Dead: Volkswagen Touareg

Well, here’s another one to add to the growing list of cars that will die in 2026. The Volkswagen Touareg will bow out of production next year, and with no imminent direct replacement in sight.

Admittedly, it’s not a car that registers itself too much in our daily consciousness these days, but the current generation is a well-measured thing. Not that we’ll miss having to triple-check our spelling of ‘Touareg’ whenever we write about it.

It won’t be going out without some love, though. A Final Edition has been introduced, bringing with it some neat laser engraving for the rear doors, on the dashboard and embossed onto the leather gear selector. No word yet on whether the UK will be getting the Final Edition, though the global press release states it’ll be available on every trim (presumably including the high-performance R) rather than locked to its own thing.

That same release also alludes to the idea that an EV replacement could be coming down the line, stating that ‘production of the Touareg combustion engine model ends’. If a follow-up is to happen, though, we’re not expecting it imminently, so the nameplate may lie dormant for a while.

It was introduced in 2002 as the SUV craze was beginning to gain traction. Its most bonkers versions came early on, with the V10 TDI in its first generation being a particular. The 5.0-litre diesel ten-cylinder offered up 309bhp and a bonkers for the time 553lb ft of torque. 

Yet, that wasn’t even the maddest of the lot. You could have the SUV with the same 6.0-litre W12 available in the Bentley Continental, Audi A8 and VW Phaeton at the time. At 444bhp, it remained the most powerful iteration of the Touareg until the plug-in hybrid R came for its third generation. Sadly, that one never came to the UK.