Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid Preview

Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid PreviewVolkswagen, along with other European auto companies, has long proclaimed diesels as a better green strategy than hybridization. True, diesels are efficient and practical, but in the U.S., they still have a reputation of being noisy and smelly. VW has worked hard to overcome that image with cars like the Jetta TDI and Passat TDI but now are beginning to change direction (although they still like diesels) toward electrification, both hybrid and electric only.

Volkswagen Touareg was all new for 2011 and there are no significant changes for the 2012 model year. Base price for the 2012 Volkswagen Touareg is $61,995, a $1,430 increase from last year.

About the name: It’s pronounced TOUR-egg, and is named after an African Sahara tribe of nomads called the Touareg (pronounced TWA-regg). Volkswagen says the nomadic tribe has a hearty reputation, calling them “the ultimate off-roaders.”

Das Hybrid



The Touareg Hybrid shares its drivetrain with the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid. That means adding a 47 horsepower (35kw) electric motor to an Audi-sourced supercharged 333 horsepower V6 engine. This brings total output to 380 ponies and a peak torque of 425 pounds feet at just 1,000 rpm. The powertrain has the added bonus of a 7,700-pound towing capacity. That far exceeds other hybrid crossovers as well as most gasoline powered midsized models.

Volkswagen joins other manufacturers in the move away from the continuously variable transmission (CVT) employed by most hybrid vehicles. The eight-speed, driver-shiftable automatic transmission is not only a less costly hybrid approach, it wrings out the most power from the engine and makes the Touareg Hybrid feel more like a car than an SUV.