Welcome to the most powerful production Volkswagen yet – the 462hp, 700Nm Touareg R.

The Touareg R is also the first R-badged VW with an electrified powertrain – it uses a 3.0-litre turbocharged petrol V6 with 340hp in conjunction with a 136hp e-motor (hooked-up to a 14.1kWh battery) to make its 462hp. That’s 12hp more than an old W12-engined Phaeton and over 100hp up on the V10 diesel Touareg R50. Remember those? 

VW tells us the new Touareg R does 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds – within half a second of the current Golf R – and will hit a limited 250km/h. It’s all-wheel drive – obviously – but can send up to 70 per cent of its power to the front-axle or 80 per cent to the rear if needed. Of more significance to the businesspeople who’ll buy (or lease) these things – VW claims45km of electric range, 3l/100km and 67g/km of CO2.

It costs a lot for a VW. But it’s not so bad for an SUV of this size and performance, and with this much standard tech/kit (the big 15-inch touchscreen, heated/cooled seats, surround-view cameras, matrix LED headlights and so-on). What do you reckon? 

STORY Tom Harrison