New Volkswagen Touareg gets new, lower power, diesel engine option

The new Volkwagen Touareg can now be had with a lower power 3.0 litre TDI with 228bhp. Prices start from £48,996.

The new Volkawagen Toureg – VW’s flagship SUV – arrived in March based on the same platform as other big VW Group SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and Bentley Bentayga, and went on sale in the UK in June.

When the new Touraeg went on sale in the UK, it was Hobson’s choice on the engine front, with the only option available a 3.0 litre V6 diesel with 282bhp and prices starting at £51,995, although VW promised more engines to come.

Now we get the ‘budget’ Touareg option with a lower power version of the existing 3.0 litre diesel with a more sedate 228bhp, but it does cut the entry-level price for the new Touareg below the £50k mark – it starts at £48,996.

You still get 4MOTION four-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and the new engine is available across the trim range of SEL, R-Line (£52,495) and R-Line Tech (£55,595) and specs pretty much the same as on the more powerful model.

The new 228bhp Touareg is already on sale at VW’s UK dealers, and you can expect another engine option to arrive before long in the guise of a 336bhp 3.0 litre V6 petrol, although we’re not sure the 362bhp plug-in hybrid Touareg heading for China is coming to the UK.