MotorMouths

The Touareg hybrid, (VW’s first) is a miraculous piece of engineering, but it carries a base sticker price that’s $20,000 more even than the base Touareg with a standard V-6 engine. And the mileage, one of the major reasons to buy a hybrid, is disapointing.

The Touareg is a lingering taste of VW’s semi-precious recent past—a little bit upmarket in both content and pricing. This SUV does maintain the image of the people’s car as an upmarket alternative.

The 2011 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid is an excellent pick for shoppers seeking a luxury SUV that delivers V8 excitement with V6 frugality.

So I wasn’t a fan of the Hybrid powertrain, but I really liked the Touareg otherwise. If you want a Touareg V6 with lots of extra performance and no fuel-economy penalty, look no further than this supercharged hybrid.

The all-new VW Touareg’s new face is manly, but not aggressive, making it look more like a large Golf. It will be first automobile in the U.S. to offer a diesel, gasoline, or hybrid drivetrain.

The goal of the Touareg Hybrid is to give buyers V-8 power with V-6 fuel economy. If you’re comfortable spending $61,000 on an SUV that says VW on the outside but implies Audi on the inside, the Touareg Hybrid is easy to live with.

You want a 2011 Touareg if you need to haul people and stuff and a European premium feel is how you roll. There’s a lot of variety here with the three powertrain configurations, and the hybrid is one heck of a satisfying drive.

There’s little doubt in our mind that the ’11 Volkswagen Touareg is a big improvement over the first-generation SUV. It’s lighter, better looking, roomier and more nimble.

The Touareg Hybrid is both the fastest and most powerful of the line. It will hit 62 mph in 6.5 seconds according to Volkswagen, a full 1.3 seconds faster than either the V-6 gasoline or V-6 diesel models.

We think hybrid technology has a bright future in sport utilities and we think VW’s Touareg Hybrid is definitely a step in the right direction. But, price will certainly be an obstacle to its popularity.

The 2011 Touareg Hybrid is a handsome vehicle, and the subtle evolution of the exterior look hides just how thoroughly new this vehicle is.

All the powertrain engineering packed into the 2011 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid largely goes unnoticed, even though there is always a lot going on.