A “greener” Volkswagen Touareg has arrived on our shores. The Hybrid joins the 3.6 and 3.0 TDI, and like the latter, is available only on order. This means that options can be ordered – like the air suspension system on our test car.
This system has a few tricks. It allows the Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid’s ride height to be adjusted, and there is even a special feature that lowers the car’s rear for easier loading and unloading.
The Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid has three damper settings to choose from – Comfort, Normal and Sport. Select the first one if you’re in the mood for a relaxed cruise. If it’s a spot of enthusiastic driving you’re after, roll the switch (near the gear lever) to “Sport”, and the car lowers itself by 25mm while the damping stiffens.
Although the 2.3-tonne Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid was never made to hustle around bends, it handles well and there’s oodles of grip (no doubt helped by the wide 255mm tyres and 4Motion four-wheel drive). Still, the pronounced body roll can be rather unnerving, so be sensible.
Once the road straightens out, however, the Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid’s powertrain combo shows off its mettle. Propulsion comes from a supercharged 3-litre V6 TSI powerplant, supported by an electric motor. When both are working, outputs surge to 380bhp and 580Nm.
Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid’s supercharged petrol engine is the same as the one in the Audi S4.
How fast can it go? Volkswagen claims 0-100km/h in 6.5 seconds and a top whack of 240km/h. Most hot hatches will have problems keeping up, let alone SUVs.
Gear-changing duties are ably handled by a ZF 8-speed unit, and helping to keep things in check are the suitably large brakes (360mm front and 330mm rear) and the standard ESP with ABS.
When driven “normally”, the hybrid system shows off its economical nature – 12.2km per litre. In comparison, the Touareg 3.6 “only” achieves 10.4km/L.
Essentially, the engineers targeted a few areas to accomplish this fuel efficiency. First, the car can be driven (up to 50km/h) on electric power only. Another smart feature is the stop-start system (found in all V6 Touaregs), which cuts the engine at traffic lights and restarts it when the brake pedal is released, saving fuel in the process.
Then there’s regenerative braking, which uses the electric motor as a generator to recover kinetic energy (which is then stored in the batteries) each time the brakes are applied. The only downside is a slight jerkiness when this happens.
Still, this is a small price to pay as every visit to the petrol station is a costly one given the car’s huge 85-litre fuel tank.
On the subject of price, the Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid costs $28,000 more than the 3.6 and 3.0 TDI. And all three have virtually identical standard equipment – they even look the same bar the alloy wheels and badging.
And this is where the newest car stumbles a little in its bid to attract buyers.
Regardless, there will be a few who will be convinced by the Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid’s talents and charms – especially after driving it. It is a “green” SUV which puts a grin on the face each and every time the throttle is floored.
Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid 3.0 (A)
ENGINE 2995cc, 24-valves, V6, supercharged
MAX POWER 333bhp at 5500rpm (380bhp with electric motor)
MAX TORQUE 440Nm at 3000-5250rpm (580Nm with electric motor)
GEARBOX 8-speed automatic with manual select
0-100KM/H 6.5 seconds
TOP SPEED 240km/h
CONSUMPTION 12.2km/L
PRICE INCL. COE $284,800 (as of September 2011)
Check out the Volkswagen Touareg
