Volkswagen Touareg CR 210TDI R-Line (2019-2026)

Mostly overlooked because of its badge – It’s the V6 twin-turbocharged luxury SUV from Volkswagen, which shares a chassis with many well known luxury SUVs from the likes of Porsche, Audi, Bentley and even Lamborghini. This is the cheapest way to get into the luxury SUV market, but with one major catch: you’re not wearing a luxury brand to match that $100,000 price tag. The build quality here is next to none. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. This is a German bank vault on wheels; it is as solid as you’d imagine a luxury SUV like this should be. Heavy doors, lush leather and tight tolerances reign supreme here.

This car starts at $108,990 before on-road costs, but with the options fitted to our test car like the Sound and Comfort package priced at $6,500 and premium paint which is priced at a whopping $2,100, you’re looking at a $117,590 SUV.

The premium paint is self-explanatory, but the Sound and Comfort package adds a 360° camera, four-zone climate controls, reverse autonomous braking, parking assist plus, heated rear seats, memory front seats and the Dynaudio sound system.

You’re getting a 5 year/unlimited kilometre warranty with this VW. Servicing will cost you either $1,350 for 3 services or $2,500 for 5 services. Servicing occurs at either 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

You don’t need active sound cancellation in a car that’s this isolated from the road. There’s what feels like the weight of a Volkswagen Polo’s worth of sound deadening throughout this car. The only sounds that manage to peep through include a light amount of tyre noise and the faint whistle of those turbochargers under load.

Powered by a 3.0L turbocharged diesel V6, this SUV produces 210kW (285hp) and 600Nm, and sends its power to all four wheels.You can get from 0-100km/h in just 6.1 seconds, too.

The 8-speed automatic here feels just as every bit premium too. It’s buttery smooth in its operation, and actually a bit of fun to manually operate too. In Sport mode, you get a lively set of gears to really make the most of all that power.

Standard air suspension is always a plus. Offering a relaxed ride around town, the added weight and wide footprint of this SUV makes for a rich ride. With the added benefit of air bags, you can lower the ride for a more reactive Touareg, making it a lot of fun to throw through corners. If you find yourself doing SUV things, the air suspension can be raised to increase ground clearance too.

For a big SUV with a big SUV motor, VW claims a feeble 6.8L per 100km combined. I found it to consume around 8-10L per 100km in my tests. However a 90L tank capacity will see you travel far without needing to fill up often when out on a road trip.

All your key controls are available within arms reach from the driver's seat, in both physical, digital and haptic form. The latter proved to be a controversial inclusion in Volkswagen cars.

A way to hint that the Touareg is related to more expensive siblings is the 12.3-inch drivers display and 15-inch centre touch screen. I haven’t seen a screen this big outside of the Tesla Model 3!

The usability of that centre screen is fine, but it does take some getting used to, as it’s just a tad bit complicated.

Lacking a third row of seats is a great way to add boot space. You’re getting 810L of space and a total of 1800L with the 40:20:40 split seats folded. This car offers supreme comfort in all of its seats. Sure, the rear middle seat is a little tight, but it’s fairly generous for a car in this class.

For most, they’re going to want to spend the same or more on a similar brand affiliated with being a luxury brand.

Volkswagen is offering you a better value premium SUV with the same build quality and features as brands twice as expensive.

I’d highly recommend this SUV, but it's for those who don’t want to stand out from the crowd. It’ll fly under the radar and it's a perfect “quiet wealth” car.

*Disclaimer - I work for ProductReview as their independent car and motorbike expert. I borrow new cars and motorbikes from manufacturers and owners to review. I am not paid or incentivised by these brands to post reviews. I write and create content to provide insight and information about any new or used vehicle I can get my hands on.