Volkswagen Touareg 2007 Review

Such a shame most Volkswagen Touaregs will never be challenged by anything tougher than a car-park speed hump, because they're certainly happy to handle a bit of rough stuff if asked.

Taking the just-revised SUV along the rocky ridges and potholed dirt of Tugalong Station, in the rugged Southern Highlands, reminded us of the Touareg's ability.

With the full-time four-wheel-drive system switched over to low range, it made easy work of an outcrop-littered track, with hill descent and hill-holding systems cutting in automatically to prevent nerve-racking run-ons going down the steep slopes.

Even in the higher ranges it had little trouble with most surfaces.

A new addition to the big SUV's battery of technology is ABSplus, which VW says can shorten braking distances considerably.

Their graphs showed at 100km/h you can reduce the 114m stopping distance on sand to 94m. On gravel, 92m is cut to 77m and, on dry grass, 73m shrinks to 64m.

We didn't get the tape measure out but a couple of hard anchors on dirt piled up a noticeable “wedge” in front of the tyres in pretty short time.

The other big news under the skin is a new rollover sensor system that deploys the side and head airbags to give occupants a cushioned landing.

This system, which has helped the SUV to a five-star crash rating in Europe, is a handy bit of reassurance.

Despite the Touareg's capable grip, its hefty weight, two to 2.5 tonnes depending on variant and high centre of gravity, which can be felt should you attempt to flick it around too vigorously.

But over rutted dirt the solid suspension is barely unsettled, beginning to bounce only when we encountered badly potholed sections, while its firmness offered surprisingly good cornering.

The two new pieces of technology soak up quite a few of the 2300 new parts. VW says it has revised the Touareg and most of the others are also under the skin, with the few visual clues being a vastly more stylish front end, some handsome additions to the alloy footwear, and a number of interior style changes.

There are four powertrains, three of them turbodiesels: a 2.5-litre 128kW/400Nm five-cylinder, 3.0-litre 165kW/500Nm TDI V6 and 5.0-litre 230kW/750Nm V10.

The sole petrol option is the 206kW/360Nm 3.6-litre V6 that, like the 3.0 TDI, is shared with Audi's more expensive Q7.

A couple of hours of city and highway running was eaten up by the V10, which showed startling fuel economy of just over 10 litres per 100km average at the end, a good 2L under VW's official figure.

This might have been our favourite of the powertrains, especially if we wanted to tow something, the QE2 perhaps, although you may notice the weight penalty of almost 500kg over the petrol version.

On the highway, there was a large amount of tyre roar in places but the Touareg cabin was hushed, and even at extremely high speeds there wasn't much in the way of wind rush.

There are some disappointing quality niggles if you look closely at things, like the uneven fitting of woodgrain inserts.

This is an oddity when you consider that the Touareg comes from the same factory (and shares the same platform and drivetrains) as the substantially more expensive Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne.

The Touareg, however, has a five-star rating in NCAP testing as opposed to the Q7's four.

The VW's cabin is comfortable and well-laid-out, though, with the revised seats offering more side bolstering, although still feeling a bit too flat on the squab.

You sit high and with good visibility, but the Touareg is big.

It's huge, in fact, and there's little sense of where even its front corners are. Somewhere across the state border most of the time, we suspected.

Standard across the range, the six-speed tiptronic auto with manual mode and sports function is the sole transmission choice. It's particularly suited to the 3.0 TDI, a powerplant that so distinguishes the various Audis that it graces.

Introduced to the Touareg range last year alongside the 3.6 FSIs, this model remains the pick of the range, unless you have sufficient bucks and bombast to get yourself the behemoth.

Buyers would be smart to go for the $5480 sat-nav/reversing-camera option, which has guides on a real-time image to ease you into place.

Other new options include chrome roof rails, high-end audio and two-colour Nappa leather.

VW has kept the same prices; the diesels are $64,990, $74,990 and $121,990, and the petrol version sits at $74,990.

If this tactic is margin-impinging, it's also necessary because the one ability the Touareg hasn't showed yet is in grabbing sales.

It sold 953 in 2004, its first year here, but after initial interest was soaked up it dwindled down to around 500 for each of the next two years.

Volkswagen Australia managing director Jutta Dierks says the main problem with the Touareg has been with timing.

“There was nothing wrong with the Touareg,” she says. “But if the brand isn't visible, it is difficult ... and we had just 0.9 per cent market share.

“I'm convinced you have to have the right timing, and we are very visible now with 2.7 per cent market share.”

But with Touareg lagging at number 12 in a segment that sold more than 18,000 last year, she believes the timing is right for Vee Wee's SUV to move up a few spots.

And there are few objective reasons why it shouldn't.

Snapshot

Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 V6 TDI

Price: $74,990

Economy: 10.9L/100km

Engine: 3.0 V6 turbo diesel

0-100kmh 9.9 secs