The Volkswagen Touareg celebrated its 20th anniversary last year with a special edition model. Now is the time for the third-generation model to receive a facelift, although Volkswagen isn’t quite ready to reveal it just yet. However, we have new spy photos showing the almost completely undisguised testing of three prototypes in northern Europe.
The first vehicle in the gallery attached below provides a wealth of information regarding the refreshed Touareg design changes. Not everything you see is final as the front fascia features some clever camouflage covering the area around the edges of the bumper. We know from previous spy photos of the bumper that the grille and headlights could be tweaked slightly to give the big SUV a more modern look.
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It doesn’t appear that much is being developed for the sides but at the rear, we expect the Touareg with a mid-cycle refresh to get a taillight with new internal graphics. It’s unclear for now whether the clusters will be reshaped as the lights on all three prototypes are covered with a clever camouflage foil that keeps the original shape away from our eyes.
The silver prototype has an eHybrid badge on the trunk lid, hinting at the plug-in hybrid powertrain under the hood. This doesn’t appear to be a Touareg R test vehicle and we can’t confirm what exactly is hidden under the hood. The most powerful version of the SUV features a 3.0-liter turbocharged engine backed by an electric motor for a peak output of 456 horsepower (340 kilowatts) and 516 pound-feet (700 Newton-meters) of torque.
We’ve already seen Volkswagen test the Toureag facelift with a dynamometer, which could mean changes under the hood. More electrification likely at this point, though nothing official yet. We know the German SUV will retain the 4Motion all-wheel drive capability with the Torsen center differential lock and the eight-speed automatic gearbox of the torque converter type.
