Volkswagen Touareg 2007 Review

Not so much
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>> Just non-metallic colour so ignore RRP

OVERVIEW
It's not overstating the case to suggest that the sales success of this facelifted Touareg will determine Volkswagen's course Down Under.

You see VW and its Touareg SUV are at a crossroads. In a model line-up that boasts 40-per-cent-plus year-to-date sales growth and record sales for the likes of Golf, Jetta and Passat, the big SUV is a standout -- for all the wrong reasons.

The full-size SUV Touareg has spectacularly underperformed for the maker since its launch Down Under in late 2003. In 2004, its best year, it sold just over 950 units. Last year the total was just 491 -- Porsche's Cayenne, which shares its underpinnings with the VW, but until recently started at almost twice the price, managed better than 350 units.

Thus it's arguably not the car... Closer to the truth, some pundits suggest the Touareg's lacklustre sales point to the fact that Volkswagen has hit what might be described in corporate terms as a "glass ceiling". It's yet to be proven Aussies will embrace a VW with a sticker price the wrong side of the $57K-something Luxury Car Tax increment.

The theory will be further tested when the R36 hot-shoe version of the Passat arrives later in 2007/early 2008. In the meantime, Touareg is a litmus test -- for the brand, its management Down Under and its dealer network.

We'll leave the esoteric arguments for the moment -- and concentrate on the car.

At that time the V8 petrol was dropped and two new V6s (turbodiesel and direct-injected petrol) were added to the range. VW Oz tried hard to make the facelift you see hereabouts part of the October 2006 revamp but in the end had to wait until now. It was an imperfect state of play -- a false start, if you will, to the Touareg's relaunch.

The new car arrives in dealers this month with a host of new parts and new safety features as standard but no price increase. The engine/model line-up is also unchanged.

Four new Touareg models are offered; three which feature turbodiesel engines. The range kicks off with the five-cylinder R5 turbodiesel priced from $64,990, with both V6 models -- the 3.0-litre TDI and 3.6-litre FSI direct-injected petrol -- starting at $74,990. The range-topping 5.0-litre V10 turbodiesel arrives at $121,990.

Standard across the Touareg range is VW's dual-range 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system and a whole suite of electronic active safety and traction aids (see more below). In terms of comfort and convenience, the Touaregs all get dual-zone aircon and alloy wheels (17-inch on R5 and V6s, 18s on V10), power windows, mirrors (auto dimming), auto wipers and headlights, six-disc audio, trip computer and rear cargo area partition and cover.

The V10 gets quad-zone air, Bi-Xenon lights and air suspension among other goodies as standard -- these are, respectively, $1490, $2990 and $5490 options on the rest of the range.

Range options include auto tailgate ($1390), sunroof ($2190), rear seat DVD ($3990) and satnav ($4490, unless you want it with the new you-beaut reversing camera which takes it to $5480).

It'll cost you $6490 to opt for leather (in lieu of cloth) in your R5 and a further $990 for wood trim.

A towbar rated to the Touareg's full 3500kg capacity is $1190 and metallic paint is $1490. Oh, and by the way, of the seven colours offered across the Touareg range, only one is non-metallic -- Campanella White. Kerrrr-ching! That was the sound of another $1490 leaving your wallet.

There's even more opportunities to spend money via VW Individual. Bigger wheels, flasher leather, more chrome -- the sky's almost the limit! Just don't come grizzling to us when you roll out of the showroom with a $150K VW!

MECHANICAL
Around 2300 parts have been 'touched' in the latest makeover, but largely the mechanical package is unchanged from last year's update (see above link). For those too lazy to jump to our earlier launch review there follows a potted version of the engine specs.

The sole petrol engine is the 206kW V6 FSI. The 24-valve DOHC 3.6-litre narrow-angle V features direct-injection and delivers 360Nm from 2500-500rpm. VW claims 0-100km/h in 8.6sec. The FSi engine is matched to a six-speed auto and returns a claimed average fuel consumption of 13.6lt/100km.

The entry-level turbodiesel is the R5 TDI. This inline five delivers 128kW and 400Nm and according to VW powers the Touareg to 100km/h in 11.6sec. Fuel consumption is 10.4lt/100km.

The pick of the bunch and the volume selling TDI is the 3.0 V6. Used in a range of vehicles across the VW-Audi Group, this is a ripper mill which 165kW output belies its true muscular nature. A V8-rivalling 500Nm of torque is the true measure of its output but not at the expense of profligate fuel consumption.

The V6 TDI's 100km/h increment comes up in 9.2sec and average fuel consumption is an impressive 10.7lt/100km.

The final engine offer is the monster V10 mill that made news when it allowed the Touareg to tow a Boeing 747 for a stunt in the UK. Yes, it was a derelict aircraft with fake engines on it, but it still weighed more than your house!

Even in this day and age not many passenger car or SUV engines can boast 750Nm of torque. And fewer still can do it and still return better than 10lt/100km on the open road. Our tester did, though VW's overall claim is a thirstier but still frugal 12.6lt/100km.

All the Touaregs get VW's dual-range version of the 4MOTION four-wheel-drive system. Low range is dialled in (literally) via a console twist knob as is a centre diff lock function (electronic front and rear diff locks are optional).

Along with tri-mode air-suspension (optional on all but the V10) and brake-actuated traction control, VW delivers a very capable true 4x4 system that is limited largely by the road-oriented rubber and wheels with which VW equips the Touareg.

The brakes are one area for Touareg that has been upgraded in this iteration -- though the changes are in the 'soft', rather than 'hard' ware. Though the four-wheel discs return they now feature ABSplus to shorten braking distances on loose surfaces (see 'Safety' below).

PACKAGING
Thoroughly conventional, the Touareg continues VW's reputation of building attractive, functional, and above all well-bolted together interiors.

The five-door's two-row interior is comfortable and functional with attention in this update being paid to the front seats, which VW Australia says come more or less straight from the company's Europe-only flagship, the Phaeton.

The latest Touareg also gets a new, larger instrument cluster and a revised navigation screen and so on.

The sound systems have come in for an upgrade with VW following Volvo's lead and partnering with Danish company Dynaudio for its premium offering. The company promises "superb distortion-free sound, ten high-end loudspeakers, digital 10-channel amplifier and 600 Watt output power."

Speculation that VW might offer some form of third row in the 2007/08 update proved incorrect. This is strictly a five-seater.

For the record, the vehicle does possess impressive rough road ability -- in no small part thanks to its hatch-on-steroids packaging.

Even in standard steel sprung suspension form, approach and departure angles are 28.4 and 28.1 degrees respectively. The optional air suspension (which in offroad mode offers a respectable 300mm of clearance) increases these stats to 33.2 and 33.6 degrees.

SAFETY
The Touareg gets the full complement of active safety features including stability/traction control (ESP and ASR), EDL (Electronic Differential Lock) and EBC (Electronic Braking Control) plus new antilock brakes with EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) and EBA (Emergency Brake Assist) which VW terms ABSplus.

VW claims ABSplus can reduce braking distance on loose surfaces by up to 20 per cent and ironically does so by allowing the brakes to lock.

That's probably oversimplifying the process but the smart electronics senses the amount of braking friction and via this determines the type of surfaces and then adjusts the braking style to suit. On gravel it locks the wheels momentarily to help build up a 'bow wave' of gravel and cut through the loose stuff to get the car stopped quicker.

In the past this type of functionality operated as 'off-road ABS' but only at low speed. ABSplus applies it across the full speed range of the Touareg, without affecting the vehicle's conventional onroad performance.

The Touareg's chassis has been highlighted in previous reviews. It's a modern SUV with passenger car style structure and safety accoutrement. It gets the expected complement of six airbags and now boasts curtain bag actuation via a roll-over sensor.

VW claims pedestrian safety is enhanced via the availability of an optional reversing camera. In the Touareg's favour, natural sight lines are also good.

The spare wheel is a space saver alas. To remedy this you'll need to option the tailgate-mounted full-size spare -- at a pricey $1990.

COMPETITORS
Broken record time... The luxury and near-luxury SUV marketplace is one of the most active Down Under. BMW, Audi, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz inhabit the high ground and Volvo, Land Rover and others (even Ford Australia with Territory Turbo) are all in the arena looking for customers.

By virtue of the significant performance and price range across the Touareg line-up, the competitors Touareg faces are many.

Closest across the offering perhaps is the Volvo XC90 -- though the Swede has nothing that competes head-on with the stonking V10 VW. The XC90's 2.5-litre turbodiesel is outgunned by the V6 TDI Touareg too.

As noted in our introduction, Touareg's biggest challenge may be the badge it wears -- and in a market that increasingly demands three rows, the number of its seats...

Shoppers have bypassed the VW, we believe, largely because it is a five, rather than seven-seater. If carting round a shed load of kids is not on your must-do list, the vehicle is definitely worth a drive.

Inside you get what's rapidly becoming benchmark fit and finish and classy surfacing. Even the base model R5's dash and door spears have a quality metallic feel to them. We'd opt for the leather upgrade but the cloth looks fine if you're a committed base RRP-er.

In the higher grades, the bells and whistles are progressively added. VW has resolutely adopted the BMW/Benz methodology when it comes to options -- even introducing an Individual program.

VW Oz says to date, typical Touareg buyers have added between $15-30K worth of goodies to their cars. Lest you do the same, look at the inclusion list carefully -- even on the top-of-the-range V10 it's not hard to increase the sticker price by better than 15 per cent.

Driving the Touareg delivers a fair swag of the same experience you'll pay a lot more for in the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7. And that's not damning the car with feint praise.

Volvo's XC90 V8 Sport (which we were driving at the same time) has an impressively secure and wieldy feel on the road, but we'd suggest even the base-model steel-sprung Touareg has a similar demeanor. Both the V6s and the V10 TDI are also rock solid -- especially on the well-sorted air suspension.

Turn-in is sharp enough on the bitumen and body roll and pitching is especially well controlled. There is little if any of the secondary 'rocking' in fast corners and changes of direction that is a trademark of many SUVs.

The V6 TDI is and will remain the volume model.

While we didn't drive the example at the launch we're well acquainted with it and would have no hesitation in declaring it the pick of the bunch.

And, though there's nothing officially been tweaked on the R5 five-cylinder model for the update, our launch tester seemed both quieter and more willing than previous examples. At a substantial saving over the V6 it will likely attract some custom too.

So too the V6 FSI petrol engine -- we drove this on VW's offroad course at Tugalong Station north west of Mittagong and were pleasantly surprised by the 3.2-litre engine's torque, and thanks to a bevy of electronic aids, its loose surface traction.

All the offroad test cars at Tugalong had air suspension and as such benefitted from the added ground clearance and better angles. Ne'er a bashplate nor sill was scraped.

Just remember if it's your intention to head offroad you will need to pay the $1990 for a full-size spare and its rear mount -- VW still delivers a spacesaver as standard.