Photo: Volkswagen
Shockingly yet unsurprisingly, Volkswagen’s North American division made the call to axe the Touareg for the 2018 model year. Remaining 2017 stock will be the U.S. market’s final taste of the mid-sized overlander, described by its creator as being the “people’s premium SUV.”
The bad news comes courtesy of Motor Trend, and according to the cited publication, the exit “comes as Volkswagen begins a major overhaul to its lineup.” This, in turn, leaves the long-wheelbase Tiguan and seven-seat Atlas as indirect replacements for the Touareg in this part of the world.
U.S. sales of the range-topping Volkswagen sport utility vehicle were bad in 2016, but the first half of 2017 sees the Touareg take a nosedive like no other. Believe it or not, the automaker sold 1,630 units in the first six months of the year, making for a 26 percent fall from Q1 and Q2 of 2016.
There’s also the matter of pricing, which doesn’t bode well for the Touareg in the face of its main competitors. The Cadillac XT5, for example, kicks off from $39,395. The Lexus RX, meanwhile, is $43,120. Now have a wild guess how much Volkswagen wants for the entry-level trim of the Touareg? That’d be $49,495 excluding destination, thank you!
There’s no mistaking, then, that “people’s premium SUV” is as far off the truth as a flying ostrich. So what’s next, then? First of all, Motor Trend doesn’t say anything about an eventual return of the Touareg for the 2019 model year. It Volkswagen can make a case for it, that is. In places such as Europe, however, the lineage will continue with a brand new generation.
Scheduled to go into production at the automaker’s assembly plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, this November, the 2018 Volkswagen Touareg will borrow the underpinnings from the Audi Q7 and, to some extent, the Bentley Bentayga. Design-wise, don’t expect the next-generation Touareg to be all that different from the one on sale today.
An area where you can bet your sweet bippy Volkswagen gave it all is the interior, which will borrow bits and bobs from models such as the Euro-spec Passat and even the Audi-branded counterpart.
U.S. sales of the range-topping Volkswagen sport utility vehicle were bad in 2016, but the first half of 2017 sees the Touareg take a nosedive like no other. Believe it or not, the automaker sold 1,630 units in the first six months of the year, making for a 26 percent fall from Q1 and Q2 of 2016.
There’s also the matter of pricing, which doesn’t bode well for the Touareg in the face of its main competitors. The Cadillac XT5, for example, kicks off from $39,395. The Lexus RX, meanwhile, is $43,120. Now have a wild guess how much Volkswagen wants for the entry-level trim of the Touareg? That’d be $49,495 excluding destination, thank you!
There’s no mistaking, then, that “people’s premium SUV” is as far off the truth as a flying ostrich. So what’s next, then? First of all, Motor Trend doesn’t say anything about an eventual return of the Touareg for the 2019 model year. It Volkswagen can make a case for it, that is. In places such as Europe, however, the lineage will continue with a brand new generation.
Scheduled to go into production at the automaker’s assembly plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, this November, the 2018 Volkswagen Touareg will borrow the underpinnings from the Audi Q7 and, to some extent, the Bentley Bentayga. Design-wise, don’t expect the next-generation Touareg to be all that different from the one on sale today.
An area where you can bet your sweet bippy Volkswagen gave it all is the interior, which will borrow bits and bobs from models such as the Euro-spec Passat and even the Audi-branded counterpart.
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