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Hi All:

Just a quick placeholder for all the stuff before I put something more formal together...

Here is something only the Porsche Cayenne and VW Toureg Hybrids can do. Notice the speed?

2011 VW Touareg Hybrid – 60 mph Glide

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/60_mph_Glide.jpg

The Sonata Hybrid can do this too... VW says up to 99 mph!

And yes, I had to exceed the speed limits by 5 mph to snap the pic :( Darn you Tom Appel! :D

Volkswagen’s first production hybrid includes an all-new Supercharged and Direct Injected 3.0L V6 paired with a 47 HP electric motor housed between the engine and 8-speed AT. Ala Hundai's method but a bit more refined from my short time behind the wheel.

The 8-speed AT on the Touareg Hybrid allows the driver to shut down the engine as a special clutch disengages the transmission from the engine, allowing it to “Glide” as soon as the gas pedal is released. And it works darn well as you can see in the pic above.

Although there is a slight hesitation as the tach falls from x,xxx RPM's to ~ 1,200 and then fall to 0 RPM over ~ 3/4 of a second, it happens quick enough not to cause any undue strain within the drivetrain or any jerk that you notice. If there was not a tach to watch, you would not even know it happened!

Good Luck

Wayne

Hi All:

34.3 mpg over 17.9 miles during the Land Hurricane. 6 + miles on the Interstate right into the teeth of 30 + mph sustained headwind. Gusts were almost 50 mph and the beast allowed this :eek:

2011 VW Touareg Hybrid – 34 mpg run during Chicago’s Land Hurricane

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/34_3_mpg_over_17_9_miles.jpg

Although I did not realize there was an iFCD (I found out after the drive :rolleyes:), when blasting into that exteme headwind, the aFCD fell and then hung between 28.4 and 28.8 mpg at 50 to 55 mph for the next 3 to 5-miles. While I have no idea what the Hybrid would do out on the flats when there is not a 30 to 50 mph headwind to plow through, I am going to assume it would be in the 35 to 40 + mpg range!

Wayne

Hi All:

Some days, this job is more fun than others… Today was one of the good days!

This is what $450,000 worth of 2011 VW Touareg Hybrids looks like ;-)

A bevy of VW Hybrids

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/450000_of_WV_Toureg_Hybrids.jpg

Ok, I lied. Not all of them were hybrids but many were!

Wayne

Hi All:

Early in the drive after 140 degrees F coolant temp was reached, you can run on the electric motor at its stated 32 mph. Not much more and although it is not very energy efficient at those RPM's (motor, not ICE) at least I caught it in the act.

32 mph EV propulsion

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/32_mph_EV_Mode.jpg

Wayne

Hi All:

We were honored to have the VW CEO and COO in attendance for the regional press launch of the 2011 VW Touareg on hand for a little Q&A after our drive.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/COO_Mark_Barnes_and_CEO_Jonathan_Browning.jpg
Volkswagen COO, Mark Barnes (L) and CEO, Jonathan Browning (R)

Who the heck am I to be able to sit across the table and have a frank conversation about VW’s current and future direction with these guys!

Wayne

Hi All:

The 2011 VW Touareg Hybrid has an attractive side profile. X5’ish like yet distinctively VW. I really like the std. alloy wheels as well.

The front however offers a far more conservative appearance other than the interesting looking LED surrounds within the headlight lenses.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Passenger_Side_Profile1.jpg

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Front.jpg

Wayne

Hi All:

2011 VW Touareg Hybrid Sanyo NiMH pack and Inflator Kit in the rear. The cross bracing is for impact/crash protection.

The 1.7 kWh Sanyo pack consists of 240 individual cells at 288 volts. I suspect it’s a std. D-Cell type form factor although I do have a question into VW’s Chief Touareg designer in case they are the more robust prismatics.

2011 VW Touareg Hybrid – Electrical Side of the House - Working End

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Sanyo_NiMH_pack_and_Inflator_Kit.jpg

Wayne

Hi All:

A bit about the Interior.

The Hybrid is only offered in the top of the line “Executive” trim (where have we heard that before???) which includes everything but the 20” wheels. The Hybrid is shod with lighter weight 19” alloys and LRR Michelin tires.

Being the Executive trim, it is loaded to the nines. The drivers and passengers will experience the new very large panoramic sunroof which is 350% larger than the sunroof from the previous model. A ventilated, power release wind deflector eliminates turbulence and associated noise to help ensure a quiet drive even when the sunroof is open.

The interior cabin noise has been reduced compared to the previous model through the use of more sound deadening insulation.

2011 VW Touareg Hybrid – Interior

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Interior.jpg
Full frontal Interior.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Interior_Console.jpg
Lower Center Console Garnish. It is a Smart Key so inserting into Fob slot is optional.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Interior_Overhead.jpg
Overhead lighting, sunroof, Bluetooth, and garage door opener controls.

As described above, the Hybrid is loaded with a multitude of premium interior features

A 7” display, located between the main gauges in the instrument cluster, provides the driver with the latest vehicle status information, including turn-by-turn navigation directions, information from the drive system in the hybrid model, and more. If you have driven a NAVI equipped VW recently, you know what that is about. The Toureg’s display however is a bit sharper however.

A brand new touch screen radio-navigation system featuring a large 8-inch screen with rearview camera, a DVD/CD player that has MP3 playback capabilities along with a 60GB hard drive with 18GB of space available to upload media, Satellite/AM/FM stereo, Bluetooth connectivity, Sirius Satellite Radio. In the glove box is an iPod or auxiliary input, SD cards, and a DVD drive. The navigation system can display maps and directions in a 3-D view. All of this is standard with the Hybrid variant.

In addition to the SAT/NAV, BiXenon “steerable” headlights with LED daytime running lights that can turn with the car up to 15 degrees in either direction are standard. As are 12-way power adjustable all-leather front seats with driver memory, power lumbar and Burr Walnut interior inlays with a wood center console, dual-zone A/C, silver metallic interior inlays with a black high-gloss center console and trim surrounds, heated multifunction steering wheel, heated front and rear seats, keyless entry system with push-button start, rearview camera with Park Distance Control (PDC) round out the toys.

One thing that did not add up however is the center arm rest had to be lifted up in two parts split down the center? I forgot to take a direct shot but you can see it in the full frontal Interior shot above. With only half of the arm rest up, you really cannot get anything into or take anything out of the storage compartment so I am not sure why it was split in two?

I also thought the side view mirrors may have been just a touch to small for a vehicle the size of the Touareg but the sightlines were excellent in all directions.

Wayne

Update from Wayne - The engineer from VW stated that the Touareg hybrid will indeed use cylindrical NiMH Sanyo cells, with a capacity of 1.7KWh for the pack.