Should you buy one?

Yes, especially if you like to tow. The Touareg sits below the Audi Q7 and the Porsche Cayenne in the hierarchy of Volkswagen Group luxury SUVs and falls short in a number of areas. With a less inviting interior, poorer driving dynamics, lack of a luxury image and without a useful cost-saving in recompense it doesn’t feel like there’s a great deal on which to recommend it versus these rivals.

Despite that, it’s still a very likable car to live with. It does ride comfortably at speed and is seriously refined on the motorway. There’s also plenty of space for five, and you get a huge boot as well. But there are better options out there, and that’s especially true if you’re looking at plug-in hybrids.

Of the models on offer, we’d sidestep the oddly appealing Touareg R and save money by going for a diesel model instead.

What we like

It’s a good motorway cruiser with an impressive 3,500kg towing rating regardless of engines. Space inside is excellent and the boot is huge.

What we don’t like

The low speed ride is a bit fractious and rivals have the Touareg outgunned. There are more powerful options out there, while the PHEV is rather off the pace these days.