Volkswagen Touareg

The Touareg was one of the very first Volkswagens to ditch the traditional old school layout for a more modern approach towards futuristic interior layout with cutting edge design elements and features.

The Volkswagen Touareg welcomes one with a very cool looking dashboard layout, which consists of the same flat-bottom high-quality multi-functional steering wheel as before, but with new 12-inch full TFT instrument console along with a driver facing huge 15-inch touchscreen infotainment system with tapered edges.

The whole upper layer of the dashboard is wrapped in soft-touch leather, while the lower one has a flat layout with the lower edge of it exhibiting six-coloured ambient lighting in full glory. The other prominent features of the cabin of the Touareg include dual-zone automatic climate control with air cleaning function, electric tailgate, heated, ventilated and powered front seats with memory and massage functions, Vienna leather upholstery, panoramic sunroof and many more.

In terms of space, the Volkswagen Touareg, being a full-size five-seater SUV has got enough room for five in abundance, with an ample amount of cargo space as well.

Compared to its previous generation models, the new Volkswagen Touareg looks much sleeker and successfully manages to hide its bulk and size to appeal itself as a sleek and modern SUV.

The front of the Volkswagen Touareg welcomes one with a sharp-looking chrome grille with multiple slats, which in typical Volkswagen fashion is shaped in a sleek rectangular manner and extends along with the angular full LED headlamps on the sides. The overdose of chrome slats extends in the front bumper as well, which engulf the fog lamp area as well.

Moving towards the sides, the elevated stance, as well as large 20-inch machined alloy wheels really give the Volkswagen Touareg a bulky and premium stance. The curvy character line flowing from the front fender to the tail lamp adds some additional character. At the rear, the Volkswagen Touareg seeks some inspiration from the likes of Audi SUVs with angular and horizontal LED tail lamps, with bold Touareg lettering at the centre.

The Volkswagen Touareg has been fitted with a five-link Macpherson struts at the front and five-link rear axle at the back, which are tuned here on a slightly stiffer side to impart a purist driving experience in combination with the electromechanical steering setup which again weighs nicely with speeds increasing. While the ride quality can be stiff at times, the air suspension with adaptive damping control can be pit to duty to control matters. The all-wheel-drive system too allows the Touareg to have go-anywhere ability, with which it manages to surprises in its off-road driving manners.

The Volkswagen Touareg has been bestowed with a refined and punchy 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine under its hood, which is coupled to an 8-speed automatic gearbox and all-wheel-drive as standard and produces a maximum power output of 258 PS and a maximum torque output of 600 Nm.

Volkswagen has heavily equipped the Touareg with state-of-the-art safety features like front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, electric parking brake, traction control with anti-slip regulation, electronic differential lock, electronic stability program, hill descent control, driver fatigue detection system, emergency assist, front and rear cross-traffic alert, front assist with city emergency brake and pedestrian monitoring functions, lane assist with adaptive lane guidance, front and rear parking sensors, 360-degree reverse camera and traffic jam assist.

The Volkswagen Touareg has been perceived as an underdog among full-sized luxury SUVs in the past, and while this new generation still feels underrated among luxury SUVs, it has got every element at the right place with near perfection in all the aspects.