Volkswagen Touareg 2004 News

Back in 2004 the Volkswagen Touareg SUV came with the option of a gob smacking V10 5.0-litre turbo-diesel engine that was the talk of the town in SUV circles.It cost big money and was only bought by those with bank balances to match. Despite a couple of price reductions along the way it never sold particularly well. It was comparatively thirsty for its type, but we aren’t sure that fact registered with those who did buy one. So the V10 engine wasn’t carried forward into the all-new Touareg when it was introduced in 2011.Now, well aware that many Australian drivers like performance vehicles, Volkswagen Australia has added a turbo-diesel V8 Touareg to its lineup. Thankfully more and more Aussies are coming to grips with the reality of climate change so the big Touareg V8 TDI R-Line has relatively low fuel consumption at a rated 9.2 litres per hundred kilometres on the combined cycle. That’s almost 30 per cent lower than the old V10 diesel engine. As with all Touaregs, the V8 TDI comes with BlueMotion Technologies including brake energy recuperation.The ‘R-Line’ in the Touareg’s title sees it fitted with a dress up package that includes a new spoiler lip, a matte-black rear diffuser with oval tailpipes integrated into the redesigned bumper. A roof edge spoiler certainly attracts attention. The door sills are done in body colour, there are chrome door add-ons and R-Line badges on the front guards that shout out you’re in something special.Huge 21-inch Mallory alloy wheels and dark tinted rear side windows and rear windows will appeal to the typical buyer in this SUV class. There are also sporty looking bumpers and oval exhaust tailpipes as well as an interior trimmed in a luxurious fashion. Inside the Touareg V8, there are Nappa leather trim, R-Line logos on the front stainless steel door sill plates and on the heated seats, a leather rimmed multi-function steering wheel with R-Line logo and gear shift paddles. Stainless steel pedals and a leather gear shift knob with aluminum inserts complete the package.The 4.2-litre diesel uses the latest in efficient diesel injection technology to produce 250 kW of power at 4000rpm and peak torque of a huge 800 Nm. The big diesel lets the driver take the Touareg from rest to 100 km/h in only 5.8 seconds. Transmission is through Volkswagen’s eight-speed automatic transmission. There’s a comprehensive satellite navigation system, Dynaudio Confidence 620-Watt premium audio system with twelve channel digital amplifier and twelve speakers, along with media device interface with USB cable.The standard Comfort Package consists of four-zone automatic climate control dual-air conditioning system, electrically adjustable door mirrors with memory function, automatic kerb view function when reversing, electrically adjustable front seats with three-position memory function for driver and front passenger (electrically height and reach adjustable), along with heated steering wheel with memory and keyless entry.Volkswagen’s Driver Assistance Package includes safety systems such as Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Front Assist and City Emergency brake (City EB), Side Assist lane changing assistant and the Proactive occupant protection system.Touareg V8 is fitted with nine airbags, ASR, EDL and ESP with active rollover protection function, EBC and Off-road Function with Anti-lock Braking System. Volkswagen’s 4Motion four-wheel-drive system, complete with Hill Decent Assist and Auto Hold, is installed in the unlikely event that an owner will take the giant alloy wheels and low profile high-performance tyres into off-road situations.We haven’t had the opportunity to drive the new model as yet as there’s only one in the country and it’s being closely guarded. Pricing for Volkswagen’s new Touareg V8TDI R-Line won’t be announced until it goes on sale in mid March this year. 

Taking advantage of the slow-moving car market in Europe, as well as the strength of the Australian dollar against the eurodollar, the local Volkswagen importer has further improved the value offered by the Passat. Volkswagen has almost doubled its overall sales in Australia in the past three years thanks to a very strong marketing push and managing director, Anke Koeckler, is determined to keep the ball rolling. Hence the increased value in the Passat range with, may we speculate, similar movements to follow on other vehicles in the range. During a lunchtime briefing with Ms Koeckler she said the big push in the next 12 months will be on the all-new Golf, now into its seventh generation. We have been invited to the global launch of new Golf in October this year and will be able to supply details and a full driving review immediately afterwards. But back to the Passat. Every model will now come standard with satellite navigation. The Volkswagen RNS510 system has a high-resolution touch screen display in the increasingly popular 16:9 format. It offers the choice between 2D, topographical and 3D map views. There is voice control for the sat nav, as well as telephone and radio functions. The RNS510 has a 30 Gb hard drive for storing music and navigation data and can accept inputs via a SD card slot, a single DVD drive and MP3. Another standard feature is a rear view camera that will assist by providing static and dynamic guidance lines on the satellite navigation. The convenience of powered opening and closing of the tailgate now is part of the standard equipment on all Passat station wagons. The recently added ‘Tip-to-Run’ function means the tailgate switches to automatic operation when someone tries to close it manually. Standard steering wheel gearshift paddles in both the sedan and wagon make gear choice simpler in the Volkswagen Passat V6 FSI.  The 2013 spec Passats come with the option of a Driver Assistance and Visibility Package that now incorporates the Side Assist lane change assistant which advises the driver if a vehicle is in the so-called blind spot. A warning light in the exterior mirror warns whenever a lane change would be dangerous. Despite this added equipment, valued at several thousand dollars, prices for the 2013 Volkswagen Passat remain unchanged as the Volkswagen importer is keen to lure buyers away from station wagons made by Japanese competitors. The complete 2013 Volkswagen Passat range is:               

The car industry uses a web of alliances to survive.Lust, affairs, one-night stands, engagements, marriages and divorces — it can be hard sharing your love. It can also be expensive, especially if the human analogy is applied to the car business.DaimlerChrysler's recent divorce cost the now-solo Daimler AG a cool $33 billion.Daimler and its former partner, now known by her maiden name of Chrysler Group, still share the kids.These include shared components and manufacturing, including the Chrysler Crossfire (based on the previous Mercedes-Benz SLK) and Jeep Grand Cherokee, which uses Mercedes' V6 diesel engine and transmission.Daimler-Benz and Chrysler courted in the late 1990s, sealing their association in 1998 with a new name, DaimlerChrysler.The marriage was mutually beneficial. Daimler gained economies of scale and a new customer for engines, transmissions and an outlet for its old platforms. The previous Mercedes E-Class shares the same platform as the Chrysler 300C.Chrysler gained unprecedented, cost-effective access to the drivetrains used to power its distinctively styled cars.Of the divorce, shareholders of Daimler- Chrysler spitefully said “I knew it wouldn't work”.Marriages may be difficult, but alliances are what keep many car companies afloat.All these inter-relationships are spurred by one goal — profit. So competitive is the car industry that every dollar counts.Making cars cheaper improves profits, even if that means relocating factories to countries with low labour costs, non-existent unions and tax-free government incentives.Few would know that 10 models on the Australian market are made in Thailand. South Africa makes five, there's one from the Czech Republic, three from Slovakia, one from Poland, four from Malaysia and one from Indonesia.Build quality in most cases is as good as you'd expect from a country-of-origin factory.The biggest difference is manufacturing costs. Building a Volkswagen Golf in Germany, for example, costs substantially more than building the same car in South Africa. Sharing components such as engines, transmissions, platforms and bodies with a rival company — or at least one perceived as being a rival — is big business.The platform of the Mazda3 is similar to the Volvo S40 and Ford Focus. Ford has a big chunk of Mazda's shares and owns Volvo outright.The Toyota Aygo, a one-litre hatch soon to be sold in Australia, is built in the Czech Republic with the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107. The only differences are interior trim, grilles, head and tail lights. Everything else, except the badge, is identical.General Motors has a giant web of ownership, component sharing and minor shareholdings. It owns Saab and Hummer, and rebadges cars including the Daewoo Matiz as Chevrolets.GM owned 20 per cent of Fiat until it dissolved the relationship in 2005. But retains component sharing deals and owns 50 per cent of Fiat's JTD diesel engine technology.GM also has 3 per cent of Suzuki (it had 20 per cent until selling down in March 2006) and 7.9 per cent of Isuzu.This relationship crosses with Fiat. Suzuki buys Fiat diesel engines for its European cars but also buys diesels from the PSA group (owner of Peugeot and Citroen) and Renault. Fiat this year will also supply diesel engine's to Saab.The Suzuki Splash, to be launched in Europe later this year is based on the Swift/SX4 platform, but will be rebadged the Opel/Vauxhall Agila for European sales.Fiat sells the Suzuki SX4 as the Sedici in Europe.Suzuki also owns 11 per cent of GM-DAT, the Korean-based company that makes the Holden Epica, Captiva, Viva and Barina.GM sold its 20 per cent of Subaru parent, Fuji Heavy Industries, in 2005. Fuji bought back most of the shares, though Toyota bought in and now owns 8.7 per cent of the company.Toyota also owns Daihatsu and has a big stake in Yamaha. Yamaha has an engineering alliance with Toyota — twin-cam engine and multi-valve heads included — and recently created the V8 engine for Ford-owned Volvo.GM also gets its Saab plant in Sweden to make the Cadillac BLS mid-size car, alongside its Saab 9-3 and 9-5.The Hyundai Sonata's 2.4-litre engine is shared with the Jeep Compass, Dodge Caliber, Chrysler Sebring and Mitsubishi Outlander.Renault has an alliance with Nissan and owns Samsung (Korea) and has a joint venture with Mahindra (India).Porsche's Cayenne SUV is built in Volkswagen's factory in Slovakia alongside the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7. Porsche's Cayman is built in Finland. That's just the tip of iceberg.Peyton Place has nothing on these guys.