volkswagen touareg hybrid

Luxist Drives the 2011 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid, Loves the Silent Sound of It

The Volkswagen Touareg has always lived on the wrong side of the tracks in America: it was a big, expensive Volkswagen. Notice, we can't just say it was a big, expensive car, because those are almost as much the norm as anything else – we must qualify the descriptor with the word "Volkswagen." Yet its Cayenne sibling was reversing Porsche's fortunes, and it's Q7 sibling was luring customers Audi had been forsaking when it had no SUV. But the only splash the Touareg could make in the U.S. was in puddles.

No more. The new 2011 Touareg bigger, roomier, and nicer. Much nicer. It is also much lighter, allowing for more power while delivering better gas mileage. That is how we like our VWs. There's a new flavor, too: Hybrid. Luxist spent a few hours in Italy to find out what a Touareg reset looks like. Our first impressions: so good, this is what the first Touareg should have looked like.

Gallery: Luxist Drives the 2011 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid