2015 Volkswagen Touareg: Luxurious Interior and More Capable than Ever

The 2015 Volkswagen Touareg gets a  facelift and enhancements for the 2015 model year. Notable changes include an all-new front end that falls in line with the rest of the Volkswagen family. The interior of the 2015 Touareg is adorned with upscale chrome trim as well as luxurious new wood trim. The revised Touareg also features a trio of power train options, including a high performance supercharged hybrid and a torquey eight speed turbo diesel. Starting at $45,615, including $910 destination fee, the best selling all-wheel drive SUV from VW is not inexpensive, but certainly won’t disappoint luxury shoppers.

Read on to review features, specs and pricing for the new 2015 Volkswagen Touareg.

Styling: 2015 Volkswagen Touareg

Front and center, the foundation for the 2015 Volkswagen Touareg’s new look is an all-new revised front end, something VW tends to do in the middle of every vehicle’s lifecycle. Keeping the 2015 Touareg in line with the rest of its VW brethren are a set of bi-xenon boxed headlamps that make it look more like a plus sized GTI than a full size SUV, but the new four bar front grille and fog lamps help to visually stretch the front end and give the best selling SUV a wider more aggressive outward appearance.

Out back, a set of matching LED units help to brighten things up while the added chrome strip that runs the length of the rear bumper works well to tie everything together. Aside from the body mods, the 2015 Touareg is available with a set of stylish 10 spoke alloy wheels measuring 18 inches in diameter standard, with voluntary 19 and 20 inch upgrades available. On the inside, modern chrome accents encompassing the control panel are offset nicely by the new Bonanza Brown, Engineered Ebony, Sapelli Mahogany, and St. Tropez interior themes, complete with luxurious leather wrapped surfaces and nicely upscale wood trim.

Performance: 2015 Volkswagen Touareg

While the 2015 Touareg happens to be much bigger than its little brother, the Golf GTI, the DNA that binds them together is quite evident. Despite its mass, the Touareg can be quite fun to drive when the right power train is chosen. Sharing development with the Porsche Cayenne couldn’t have hurt, because the Touareg’s chassis is absolutely solid (both on road and off), especially when combined with Volkswagen’s 4 Motion all-wheel drive system and an 8 speed automatic transmission that is never searching.

For 2015, VW is offering the Touareg with three different V6 options. Starting at $45,615, the naturally aspirated 3.6 Liter unit produces 280 HP and 266 lb-ft of torque and is good for up to 23 MPG on the highway. As for alternative fuel options,the Touareg TDI, starting at $53,155, pumps out a meager 240 hp and a monumental 406 lb-ft of torque while returning up to 20 MPG around town and up to 29 MPG at highway speeds. While most hybrids are about being green, the $67,905 Touareg Hybrid packs a bit more mean, thanks to a 3.0 Liter Supercharged V6 (same as the Audi S4) and an electric motor that cranks out a combined output of 380 hp and 428 lb-ft of twist and can get up to 24 MPG on the highway. And we forgot to mention that they can each tow over 7,000 lbs.

Safety: 2015 Volkswagen Touareg

As a first for 2015, Volkswagen is offering an optional $2,500 driver-assistance package for Touareg shoppers. The package includes a host of active safety features that bundles adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive high beam headlamps to help you avoid anything that might want to put a damper on your day. However, in the event of the inevitable, the 2015 Touareg’s Driver Assistance package also includes a pre-crash accident prep system, which boils down to emergency braking, to help take as much of the blow out of the upcoming impact as mathematically possible.

Pricing and Features: 2015 Volkswagen Touareg

The 2015 Volkswagen Touareg starts at $45,615 with the standard 3.6 Liter V6, and climbs up to $53,155 for the turbo diesel. The TDI is quiet and very NVH friendly, only with the windows open at low speed driving next to a building would you notice the faintest of clacking (no more than any standard TFSI vehicle). At the top of the pack is the 2015 VW Touareg Hybrid with a price starting at $67,905.

The Off-Road feature with crawl control, harnessing all the stiffness and dampening the Touareg has to offer, effortlessly pushes Volkswagen’s 4 Motion system through obstacles that would have passengers making a mess on the supple leather interior that rivals the mud being packed into the wheel arches.