Car: Volkswagen Touareg range
Prices: £38,255-£56,530 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 40-46
Emissions: 193-239g/km
Performance: [V8 TDI] 0-60mph 7.5s / Max Speed 150mph [est]
Fuel Consumption: [V8 TDI] (combined) 31mpg
Safety: Twin front/side/curtain airbags / ABS / ESP / Brake Assist/ hill descent assist / hill start assist [est]
Dimensions: Length/Width/Heightmm 4758/1928/1724
BRAND WAGEN
Our Rating: 7.6 / 10
The Toureg luxury 4x4 should be worthy of its place atop the Volkswagen line-up in its latest guise. Steve Walker reports.
Big 4x4s have to tread a finer line than ever these days. The size and ostentation which drove their rise in popularity still appeal to buyers but the same qualities have seen them singled out for criticism on social and environmental grounds. As luxury SUVs go, Volkswagen’s Touareg has always been one of the more discreet options and today’s second generation model sets out to tread even more softly without forsaking the guilty pleasures that attract customers to these goliaths of the passenger car world.
The original Touareg was part of a twin-pronged Volkswagen assault on the luxury car market. Back in 2003, VW had no real record of selling cars costing north of £40,000. Then it launched the Touareg luxury 4x4 and the Phaeton luxury saloon within a few months of each other. The fortunes of the two cars were quite different. The Phaeton was handicapped by its similarity to the Audi A8, the notorious conservatism of luxury saloon buyers and diabolical residual values. It didn’t really catch on. The Touareg, in contrast, sold steadily.
Despite its mechanical similarity to the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen’s luxury off-roader benefited from the lower key image that comes with a VW badge. With overbearing rivals like the Cayenne and the Range Rover drawing fire (often unfairly) for their perceived profligacy, the Touareg was more likely to slip under the radar - a quality that many buyers appreciated as much as the comparatively reasonable pricing. Today’s Touareg is essentially more of the same, albeit roomier and more efficient.
The engine line-up assigned to the Touareg kicks off with Volkswagen’s 3.0-litre V6 TDI diesel. It’s a 237bhp engine that will have ample muscle about it for most tastes thanks to nearly 550Nm of torque. If, however, buyers feel that they need to get closer to take-off velocity when powering up that motorway on-ramp, there’s always the 4.2-litre V8 TDI. This engine is a bit of a brute with 335bhp and a smidgeon shy of 800Nm. It’s more torque than in that world champion of waft, the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Despite these impressive oil-burners, the real talking point in the Touareg line-up will be the hybrid model. It’s the first production Volkswagen to employ an electrically-assisted powertrain and it features a 3.3-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine mated to an electric motor. This is what’s called a ‘full hybrid’, referring to the fact that the electric motor can operate independently of the petrol engine. It allows the Touareg to operate solely on electric power at speeds of up to 30mph. With both power sources working in tandem, the 375bhp Touareg Hybrid will get to 62mph in 6.5s and hit a 149mph top speed.
This Touareg is bigger than the original, a car which lagged a little behind other luxury 4x4s on size. An extra 40mm has been incorporated into the wheelbase bumping the vehicle’s overall length up to 4,758mm. The car is no wider, which will help when parking it, and 20mm lower but more salient is the fact that this larger Touareg is actually 200kg lighter than the previous model. The styling borrows from the latest Volkswagen themes at the front end with a wide shallow grille, LED lighting and slated air intakes.
It’s the usual classy Volkswagen cabin inside and the Touareg should stand comparison to the best that the luxury 4x4 sector can offer in terms of its fit and finish. Unlike some of its contemporaries which have a seven-seat option, it’s only offered in five-seat guise but those seats do slide and recline to make occupants more comfortable. The
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