Hi,
Been thinking about sharing my experience and thoughts on the latest 2019 CR Touareg for a while now, finally got some time so here it is. Review is based upon driving the new Touareg over last three months, mostly on road and some dirt tracks but none of the usual low gear off road stuff I sometimes get into.
Lets start with the key, as its the first experience before you get to the Touareg,its slimmer than ever before, easier to put it in the pocket and forgetting it, rather than the bulge from the previous gen keys. Does the key feel and look premium, hmm, it could be better.
Walking up to the car, I like the look of it, the grey black combo or the blue black combo is nice. The car unlocks quickly as you grab the handle, no delay.
SEATING
Next the seats, super comfy, love the heating/cooling with massage function, easy to get to by pressing the centre button on the side of the seat buttons, brings up the menu onscreen to change massage function, setting. Massage is available for passenger but not in the rear. Rear leg room etc is more than before and again its comfortable. and they do recline too.
some talk about the longevity of the leather with the massage function but its so good that I couldnt care less
i guess time will tell how well the leather holds.
rear passenger get window blinds now as well, see pictures. USB ports are handy in the back and front.
Driver seat adjustment along with steering reach is great, very comfortable setup.
Entry and exit from the drivers seat is quite good, again the best out out of all the models.
View out from the drivers seat is the best ever, it almost feels like towering over the bonnet like in a range rover, again i like it.
DISPLAY/NAV
Less switches around as you see from pics, btw the big nav screen is a little far away for me and I dont have long arms, could have been closer i reckon. I can reach the nav buttons easily in my 2015 V8 but here i have to edge the back off the seat.
Get used to the button less vehicle, more menus, etc, but essentials are easy accessible and the massive screen can be customised to have favs.
Nav/maps works well, same as your phone scroll pinch zoom etc, pretty slick.
The centre MFI screen is changeable too, use the view button or the menu to have different settings.
Screen senses the fingers coming close and changes the layout to help press the right buttons.
Offroad and other settings can be customised as preferred. roll pitch sensors show the angles now, which we never had.
The HUD is nice, and again you can change its placement and the data it shows, inc map based speed limits, I know some folks dont have this in their Touaregs.
Only issue I experienced was the sun glare can light up the HUD box and it reflects a bit on the windscreen, only on certain angles though.
Good for the Touareg to have HUD finally!
Apple Android play works well so no complaints, could be wireless though, like the pad area on the back of the gear lever where you can charge your phone wirelessly and the dash will remind you to take your phone with you, incase you forgot it was there in that hole.
All sorts of driver settings can be saved to the key and under a profile in the nav.
Front/side assist feature is cool, at an intersection it sees left and right and moniors traffic either side and displays red or green boxes alerting the driver of oncoming cars, cool.
We now have oil temp back in the Touareg! Just scroll into driving data and see the oil or water temps.
LIGHTING
ambient lighting with many colors ofcourse, lights everywhere, inc the side pockets in the doors.
Sweeping indicators and lights are nice, headlights do a great work lighting it all up. They are matrix and have over a hundered individual lights in it to control the throw and where it lights up. You can see the blocks lightup as you drive around.
This is different tech to the Touaregs so far where the lamps swivelled.
DRLs are quite bright too.
Interior lighting can be individually controlled for brightness.
ENGINE
Fire up the engine with the start button or key and its super quiet, nvh levels are so low! engine and drive is bloody smooth. Plenty of grunt and power in the v6 and delivery is smooth and its pretty quick off the mark.
Lift the bonnet and you'll notice two latches now lock it down rather than the one we're used to. Engine bay is clean and good on the eyes, havent looked deep into wheres what and how easy it would be for DIY in future.
The two air intakes are right on top going into the back of the front centre grille, higher than ever before.
TRANSMISSION
I understand the transmission is made of aluminium now, which makes it super lightweight and so silent, almost an electric car like feeling.
The gear lever is no longer a mechanical one, its all shift by wire, first for the Touareg, so press a button on it to park or shift slightly for D etc.
Shifts are smooth as, power available throughout, sport mode ofcourse makes it more sporty as it has been in previous models.
I like what vw have done with the light weight transmission making it so quite and refined.
SUSPENSION
The 48v based air suspension is so comfortable, great job vw! even in sport or comfort it doesnt wallow, its constantly monitoring and making adjustments, love it. Go through a corner and its like a car and plush.nice work!
shift the suspension to high or low, its quick to achieve the result.
Riding on 20 inch wheels it eats most potholes still, I found the new CR model very comfortable so anyone with bad back will love it.
AIR CON
All good here, one key difference to get used to is the centre vent is no longer there as the massive screen takes the real estate. theres a vent below it and another on top of the dash. So get used to this change in the Touareg. Felt different for me for sure.
Another cool feature is the system detects if someone is sitting on the passenger seat and then starts the air con in that area, see the pic.
BOOT
Boot is the largest every, the partition now is electric and goes up and down as you open the boot, nice touch. space saver and bits are under the floor as usual and plenty of space for other bits. No halogens there either, all LED lighting it up.
Theres buttons there to lower rear suspension and fold seats.
STEERING
Btw another first, the touareg now has electric steering so it helps keep you in between the lanes and of course helps with parking etc. All up its balanced very well and no pull to the left
I love how it assist in driving normally, the slight corrections to keep you centered.
TOWING
One concern is re the ball weight and the new laws, see my other post on it, hopefully this can be clarified by vw. So a watchout for those planning to buy it to pull heavy boats or vans.
With additional people in the back the label states that the ball weight is lower, which makes sense, but this is the first time such a label has been explicity applied.
Sadly, as the engine variant/power goes up the ball weight goes down. The V8, being the most powerful engine to pull anything has the least ball weight. WTH! Not happy with this one.
All up there are improvements everywhere, steering, transmission, noise levels, technology, lighting, ambience, comfort, etc etc.
Would i buy one? sure, waiting for the V8... though this ball weight issue is disappointing.
Hope this is review is useful to some. Like i said most of my driving was in town in traffic or on motorways where I loved driving it. in heavy traffic the lane assist with traffic assist helps. its smoother than ever before.
Jumping back into my 2015 V8 Touareg makes it feel cramped inside and the screen look tiny, thats how spacious the interior is of the CR. The dash is big wide and it feels roomier.
What I dont like...the volume, track change switches for example, kinda plasticky and feel cheap. The touch screen is great and very responsive but would be good to have haptic.
Other than that its a great ride. I'll add some bits as I recall and experience more of it, hopefully off road... here are the associated pics....
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![235068]( "235068")
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Been thinking about sharing my experience and thoughts on the latest 2019 CR Touareg for a while now, finally got some time so here it is. Review is based upon driving the new Touareg over last three months, mostly on road and some dirt tracks but none of the usual low gear off road stuff I sometimes get into.
Lets start with the key, as its the first experience before you get to the Touareg,its slimmer than ever before, easier to put it in the pocket and forgetting it, rather than the bulge from the previous gen keys. Does the key feel and look premium, hmm, it could be better.
Walking up to the car, I like the look of it, the grey black combo or the blue black combo is nice. The car unlocks quickly as you grab the handle, no delay.
SEATING
Next the seats, super comfy, love the heating/cooling with massage function, easy to get to by pressing the centre button on the side of the seat buttons, brings up the menu onscreen to change massage function, setting. Massage is available for passenger but not in the rear. Rear leg room etc is more than before and again its comfortable. and they do recline too.
some talk about the longevity of the leather with the massage function but its so good that I couldnt care less
i guess time will tell how well the leather holds.rear passenger get window blinds now as well, see pictures. USB ports are handy in the back and front.
Driver seat adjustment along with steering reach is great, very comfortable setup.
Entry and exit from the drivers seat is quite good, again the best out out of all the models.
View out from the drivers seat is the best ever, it almost feels like towering over the bonnet like in a range rover, again i like it.
DISPLAY/NAV
Less switches around as you see from pics, btw the big nav screen is a little far away for me and I dont have long arms, could have been closer i reckon. I can reach the nav buttons easily in my 2015 V8 but here i have to edge the back off the seat.
Get used to the button less vehicle, more menus, etc, but essentials are easy accessible and the massive screen can be customised to have favs.
Nav/maps works well, same as your phone scroll pinch zoom etc, pretty slick.
The centre MFI screen is changeable too, use the view button or the menu to have different settings.
Screen senses the fingers coming close and changes the layout to help press the right buttons.
Offroad and other settings can be customised as preferred. roll pitch sensors show the angles now, which we never had.
The HUD is nice, and again you can change its placement and the data it shows, inc map based speed limits, I know some folks dont have this in their Touaregs.
Only issue I experienced was the sun glare can light up the HUD box and it reflects a bit on the windscreen, only on certain angles though.
Good for the Touareg to have HUD finally!
Apple Android play works well so no complaints, could be wireless though, like the pad area on the back of the gear lever where you can charge your phone wirelessly and the dash will remind you to take your phone with you, incase you forgot it was there in that hole.
All sorts of driver settings can be saved to the key and under a profile in the nav.
Front/side assist feature is cool, at an intersection it sees left and right and moniors traffic either side and displays red or green boxes alerting the driver of oncoming cars, cool.
We now have oil temp back in the Touareg! Just scroll into driving data and see the oil or water temps.
LIGHTING
ambient lighting with many colors ofcourse, lights everywhere, inc the side pockets in the doors.
Sweeping indicators and lights are nice, headlights do a great work lighting it all up. They are matrix and have over a hundered individual lights in it to control the throw and where it lights up. You can see the blocks lightup as you drive around.
This is different tech to the Touaregs so far where the lamps swivelled.
DRLs are quite bright too.
Interior lighting can be individually controlled for brightness.
ENGINE
Fire up the engine with the start button or key and its super quiet, nvh levels are so low! engine and drive is bloody smooth. Plenty of grunt and power in the v6 and delivery is smooth and its pretty quick off the mark.
Lift the bonnet and you'll notice two latches now lock it down rather than the one we're used to. Engine bay is clean and good on the eyes, havent looked deep into wheres what and how easy it would be for DIY in future.
The two air intakes are right on top going into the back of the front centre grille, higher than ever before.
TRANSMISSION
I understand the transmission is made of aluminium now, which makes it super lightweight and so silent, almost an electric car like feeling.
The gear lever is no longer a mechanical one, its all shift by wire, first for the Touareg, so press a button on it to park or shift slightly for D etc.
Shifts are smooth as, power available throughout, sport mode ofcourse makes it more sporty as it has been in previous models.
I like what vw have done with the light weight transmission making it so quite and refined.
SUSPENSION
The 48v based air suspension is so comfortable, great job vw! even in sport or comfort it doesnt wallow, its constantly monitoring and making adjustments, love it. Go through a corner and its like a car and plush.nice work!
shift the suspension to high or low, its quick to achieve the result.
Riding on 20 inch wheels it eats most potholes still, I found the new CR model very comfortable so anyone with bad back will love it.
AIR CON
All good here, one key difference to get used to is the centre vent is no longer there as the massive screen takes the real estate. theres a vent below it and another on top of the dash. So get used to this change in the Touareg. Felt different for me for sure.
Another cool feature is the system detects if someone is sitting on the passenger seat and then starts the air con in that area, see the pic.
BOOT
Boot is the largest every, the partition now is electric and goes up and down as you open the boot, nice touch. space saver and bits are under the floor as usual and plenty of space for other bits. No halogens there either, all LED lighting it up.
Theres buttons there to lower rear suspension and fold seats.
STEERING
Btw another first, the touareg now has electric steering so it helps keep you in between the lanes and of course helps with parking etc. All up its balanced very well and no pull to the left
I love how it assist in driving normally, the slight corrections to keep you centered.
TOWING
One concern is re the ball weight and the new laws, see my other post on it, hopefully this can be clarified by vw. So a watchout for those planning to buy it to pull heavy boats or vans.
With additional people in the back the label states that the ball weight is lower, which makes sense, but this is the first time such a label has been explicity applied.
Sadly, as the engine variant/power goes up the ball weight goes down. The V8, being the most powerful engine to pull anything has the least ball weight. WTH! Not happy with this one.
All up there are improvements everywhere, steering, transmission, noise levels, technology, lighting, ambience, comfort, etc etc.
Would i buy one? sure, waiting for the V8
... though this ball weight issue is disappointing.Hope this is review is useful to some. Like i said most of my driving was in town in traffic or on motorways where I loved driving it. in heavy traffic the lane assist with traffic assist helps. its smoother than ever before.
Jumping back into my 2015 V8 Touareg makes it feel cramped inside and the screen look tiny, thats how spacious the interior is of the CR. The dash is big wide and it feels roomier.
What I dont like...the volume, track change switches for example, kinda plasticky and feel cheap. The touch screen is great and very responsive but would be good to have haptic.
Other than that its a great ride. I'll add some bits as I recall and experience more of it, hopefully off road... here are the associated pics....
