2011 Volkswagen Touareg - Review

Tim Healey

Contributing Writer BIO

Tim Healey was formerly an associate editor at Consumer Guide Automotive in Chicago. Before that he worked in the automotive industry as a service... More

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10,468 views February 7, 2011

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2011

OVERALL RATING 7
out of 10

Saddled with perhaps the oddest name in all of the automotive kingdom, the Volkswagen Touareg nevertheless gets a refresh for 2011, adding Volkswagen's first-ever hybrid powertrain to the mix.

Volkswagen's previous approach to alternative fuels has been focused on diesel. And that hasn't changed: A TDI clean-diesel model of the Touareg is still available.

That TDI is one of three engines. There is a conventional gasoline V-6 (3.6-liter, 280-horsepower) unit, the clean-diesel 3.0-liter V-6 TDI that makes 225 horsepower, and then the new Hybrid, which combines a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 with an electric traction motor for total power of 380 horsepower.

All three Touareg models use a new eight-speed automatic transmission. In the hybrid model, the electric motor is sandwiched between the engine and the transmission, with clutches on either end so that the electric motor can power the vehicle by itself under light load, at speeds up to 30 miles per hour.

I had the chance for a brief...

UPDATE2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Sets New Record On Pan-American Highway

A 2011 Volkswagen Touareg, piloted by a trio of German drivers, set a new world record for traversing the length of the Pan-American highway. Read Update