2011 Volkswagen Touareg / Touareg Hybrid / Touareg TDI

[Sheriff!]

As a longtime diesel promoter, Volkswagen’s interest in hybrids has been strictly competitive, its corporate line an assertion that diesel is the better fuel-saving alternative. With the 2011 Touareg, though, Vee-Dub has not only acquiesced to hybrid demands but has also built one of the best gas/electric vehicles on the market.

V-6, V-6, or V-6?

Aside from the hybrid option, there are two other engines available in the newly redesigned Touareg. But the 3.6-liter gasoline V-6—280 hp, 265 lb-ft of torque—and the 3.0-liter diesel V-6—225 hp, 406 lb-ft—are fully carry-over designs; both are competent and have been enlivened this year by a new eight-speed automatic transmission. That transmission, paired with a weight reduction of roughly 400 pounds over the outgoing vehicle, results in claimed fuel-economy gains of up to 20 percent. But aren’t you more interested in VW’s first hybrid? So were we.

The hybrid pairs the 333-hp, 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 from Audi’s excellent S4 sedan and S5 convertible with a 47-hp electric motor, for a combined output of 380 hp. The hybrid replaces the V-8 at the top of the Touareg range, and although pricing has yet to be announced, we expect the V-8’s roughly $10,000 premium over a base V-6 to apply to the hybrid, too. A 1.7-kWh battery pack is tucked into the spare-tire well, and the eight-speed transmission is used here, too. In this application, though, the hybrid module wedges between the engine and transmission and allows for their decoupling with a clutch. This enables the most impressive aspect of the hybrid’s operation.

Everybody who has ever driven a hybrid or read about one knows there are two types: mild (series) and full (parallel). Full hybrids are the serious ones, the cars that can whoosh through the neighborhood on electrons alone, the only sound being the leaves dancing in their wake. But there’s always a limit to how fast a hybrid can go before the gas engine has to turn on, and at cruising speeds, most never turn off. The Touareg’s great trick, thanks to the clutch between the engine and transmission, is that it can shut down the V-6 at speeds up to 99 mph.

Come Sail Away with Me

Referred to by VW spokespeople as “sailing,” this shutdown stretches the engine-off operation of the Touareg into a range other hybrids only dream of. Lift off the gas coasting down an exit ramp, and the engine shuts down. Remove your foot from the throttle as you approach a pair of semis blocking the freeway, and the V-6 goes silent. Driving the 2011 Touareg around Florence, we enjoyed absolute silence at 80 mph for more than a mile, and our serenity was interrupted only once when we had to slow down and accelerate for traffic. Silently shushing down mountain passes for miles at a time requires nothing but a clear road.

Indeed, at highway velocity, the merest touch of the accelerator will refire the V-6. (The Touareg can accelerate to and maintain around-town speeds on battery power alone, but it won’t do so quickly enough to keep other motorists from hating you.) The startup, however, is amazing in its seamlessness. Riding in the passenger seat and keeping our eyes off the instrument panel, we had to be told by the driver when the engine had fired, otherwise it was utterly undetectable. If speed is in sudden demand, the driver might notice a slight lag between pegging the throttle and getting full power, but the delay is no longer than it would regularly take for a transmission to kick down.

Like all hybrids, regenerative brakes charge the battery pack. And like we do with all hybrids, we will now complain about the regenerative brakes. In their regenerative function, they are extremely touchy, requiring the utmost care to avoid a violent lurch on application. Unlike most other hybrids, though, once past the first couple inches of travel, the Touareg’s offer decent feedback, and smooth application is possible with a light toe touch.

Other aspects of the hybrid’s driving behavior are identical to those of the rest of the Touareg lineup. All have the same light electric steering—too light for us, but likely to be well received by customers—and three-mode suspension system, the latter offering comfort, normal, and sport settings. We’d suggest trimming that number to two settings. Sport does a fine job of meeting dynamic demands, and normal is plenty comfortable, but comfort is unsettlingly squishy and allows alarming amounts of body lean—think 1970s Lincoln interpreted by modern-day VW. In the firmest setting, though, the Touareg is surprisingly nimble for its heft, a fitting XL-size ambassador for the GTI brand.

In Europe, the Touareg still will be available with a two-range transfer case and height-adjustable suspension as part of the uplevel 4XMOTION all-wheel-drive system. Our drive included a very brief (less than half a mile) off-road loop complete with slick ruts, side slopes, some pretty severe climbs, and deep mud pots—it was a busy half-mile. Not surprisingly, VW set up the course, and the Touareg aced it. It’s a laughable degree of capability for a vehicle that will prowl urban settings almost exclusively, but the tech may stay strictly on the Continent. Volkswagen’s product people aren’t confirming anything yet, but we strongly suspect our only driveline choice here will be the base 4MOTION—no X—with a Torsen center diff, no low range, and a fixed-height suspension. Also, we strongly suspect that nobody will notice. Ditching the off-road gear, however, contributes greatly to the reduced weight of the 2011 model.

A Bit of the Newly Old-School VW

VW’s mission statement is changing, modified in pursuit of tremendous sales-growth goals. Products across the range are more directly aligning with their segment leaders—the Jetta and the Passat are due to be replaced in 2010 and 2011, respectively, with cars more directly targeted at Honda’s Civic and Accord in cost and size. But the Touareg is a lingering taste of VW’s semiprecious recent past, a little bit upmarket in both content and pricing. Its small sales volumes are not the sort that will greatly help VW achieve its goal of selling a million cars in the U.S. by 2018, but this SUV does maintain the image of the people’s car as an upmarket alternative. And when you consider the hybrid army Vee-Dub plans to deploy in the near future, the 2011 Touareg hybrid sets the bar very high, indeed.


Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $42,000–$53,000
ENGINES: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter diesel V-6, 225 hp, 406 lb-ft; supercharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter V-6, 333 hp, 325 lb-ft, with AC synchronous electric motor assist (47 hp), combined power rating, 380 hp; DOHC 24-valve 3.6-liter V-6, 280 hp, 265 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manumatic shifting
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 113.9 in Length: 188.8 in
Width: 76.4 in Height: 67.3 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 4650–4950 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 6.5–7.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.9–15.9 sec
Top speed (governor limited): 130 mph
FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 16–21/20–27 mpg






http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q1/2011_volkswagen_touareg_touareg_hybrid_touareg_tdi-first_drive_review