The all-new Volkswagen Touareg betters its predecessor in near enough every area. The cabin is beautifully built and laden with kit, and while there’s no seven-seat version, it’s more than practical enough for a family of five. The lack of powertrain options will be rectified in the near future, too, with a range of petrol, diesel and hybrid choices due before the end of 2019. If you want a large and luxurious premium SUV with all the latest tech, the Touareg is a smart choice.
Design-wise, the latest VW Touareg takes its smaller SUV siblings as a base and expands on them in every direction. It’s instantly recognisable as the firm’s largest model, with a wide grille and giant VW badge on the nose. It appears squatter than before thanks to its revised proportions, but this is a bulky car, whichever way you look at it.
Inside, the new Touareg sets a high benchmark for its intuitive layout and quality materials. It not only looks great, but it’s packed with functional features and practical touches. There’s leather everywhere you look, with lashings of metal and high-quality plastic throughout. You wouldn’t expect much more if you were sitting in a car costing twice the price.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
There’s no denying the VW Touareg sets a new benchmark for infotainment and interior technology in the premium SUV class. The seamless dual-screen set-up not only looks great, but it works beautifully – with loads of functionality and crisp responses.
VW calls its flashiest display option ‘Innovision Cockpit’, which comprises a set of 12.3-inch digital dials alongside a huge 15-inch central infotainment screen. It offers the illusion of a single pane of glass, and while it is subtly split in two just behind the steering wheel, VW tells us the only reason for this is to reduce the cost of replacement should one get damaged.
All the menus are configurable in a tile formation, meaning you can bring frequently used functions to the forefront, and push those less important to the back. It’s a remarkably intuitive set-up, and can be used alongside the standard-fit Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems.
Ahead of the digital dials there’s a crystal clear heads-up display, which shows everything from speed and trip info, to navigation directions.
While the Volkswagen Touareg might not be the sharpest car in its class, it’s still a great all-rounder. In fact, by sticking with a range of tried and tested V6 diesel engines, it remains one of the strongest and most refined cars on sale.
So far, we’ve only tried the more powerful of the two six-cylinder diesel engines. With 282bhp, it’s a gutsy performer, with loads of power and huge torque reserves – perfect for quick overtakes or steady motorway cruising. It’s incredibly quiet, too, which takes the pain out of long, monotonous journeys.
But despite the Touareg being based on the same platform as the Porsche Cayenne, Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus, it’s clear VW has prioritised comfort rather than outright driver fun. Yes, this new car is an improvement on the last Touareg, but the numb and slightly unpredictable steering lets down what is an otherwise excellent package. It’s surprisingly nimble though, thanks to the nifty four-wheel steering system, while body roll on our air suspension-equipped test car was kept in check. The DSG gearbox can feel a little hesitant at times, but it’s not a deal breaker.
The VW Touareg comes loaded with stress-saving tech, including Adaptive Cruise Control with Predictive Cruise. This system automatically changes your speed according to posted limits, and on our European test route it worked really well. Other useful semi-autonomous tech includes Traffic Jam Assist and Cross Traffic Assist, as well as Proactive Occupant Protection, which closes the windows and pre-tightens the seatbelts if it senses an impending collision.
Engines, 0-60 acceleration and top speed
The all-new Volkswagen Touareg’s full UK engine line-up hasn’t been disclosed, but we do know it’ll launch with a pair of V6 diesel (228bhp or 282bhp) motors. Later, we expect at least one V6 petrol engine, as well as a pokier V8 diesel and a fuel-saving plug-in hybrid.
The one V6 diesel we tried (the faster 282bhp car) felt strong and refined. The 0-62mph dash takes just 6.1 seconds – and if you regularly commute on derestricted German autobahn, you’ll be able to hit 146mph on the way to work. It felt more than punchy enough, both from a standstill and in-gear. It’s incredibly quiet, too, even in the upper reaches of the rev band.
It’s impossible to comment on reliability when a car is so new – especially when it is filled with such cutting-edge technology. Volkswagen has a good reputation, however, so we’ve no reason to believe the all-new Touareg will be anything other than incredibly easy to live with. The firm finished 5th (out of 26 manufacturers) in the 2018 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, with the current Tiguan finishing 29th out of the 75 individual models ranked.
Elsewhere, VW will be hoping for a full five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating. There’s loads of safety kit on board, with clever kit like Predictive Cruise – a system that adjusts your speed according to the posted limit – raising the bar in this class. Volkswagen’s engineers tell us the lane departure warning system turns on every time the car is started just to gain an extra half-star in the stringent NCAP tests. Other innovative features include Traffic Jam Assist and Cross Traffic Assist.
Warranty
Every new Volkswagen Touareg will come with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, which is broadly in line with its key rivals. While this should suffice for most buyers, we expect the firm to offer a five-year guarantee for an additional fee.
Servicing
Service schedules will be revealed when the car arrives in dealers towards the middle of summer 2018, but it’s likely VW will suggest a 12-month/10,000-mile schedule – broadly in line with most models of this type. There’s a chance diesel models will demonstrate longer intervals, although nothing has been confirmed.
The Volkswagen Touareg is a big, comfortable and super-practical family car. While it can’t offer the same seven-seat layout as many rivals like the Land Rover Discovery, Volvo XC90 or Audi Q7, it is still an incredibly spacious SUV with room for five tall adults. There’s only one bodystyle to choose from.
Size
The VW Touareg is a big car, whichever way you look at it. It’s 77mm longer and 44mm wider than before, offering more interior and luggage space than the previous-generation SUV.
However, it’s still not as long as the biggest cars in this class. At less than five metres, an Audi Q7 (complete with its seven-seat layout) is almost 8cm longer than a new Touareg.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
Whichever seat you’re put in, there’s plenty of room inside the VW Touareg. By avoiding the temptation to put two seats in the boot, VW has made accommodation generous for all five passengers. Despite being 7mm lower than before, there’s loads of headroom and ample kneeroom, and the doors open wide to make fitting child seats nice and simple.
Boot
Again, by avoiding the need for a third row of seats, the VW Touareg has one of the biggest boots in the premium SUV class. With the rear seats in place there’s 40 litres more than you’ll find in an Audi Q7 (810 litres vs 770 litres in the Audi’s five-seat configuration), while folding everything flat offers almost as much room as offered in a Volvo XC90. Cars fitted with all-round air suspension can be lowered from a button in the boot, too, making it even easier to load heavy or bulky items.
Towing capacity
Towing weights haven’t been disclosed, but with such gutsy V6 diesel engines, it’s likely to match (or indeed, better) most of its premium SUV rivals. Plus, clever tech like Trailer Assist makes reversing your caravan or horsebox a supremely simple affair.
Because VW is yet to announce the full range of engines and powertrains for its latest Touareg SUV, fuel economy and emissions data is still thin on the ground.
At launch, UK buyers will get a choice of two V6 diesel engines, which should return around 40mpg. CO2 emissions for this unit will be around 180-185g/km, and because every version costs more than £40k, the standard road tax rate of £450 per year will apply. The hybrid version due later will reduce this by just £10, but – providing you have regular access to a plug or charge point – fuel economy should be vastly improved.
Electric range, battery life and charge time
While the new VW Touareg will launch with a range of V6 diesel engines, a plug-in hybrid (Touareg PHEV) is due later. Official figures haven’t been announced, but we can expect a 30-mile electric range and CO2 emissions of less than 70g/km.
Insurance groups
We’ll have to wait a little longer for VW to announce official insurance groups for the new Touareg. The old car sat between group 40 and group 42, which is high; the latest Audi Q7 starts at group 36. The Touareg’s improved safety kit and semi-autonomous features may lower premiums, however.
Depreciation
As is the case with official insurance groups, we’ll need to wait to see how the latest VW Touareg fares when it comes to residual values and depreciation. Volkswagen remains a strong and highly desirable brand, however, so we’ve every confidence it should retain a competitive chunk of its value after three years or 36,000 miles.
For reference, the old model – even in its later years – held on to around 46 per cent of its original purchase price after three years. That’s between two and four percentage points lower than a new Audi Q7 but about on par with the BMW X5.
from Featured Articles https://ift.tt/2K2mIXu
No comments:
Post a Comment