Order books have opened for the Volkswagen Touareg, which launches this summer with more aggressive styling and increased technology, including a smart new digital interior.

Volkswagen Touareg

Priced from £51,595 – up £5,625 on the outgoing model’s entry-level price of £45,970 – and also available on a Volkswagen Financial Services’ Solutions Personal Contract Plan with monthly payments of £499 plus a £3k deposit, the third-generation model (see first drive report here) is billed as Volkswagen’s most advanced SUV to date and is expected to remain a firm favourite as a business car; some two-thirds of this model will still go to fleets.

Three trim options are offered – SEL, R-Line and R-Line Tech – with onboard equipment including VW’s Innovision Cockpit, which uses a 12-inch driver’s display and a 15-inch central touchscreen to replace every physical button except volume, including ventilation to infotainment controls. The Touareg also features an eSIM mobile data connection and a new generation of assistance, driving dynamics and comfort systems include technologies such as Night Vision (thermal imaging camera), Traffic Jam and Roadwork Lane Assist, which offers a partly automated steering and lane departure warning up to 37mph with acceleration and braking, Front Cross Traffic Assist, active all-wheel steering and a new roll stabilisation system with electromechanically controlled anti-roll bars.

Built on a new platform that makes it wider and longer than before with an extra 113 litres of luggage space, the new model comes with just one engine from launch – a Euro 6d-TEMP compliant 282bhp 3.0-litre diesel with an eight-speed auto tiptronic and 4Motion – with a 228bhp unit to follow in the autumn. A further 335bhp V6 petrol joins later in the year and a range-topping 415bhp V8 diesel will be added to the European line-up in due course.