What's the difference?
Volkswagen has a new large SUV in the Tayron (pronounced TIE-ron), and it arrives with a fair bit riding on it. Replacing the Tiguan Allspace and taking on some of the duties left by the departing Touareg, it’s now the brand’s key seven-seat family offering.
We’re testing the flagship 195TSI R-Line with established petrol rivals like the Kia Sorento GT-Line, Skoda Kodiaq RS and Toyota Kluger Grande in mind. After a few weeks of school-holiday mayhem, complete with feral kids, does it sink or swim?
The Subaru Outback holds a special place in the hearts of adventurers everywhere. It’s long been regarded by its fans as a genuine mix of decent on-road manners, family-friendly practicality and sound off-road capability. Just right for light-duty off-roading.
Now, Subaru claims, it has made the Outback even better and a new off-road-focussed variant called the all-wheel-drive Wilderness now sits near the top of the line-up.
The Wilderness is equipped with a 2.4-litre turbo-petrol, four-cylinder, horizontally-opposed 'boxer' engine, 240mm of ground clearance, improved approach/departure angles and electronically controlled dampers.
But is this new Outback all it’s cracked up to be? Read on.
So, does the new Volkswagen Tayron 195TSI R-Line sink or swim? It's definitely swimming as it delivers a solid blend of features and comforts for families seeking a 'sometime' seven-seater. It's not yet on the podium as it doesn’t hit every mark. Purchase price and servicing costs may put some buyers off but it packs in a number of thoughtful, family-oriented features. Whether it will go on to become Volkswagen’s standout seven-seat offering remains to be seen, but it’s a capable, well-rounded option in the segment.
If you’re a Subaru fan chances are the Wilderness will float your boat. It’s an appealing mix of on-road refinement and more than satisfactory capability on bush tracks.
The Wilderness engine-and-CVT combination helps to make this Subaru well refined and highly responsive on-road and it benefits from punchier low-rev output in off-road scenarios.
Subaru has made a habit of producing practical vehicles and this new addition to the upgraded Outback line-up doesn’t disappoint.
Does anyone need a Wilderness version of the Outback? Probably not. Will anyone want a Wilderness edition Outback? I reckon a lot of Outback fans would fall over themselves to get their hands on one of these.