ROADTEST VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG:LIKE QUEEN ELIZABETH II, we expected confrontations and consternation as we drove through the city last week. Urban SUVs stir acrimony on the streets these days, so a week in the new VW Touareg was certain to feature the gimlet-eyed stares of consternation from pedestrians. A shiny new SUV seems as contrary to the public mood at present as singing Kevin Barry on the streets of Cork last Friday afternoon.
Yet while media discourse lampoons these motoring centaurs of the modern age, half hatchback/half agricultural vehicle, at the showrooms Irish motorists continually prove to be as infatuated with the SUV as the rest of the world. In the heyday of the boom, these vehicles captured the motoring zeitgeist despite the received metropolitan wisdom and disdain. Even now many of the most popular cars have SUV attributes, slightly higher set and chunkier than a supermini needs to be.
Given the option, without financial penalties and with enough funds in the bank, many motorists will still opt for the SUV. And it’s not just some egotistical Irish trait: in developing markets such as China, Russia and India, the long-term desire is for a shiny big SUV.
The saving grace for our week in the VW is that its Touareg remains one of the more unpretentious SUVs in the quasi-premium fleet. Somehow its large VW badge shields it from the public ire normally provoked by others. It’s ironic really, for the roots of this vehicle are firmly intertwined with the development of such status symbols as the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne.
The Touareg – named after a nomadic Saharan tribe with Berber roots – is in its second generation, and while externally the look hasn’t been radically overhauled, there have been several major strides made in terms of performance, comfort and economy.
It’s the economy agenda that’s the most significant, a statement of intent from the German car firm that it’s prepared to tackle the fuel-saving issue not only in supermini and city cars, but in larger SUVs as well. Under the Bluemotion agenda, VW has introduced several low-emission vehicles. Continuing that trend into its largest SUV without making a mockery of its green credentials was always going to be a challenge. Surprisingly they’ve done quite well.
The methodology is tried and tested. First you work on the engine itself, making the 3-litre diesel more fuel-sippingly frugal, while adding a more efficiency-focused transmission. Then you throw in a start-stop system that cuts out the engine when stopped in traffic, and steal back some energy through regenerative braking, akin to a dynamo on a bicycle.
The end result is an improvement of several miles to the gallon. The start-stop system can be switched off via a button next to the gearstick, but it’s one of the better systems out there, starting the engine quickly once the footbrake is released, so owners won’t be disturbed by leaving it on.
The regenerative braking is a different matter. When pulling off and at lower city speeds the system seems to slow the car down, as if you haven’t released the handbrake fully. It does become less apparent as the speed and momentum rises, but it’s the most evident of the fuel-saving measures.
That is until you get to the filling pumps. During our time with the car, where a great deal of the driving was in suburban limits and where the start-stop system never really got into action, we averaged a credible 9.6L/100km (30mpg).
While start-stop and regenerative braking are the most noticeable fuel-saving measures from behind the wheel, the real engineering feat is in terms of weight savings. The Touareg measures in with a wheelbase that’s 40mm longer than its predecessor, with the benefits reaped by rear seat passengers. Yet it has also managed to drop an impressive 230kgs. That’s a whopping 36 stone in old money, the equivalent of throwing two Shane Horgans and their kit bags out of the car.
The impact is felt not only in fuel economy, but in handling as well. For all its size and relatively high-set frame, this car feels remarkably nimble on the road. It’s a credit to the engineers, who haven’t compromised on the car’s rigidity or strength.
Where you might expect to encounter bodyroll in corners at speed, the Touareg sticks to its line, feeling like a larger Golf rather than a fully fledged SUV. Even the blustery crosswinds on Monday morning failed to blow it off track.
The steering is surprisingly adept as well, offering up plenty of feedback, while the suspension copes admirably with the rough and tumble of Irish roads. There are still more bounces and reverberations over bigger bumps than you might encounter in a lower-set family car, but for its size and stature it’s one of the best of the full-size SUVs at coping with the vagaries of Irish roads.
Several smaller “soft-roader” SUVs we’ve driven have failed to match the Touareg’s on-road ability to mimic a much smaller car. It certainly came as a pleasant surprise. While others publicly aspire to offering sports car handling on crossover SUVs, VW seems to have quietly come closest to squaring that circle.
The Touareg in fairness is never really going to be “sporty” and the engine for the Irish market is the lower-powered 201bhp V6 and not the new 240bhp version on offer in Britain. There is undoubtedly a saving in price, keeping the Touareg competitive for Irish buyers, but both engines come with emissions of 195g/km so the tax would be the same.
The Irish Touareg features a standard four-wheel-drive system with a limited slip differential and hill-climb assist. In some markets the car is offered with low-ratio gearing and adjustable suspension height, but for now VW in Ireland is sticking with a more regular four-wheel-drive fare.
This permanent four-wheel-drive system will cope with many mud-plugging problems, but it’s not really going to challenge rivals such as the Land Rover Discovery or the Toyota Land Cruiser in terms of mountain conquests. If you’re part of the horsey set this will suffice, particularly as the Touareg has a decent towing capacity, but for the more adventurous in the farming community its rivals still have an edge.
Inside the car the Touareg compares favourably with any highly equipped Passat. While they might not have sent the most advanced off-road technology to Ireland, they have instead splashed out in terms of comfort and equipment features. In contrast to earlier generations of VWs in Ireland, where you were lucky to get wing mirrors included in the base price, a new ethos at the German brand means that the Touareg is well-loaded from the outset. Air-conditioning, heated front seats, parking sensors, alloy wheels and cruise control are all standard. The longer wheelbase means rear seat legroom is ample for any adults, and the only complaint about the interior is that they should have considered a couple of jump seats in the boot to make this a seven-seater for school runs and pit it against rivals such as the Volvo XC90.
The Touareg is surprisingly good for what it is. Its design may not set the world on fire, but it’s far less pretentious than the rest of the SUV set and that’s a good place to be in the current climate. It should also help when it comes to trade-in and resale values. It’s spacious, comfortable, and surprisingly agile on the road.
What’s more, for a car in this class it might be relatively economical to run, but the motor tax is still frighteningly high at €1,050 a year. That’s in stark contrast to the €302 charge for a Lexus RX hybrid, for example.
Yet if you are in the market for a car like this and don’t want to downsize, then this is certainly worth consideration. There’s a lot to like about the Touareg and it took us by surprise.
Factfile
Engine:2967cc six-cylinder turbodiesel engine putting out 201bhp @ 3,750rpm and 400Nm of torque from 1,400rpm with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Specification: A high level of standard features includes: leather multifunction steering wheel; leather trim on dash with chrome inserts; 18' alloys; roof rails; permanent four-wheel-drive 4motion with asymmetrical dynamic drive torque distribution and limited slip interaxle differential; park distance control; hill-hold assist; cruise control; dualzone air-con; heated front seats; start-stop system with regenerative braking; multifunction touchscreen display; glove compartment cooling system; rain sensors.
0-100km/h:9.0 secs
Bootspace:580-1,642 litres
L/100km (mpg): urban – 8.5 (33.2); extra-urban – 6.7 (42.2); combined – 7.4 (38.2)
Emissions(motor tax): 195g/km (€1,050)
Price: €67,930
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