Five things I love about the new Volkswagen Touareg

I’m still coming to terms with the fact that Volkswagen isn’t bringing the 2019 Volkswagen Touareg to Australia in seven-seat form.

Why? I’m concerned that several of my friends are in a BWM X5 rut that they’ll never emerge from and Volkswagen had the chance to offer a viable solution.

However, there is an upside to all of this. If you don’t ‘need’ a seven-seater but crave a big car that also alleviates you from weekend car-pool duties of the seven-seat variety, the Volkswagen Touareg might be perfect for you – as it was for me.

Here are five things I loved about the large (but not too large) Volkswagen Touareg.

The infotainment and instrumentation screens blend seamlessly to form over 27-inches of technological delights.

You too could options this… for $8000. The high-resolution 15-inch touch screen is home to all of your in-car and infotainment settings and takes pride of place in the luxe cabin.

Not one to use the word ‘hero’ loosely, but this screen is just that. It does however take some time to get familiar with how to use it. A large screen does mean large fonts, and that’s a win for the tech challenged, fumble fingers and visually impaired. Tick.

Free from the burden of other’s people’s children, your (two or three) second row occupants can relax in a TARDIS-like space that includes comfortable leather heated and reclining seats, dedicated climate control, charge points and an abundance of leg room.

Rapidly growing teens will happily live out their years (and other milestones) in here, with head and legroom for days. With three occupants up back, there’s no real dud seat either.

With 810 glorious litres at the ready, the Touareg will cope with large items and the generous over-packers. Trust me.

We packed our usual load of scooters, helmets, basketballs, soccer balls and gear for a four-day weekend away and still had plenty of room. Most often we’re shoving excess gear at the kids’ feet or in between their seats, but not this time.

It would be remiss of me not to note the 40:20:40 split fold seats that offer additional flexibility.

Cup holders and oddment storage in the Touareg is top notch. We see many a car that features dual cup holders in front of cabin, only to be let down by their inferior size or placement which means you can only really use one at a time.

You’re good to go full-sized drinks two-up in the Touareg’s spring-loaded cup holders.

And you’re not expected to use the cup holders as oddment storage, there’s separate space for that, with an open wireless phone charge/storage cavity and a lided armrest, too.

For some reason it really peeves my husband when I throw my handbag on his lap before he gets a chance to settle in and belt up (insert face of husband who never gets to drive). Even small handbags test his patience.

This was not the case in the Touareg. The in-door storage is so voluminous that I could store the smaller of my cross-body style handbags in my door cavity – easy to stow and easy to reach.

My husband actually loved the Touareg and I’m (quietly) convinced this was the tipping point.

When you spend $89,990 (plus on-road costs) on the above comfort and convenience features you also get a powerful 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel engine (190kW/600Nm) that delivers performance and economy that defy its capacity.

It’s so good you almost wish you could carry seven passengers… Almost.

Now watch this...