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Tesla Model Y vs Volkswagen Touareg

What's the difference?

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Tesla Model Y
Tesla Model Y

$55,900 - $82,900

2025 price

Volkswagen Touareg
Volkswagen Touareg

$79,990 - $148,950

2024 price

Summary

2025 Tesla Model Y
2024 Volkswagen Touareg
Safety Rating

Engine Type
0.0L

Fuel Type
Electric

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Fuel Efficiency
0.0L/100km (combined)

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Seating
5

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Dislikes
  • Interior looks too basic
  • Higher prices amid more competition
  • Autosteer only in 'beta' form

  • Disappointing ride quality
  • PHEV elements frustrating to use IRL
  • Limited appeal compared to other R models
2025 Tesla Model Y Summary

As recently as this time last year, Tesla was riding high. It was the darling of the electric vehicle world, the leader of the pack thanks to its colourful leader, Elon Musk.

Fast forward to now and so much has happened to Tesla in the last year it’s hard to know where to start. Sales have declined around the globe and Musk has become one of the most polarising human beings on the planet.

But that’s only part of the story, and part of the reason Tesla’s sales have dropped. The cold, hard reality of the automotive industry has also hit the American brand for the first time in its existence. A large part of the brand’s success has come from bucking the automotive industry norms, but now it appears to be dawning on Tesla that there is a reason why the rest of the industry does things the way it does.

Until now the brand has been seen as new and different, but as its cars, most notably this popular Model Y SUV start to age, they have become stale after five years on sale. So, Tesla has reverted to the tried and tested method of a mid-life facelift and other upgrades to make the Model Y look new and more appealing to buyers.

Will this be enough to turn around the sales slide? It’s hard to quantify exactly what impact Musk’s political stance is having, so we’ll stick to telling you about the car. Because, to be frank, regardless of how you feel about the owner of the company, if the product doesn’t appeal to customers, then it simply won’t sell.

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2024 Volkswagen Touareg Summary

It’s big, it’s fast, it’s luxurious, Volkswagen’s Touareg has always been a stand-out large SUV.

This one, the full-fat R is the latest take on the halo Volkswagen model. It has big shoes to fill.

See, top-spec Touaregs in the past are hardly rivals to the Toyota LandCruisers and Hyundai Palisades of this world. They’re a different breed, with the first-generation Touareg powered by a variety of engines up to a 5.0-litre turbo-diesel V10, and the second-gen version packing petrol and diesel V8s in its upper levels.

They were the ultimate sleeper family SUV, ridiculous engines with rich VW Group lineage in a seemingly mainstream family-friendly package.

But this third-generation version can’t quite replicate the over-engined craziness of its predecessors. It has to think outside the box as emissions regulations crack down the world over.

This Touareg R is a plug-in hybrid. A performance-focused one at that. Can it hope to replicate the unhinged nature of its forebears and find an appropriate place atop the hierarchy of Volkswagen’s R models? Let’s find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2025 Tesla Model Y 2024 Volkswagen Touareg

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