And its popular as well, with nearly one million units sold globally to date. It is by far the most technologically advanced car in the Volkswagen stable.

EXTERIOR DESIGN.

So the Touareg is definitely longer and wider than its predecessor, by 77mm & 44 mm respectively. This gives it a very roomy feel indeed. The front view is very subjective, but I like it with the air vents down below on the bottom right & left.

It has a distictive front grille that looks steel like, and the side profile looks like a sail stretched by wind, the LED lights finish off the look. The new rims start at 18 inches and end at 21 inches. The wheels available include the 18 inch alloy wheels “Concordia”, the 19-inch alloy wheels “Esperance”, the 20-inch alloy wheels “Braga” and “Nevada” as well as the 21-inch alloy Wheel “Suzuka”.

At the rear the LED tail light clusters are distinctive and the boot lid seems to take up the entire rear end, which is very Touareg.

INTERIOR

Into the cockpit, and what an interior it is. Its very digital age stuff, the majority of all buttons are integrated in the 15-inch (1,920 x 1,020 pixel) screen of the top infotainment system, “Discover Premium”, that is curved towards the driver. This also includes the control of the 2-zone air conditioning system or the 4-zone air conditioning system as well as the activation of seat heating and seat ventilation.

Intuitive and frequently used switches such as the volume control have a deliberate analogue design (alternatively the volume can also be changed using a touch function on the screen of the infotainment system). The glass-covered display of the “Discover Premium“ to the side of the driver is visually connected to the “Digital Cockpit” that is also covered in glass – the 12-inch high resolution digital instruments
(1,920 x 720 pixel) of the Touareg.

Different system displays can also be integrated in the “Digital Cockpit”:
• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
• Cruise Control System
• Speed Limiter
• Front Assist (front assist monitoring system)
• Night Vision (night vision system)
• Driver Alert System
• Tyre Monitoring System
• Navigation System
• Audio Functions

Head-up display. The information of the head-up display (windshield head-up display) is projected directly onto the windscreen. The display is in the direct field of vision of the driver – they can therefore obtain all the main information without looking away from the road. The head-up display has a virtual screen size of 217 x 88 mm making it the largest display of this type offered by Volkswagen to date. The driver can vary the range of displays in the head-up display.
The following information can be shown:
• Current driving speed
• Speed limiter
• Navigation information
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Lane Assist
• Side Assist
Head-up display is part of an optional Advanced Safety Package which includes Lane Assist and Side Assist with Night Vision. The drive is one of infinite smoothness, and there is lots of comfort in the luxury seats. It has the largest sliding roof, and 30 ambient colours for lighting changes.

Other cool features available in the Touareg are the “Discover Pro” (standard navigation system). “Discover Pro” is the standard navigation system. The glass-covered TFT touchscreen of the radio navigation system is 9.2-inch in size. As for the optional “Discover Premium”, “Discover Pro” also has a proximity sensor system and the innovative gesture control, usable 10GB memory, two SD card slots as well as a Bluetooth mobile phone interface. Smartphones can also be integrated and charged via two USB ports.

Then we have the infotainment system the “Discover Premium”. a radio navigation system, telephone, information centre and interface for configuring various vehicle functions at the same time. The equipment includes 10GB usable memory, two SD card slots, an AUX-IN socket, four USB ports as well as a Bluetooth mobile phone interface.

Volkswagen is presenting the fully digitalised Innovision Cockpit for the first time in the new Touareg. Here the digital instruments (Digital Cockpit with 12-inch display) and the top Discover Premium infotainment system (with 15-inch display) merge to form a digital operating, information, communication and entertainment unit that hardly needs any conventional buttons or switches. With the Innovision Cockpit, the Touareg provides the blueprint for tomorrow’s digital interior today

Engines

The 3.0 TDI V6 engine outputs 190 kW of power between 3,250 and 4,250 rpm. This common rail turbodiesel engine with
2,967 cm³ displacement develops a strong 600 Newton- metres torque from 2,250 rpm – 3,250 rpm. This engine seems powerful enough, and fuel consumption is not too bad either.

STANDARD AND OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT

Two trim lines. Two trim lines are available for the Touareg: Luxury and Executive. Luxury stands for a technical interior world dominated by metal and matching colours while the Executive has a sporty design.

STANDARD FEATURES OPTIONAL FEATURES
Exterior
• Design package (Scuff plates, trapezoidal tailpipes, decorative aluminium trim & boot edge trim)
• LED taillight clusters
• Alloy wheels: 19-inch Esperance
• LED Headlights, with LED Daytime Running Lights
• Roof rails, silver-anodised

Interior
• Multi-function steering wheel in leather, with shift paddles
• ergoComfort “Vienna” seats: Leather trim with seat heating,
4-way adjustable lumbar support and rear centre armrest

Features
• Easy Open/Easy Close (Keyless Access with Easy Open sensor; Power opening and closing tailgate)
• Electrically Foldable Towbar with Trailer Assist
• Parking Package: rear view camera with Park Assist and Park Distance Control
• Lights and Vision Package
• Electrically folding towbar
• Memory Package: Power seat adjustment for front seats with memory feature, memory function and power folding mirrors
• Active climate front seats
• Climatic air conditioning
• Adaptive Cruise Control ACC ‘‘Stop & Go‘‘ including speed limiter
• Front Assist (‘‘Pre Sense‘‘)
• Panoramic sunroof
• “Discover Pro” navigation system
• Light Assist High-Beam control
• App Connect
• Volkswagen Media Control Colours
• Aquamarine blue metallic (new)
• Tamarind brown metallic (new)
• Sand gold metallic (new)
• Antimonial silver metallic
• Silicon grey metallic
• Reef blue metallic
• Moonlight blue pearlescent
• Deep black pearl effect
• Oryx white pearl effect
• Pure White

• Suspension Package with Air Suspension
• R-Line Package
• Alloy Wheels: 18-inch Concordia
• Roof Racks: Silver anodised cross-bars with Silver-anodised roof rails
• Ambient Light Package: Additional interior lighting, illuminated door sill plates
• Ambient Light Package for R-Line: Additional interior lighting, illuminated R-Line door sill plates
• Cargo Package: Net partition, luggage compartment mat, variable luggage/load compartment floor and luggage net and roll-up sunscreen for rear side windows
• Innovision Cockpit
• Dynaudio sound system: subwoofer, effect speakers, centre speakers and amplifier
• Advanced Safety Package: Lane Assist and Side Assist with Night Vision and Head-up Display
• Climatronic in front and multi-zone controls in the rear (4-zone)

Executive

STANDARD FEATURES
(in addition to the features of the Luxury) OPTIONAL FEATURES
(in addition to the optional features of the Luxury model)
Exterior
• R-Line Exterior: R-Line design front and rear bumpers with R-Line logo on radiator grille an side fenders, R-Line design on lower door parts, stainless steel load edge protection, chrome exhaust pipes integrated into bumper, chrome decorative trims on side windows, scuff plates in stainless steel with R-Line logo in front
• IQ Light Matrix LED headlights and LED Taillights with dynamic indicators

Interior
• White ambient lighting
• Black headliner
• Pedals in brushed stainless steel
• Centre console in gloss black/ silver
• Decorative inserts in Silver Wave
• R-Line ergoComfort seats in Vienna Leather trim with seat heating, 4-way adjustable lumbar support and rear centre armrest
• Leather wrapped R-Line multi-function sports steering wheel with shifting paddles
• Climatronic in front and multi-zone controls in the rear (4-zone)

Features
• Headlamp washer system
• Dynamic Chassis Control with tyre pressure monitor system Colours
• Tamarind brown metallic (new)
• Sand gold metallic (new)
• Antimonial silver metallic
• Silicon grey metallic
• Moonlight blue pearlescent
• Deep black pearl effect
• Oryx white pearl effect
• Pure White

• Alloy Wheels: 21-inch Suzuka
• 4-corner air suspension with electronic shock absorption control and 4-wheel steering

DRIVER ASSIST SYSTEMS

The new Touareg is one of the safest and most comfortable cars in the world. The broad range of its driver assist system contributes to this. The driver benefits from the interaction of the assist systems in the Touareg more than ever. As a result, comfort and safety reach a new level.

Night Vision. The new Touareg is the first Volkswagen available with a night vision system. A thermal image camera (infrared camera) registers infrared radiation coming from a living being. Any persons or animals detected are marked yellow or red, depending on the risk, in a black and white image. The image itself is transmitted to the Digital Cockpit. If Night Vision registers a risk, it actively warns the driver (via information in the Digital Cockpit and optional head-up display). At the same time the brakes and the brake assist system are pre-conditioned to provide the highest deceleration rate if required. Thanks to the new, interactive “IQ.Light Matrix LED headlights” (available only in the Executive model), people in a potential danger area are briefly flashed to make them more visible for the driver and as a warning.

Trailer Assist. Trailer Assist allows the driver to no longer have to think about the complex task of having to turn the steering wheel to the left so that trailer turns to the right (and vice versa) when manoeuvring in reverse with a car and trailer.

Park Assist. The Park Assist system uses ultrasound sensors in the area of the front and rear side as well as sensors in the wheels to measure the parking space. The control unit of Park Assist gives the steering system precise commands concerning how the car is to be directed into the parking space.

Rear View. As an electronic eye, the rear view camera system is focused on the tow bar of the trailer. It views the tow bar as a compass needle – in this way, the camera recognises the current angle of the trailer to the rear of the car. The control unit of Park Assist converts this angle into the current steering angle of the trailer.

Intelligent light functions. Various intelligent light functions from the electronics of the Touareg are activated using the 75 LEDs of the dipped and main beam as well as seven 75 front end LEDs (in five reflection chambers) and three cornering light LEDs. The corresponding computer uses the signals of the front camera, the digital card data of the navigation system, the GPS signals, the steering wheel angle as well as the current speed to precisely activate the individual LEDS for the best light in a split second. The driver switches on the main beam headlight via “Dynamic Light Assist”. The Touareg manages the rest itself – dim, turn up, city lighting, optimum highway light or offroad light

The new Touareg is one of the few passenger cars designed for maximum trailer weights up to 3.5 tonne (braked, up to 12% gradient). Due to its running gear configuration, permanent all-wheel drive and high-torque V6 engine, the Touareg masters these trailer weight effortlessly.

New Touareg retail price (VAT and emissions tax included)

3.0 V6 TDI 190kW (Luxury) R999 800
3.0 V6 TDI 190kW (Executive) R1 088 200

The new Touareg comes standard with a 5 year/100 000km Maintenance Plan, 3 year/120 000km warranty, 12-year anti-corrosion warranty and space saver spare wheel. Service Interval is 15 000km.

To sum up, the Touareg is not a cheap car, and even within its own brands there are competitors, like the Audi Q5, and the Q7. But it has a myriad of others as well, notably the Porsche Cayenne. However this remains one of my favourite drives this year. Would I buy it? Probably not, as I would go for the Q5.