The irony with the new about bloody VW Touareg R Hybrid is that Volkswagen is leveraging the increased efficiency offered by the addition of electric power. The issue here is that gasoline is still way more efficient than the electricity generated by the batteries. But as we all know gasoline pollutes like hell. However battery power is getting around 8 percent more efficient every year, and predictions are it could drop by 50 percent in the coming years. Eventually and somewhat inevitably there will be a convergence between the efficiencies offered by gasoline and battery technology.

Battery technology is essentially storage, the problem with current battery technology is that the storage – the physical size of the battery – is bloated and cumbersome. So, for now, current battery technology still lags behind gasoline in terms of like-for-like efficiency. So why is this article babbling on about plug-in hybrid battery efficiency and not detailing more about the about bloody time VW Touareg R Hybrid?

If battery technology progresses towards like-for-like efficiencies with gasoline-powered cars, it is reasonable to say, eventually, future battery technology will supersede gasoline. That is to say, future battery technology will offer better range than a gasoline-powered car. How long will this convergence and eventual divergence take? At least another 10 – 20 years.

Although hybrids/plugin hybrids will be exempt from the 2035 new car petrol and diesel ban, the plug-in hybrid era will be short-lived, it is already on a count down to obsolescence. Nevertheless, the about bloody time Touareg R Hybrid becomes the flagship model of the range. The 3.0-litre V6 TFSI generates 335bhp with the e-motor providing a further 134bhp to give a combined system output of 456bhp and a near 700Nm of torque. 

The e-motor will provide an electric driving range of around 15 miles before the batteries are depleted. In electric mode alone, the about bloody time Touareg R Hybrid will reach 87mph, in full petrol mode, it will go onto 155mph. As with all plug-in hybrids you can charge on the move, but you won’t achieve the superfast charge rate afforded by a wall-mounted power station.

In terms of equipment, the about bloody time Touareg R Hybrid is based on the R Line specification with a few extras that would otherwise be cost optional. Pricing has yet to be revealed, but expect the about bloody time VW Touareg Hybrid to cost close to £70k. The short-lived, tax-break future is expensive folks.