• It’s not cheap to service or maintain…
• But then, you shouldn’t expect it be 
• Best fuel consumption from the eHybrid

What are the running costs?

All are costly to fuel with a figure of 3.5 - 4.5 mpp (miles per pound). The 3.0-litre diesel V6 delivers the best claimed combined economy of the regular ICE engines regardless of power output – you can expect a claimed 33.4mpg and 215g/km of CO2. This means a reasonably stout first-year VED car tax for private owners, and high BIK tax for company users.

All cars come with an eight-speed automatic transmission with an Eco mode, and in gentle driving it improves fuel consumption markedly. Overall though this engine delivers lots of punch without working too hard, so you won’t need to resort to hypermiling to get decent fuel consumption out of it.

The petrol V6 performs less well here, as you’d expect, with 25.7mpg and 251g/km of CO2. While it’s the faster car overall, it doesn’t have anywhere near as much torque as either diesel, and therefore feels a bit less flexible on the road, and less suited to towing. In other words you have to work it harder, which will have an effect on economy.

The PHEVs give the best on-paper efficiency, with 128.4mpg for the eHybrid and 122.8mpg for the R. However, CO2 emissions for both are over 50g/km and the EV range is only 31 miles. This makes it one of the pricier plug-in hybrids for company car tax.

In testing, the Touareg R never came close to matching those claimed fuel economy figures, but in a week of driving that encompassed motorway, A-road and city journeys, it averaged 32.0mpg, with a peak of 39.5 on a gentle long-distance run. That compares very favourably with the motorway economy of 34.5mpg we managed from the higher-powered 3.0-litre TDI diesel.

Servicing and warranty

Every Volkswagen Touareg gets a three-year vehicle warranty. The first two years operate on an unlimited mileage plan, but the third year is capped at 60,000 miles. This is rather stingy compared to the seven-year warranty delivered with the Kia Ceed or the 10-year warranty offered by the Toyota Corolla.

Volkswagen offers a range of service plans that allow owners to spread the cost of maintenance. You can pay upfront in one lump, or alternatively, you can break that figure down into 24 monthly payments – and it covers you for two services and one pollen filter change.

Volkswagen has more than 200 dealers in the UK. That means a large, well-equipped showroom and workshop is unlikely to be far from you. Customer service is rated highly, although Volkswagen’s reliability record isn’t the best in the business, although it’s improved in recent years.

Reliability

• Based on hardware proven elsewhere
• Performance of all-new engine will be interesting
• Historically, Touaregs are reliable and well-liked

The Volkswagen Touareg uses a number of major components that have been tried and tested across the Volkswagen Group, so reliability in that respect should be good. it hasn’t always been the case for top-of-the-range Volkswagen models, so its good showing is a definite step in the right direction.

The good news is that the pre-facelift Touareg has a good overall reputation for quality, and that Parkers’ readers rate it highly, with an overall score of 4.6 in the owners’ reviews section. Volkswagen will be keen to continue this good performance.