Like most automakers, Volkswagen is rolling out a growing array of crossover SUVs. But the one that started it all for the mass-market German automaker is being phased out.
Motor Trend reports that the Touareg is being excluded from VW’s US model lineup for 2018. First introduced in 2004, the Touareg is now well into its second generation that arrived in 2010. A replacement is just around the corner, but it appears that’ll only be offered overseas.
The Touareg’s departure doesn’t mean that Volkswagen is giving up on sport-utes, though. Far from it. It’s just that American consumers, it would seem, are no longer interested in buying large or even mid-size SUVs with room for only five inside. So in terms of size, at least, the Touareg is being “sandwiched out” of the North American market – by the newly engorged Tiguan at one end, and by the larger Atlas at the other.
In terms of price, though, it’s a very different story. The 2018 Tiguan starts at $25,345, the Atlas at $30,500, and the outgoing Touareg at $49,495. Its departure from the lineup leaves the Golf R as VW’s most expensive model in the US, starting at $39,375 – though the aging CC (from $34,475) can easily be spec’d out for even more.
Photo Gallery
