on sale in the UK.

The upmarket SUV, a sister model to the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne (alongside which it's produced at Volkswagen's Bratislava plant in Slovakia) receives a series of exterior design upgrades as well as a reworked interior with new digital functionality across three lines: basic, Elegance and R-Line.

Among the changes to the exterior is a new-look front grille that aims to provide greater emphasis to the visual width of the Touareg. Models with the basic and elegance lines get a chrome look optic, with the R-line sporting a blackened optic. The air ducts in the lower section of the front bumper are also larger than before and receive an individual design depending on the line.

The facelifted model, previewed in camouflaged form in February, also sports reworked headlights. Volkswagen's IQ Light HD matrix system with up to 19,216 micro-LEDs per unit is an option.

At the rear, the 2024-model-year Touareg receives a new light bar across the tailgate as well as new-look tail-light graphics. It also adopts an illuminated logo – a first on a Volkswagen model sold in Europe – in combination with the IQ Light HD headlights. 

Additionally, there are four new wheel designs: Coventry in 19in, Braga in 20in, Napoli in 21in and Leeds in 21in.

Inside, the facelifted Touareg adopts the previously optional Innovision Cockpit as standard. This includes 12in instrument and 15in infotainment digital displays.

Upgrades to the software and functionality bring more advanced HD map data with lane-level sat-nav and a new voice-control system based around conversational commands. There's also wireless mirroring of smartphones via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Other changes centre around the switchgear within the centre console and the USB-C ports, which have been upgraded from a charging capacity of 15W to 45W for faster recharging of electronic devices.

There's also a new ambient lighting effect and the door trims have been subtly altered.

Volkswagen has confirmed five drivetrains for the new Touareg – all with an eight-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox and a 4Motion four-wheel drive system.

Included are a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine with 335bhp and two turbocharged 3.0-litre diesel V6 engines with 227bhp and 282bhp.

Volkswagen has also updated its existing two plug-in hybrid powertrains. These combine the turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine with a gearbox-mounted electric motor to provide 375bhp in the Touareg eHybrid and 455bhp in the Touareg R eHybrid, which offers acceleration from 0-62mph in 5.1sec and an electronically limited top speed of 155mph.

Both PHEV models use a battery with an energy capacity of 14.1kWh. Volkswagen is yet to confirm their electric-only ranges.