2024 Volkswagen Touareg R pricing and features: Most powerful VW ever

Volkswagen Australia has confirmed full details for its new flagship performance model, the plug-in hybrid Touareg R.

Due in Australia in March, the 2024 Volkswagen Touareg R is priced at $129,900 before on-road costs – matching 2008’s V10 twin-turbo diesel first-gen Touareg R50, which would cost around $180,000 today when adjusted for inflation.

It also costs between $6500 and $10,000 less than the short-lived current-gen Touareg V8 310TDI R-Line and Wolfsburg Edition models sold in Australia between 2020 and 2021.

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The headline R model is Volkswagen’s first plug-in hybrid for Australia, with 2024 also set to see the arrival of the all-electric ID.4, ID.5 and ID.Buzz models locally.

It will be joined by a facelift for the wider Touareg line-up, with local details for the existing V6 diesel options – likely retaining 170kW/500Nm and 210kW/600Nm tunes – due to be announced at a later date.

Compared to diesel Touareg models, the R features a 250kW 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6 borrowed from the related Audi Q7 55 TFSI, matched to a 100kW electric motor.

In total, the Touareg R produces 340kW and 700Nm – identical to a pre-update Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid – with a claimed 5.1-second 0-100km/h time.

It is the most powerful series production Volkswagen ever, beating older Phaeton and Touareg models – though can’t match the maximum torque of 900Nm or 4.9-second 0-100km/h sprint of the 310TDI V8.

Using electrification to boost performance opposes Volkswagen's previous method of fitting the largest engine possible to the 2007-10 Touareg R50, which featured a hefty 257kW/850Nm 5.0-litre twin-turbo diesel V10 and a 6.7-second 0-100km/h time.

With a 14.3kWh lithium-ion battery pack, it has a claimed 51-kilometre electric-only driving range and a combined 3.3L/100km fuel consumption.

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“Customers could theoretically get lower – or close to zero petrol – usage with regular charging. When the EV-only driving range concludes, the Touareg R operates as an ‘e-hybrid’ that still remains more efficient than previous V8 and V10 models,” said Volkswagen Australia.

The Touareg R retains a 3500-kilogram towing capacity, but boot space is reduced from 810 to 610 litres.

Above the existing 210TDI R-Line, the Touareg R boasts a night vision camera, while the facelifted large SUV will debut traffic sign recognition locally for Volkswagen – excluding the Ford-based Amarok ute.

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2024 Volkswagen Touareg pricing

Prices exclude on-road costs.

2024 Volkswagen Touareg features