[SS-Traveller]

Volkswagen launched the Touareg (literally meaning "Knight of the Desert" or "Free Folk") worldwide in 2002, and in India in 2006. The Toureg or Touareg (variously pronounced as tour egg, ter egg or twor regg) are a diverse group of people who share a common history and geographical area in the African Sahara. The Touareg people are known for their traditions, pride, intelligence and dignity, and the ability to adapt to difficult conditions. It has been said that Volkswagen chose to name the Touareg after these people because of these traits.

The Touareg was built as a highly capable off-road vehicle with impeccable highway manners, with the Range Rover and BMW X5 used as benchmarks to develop it. Initial development of the vehicle was jointly done by Porsche and Volkswagen, with the Cayenne and Touareg sharing the same chassis, transmission, all-wheel-drive system, suspension, windshield, and some bodywork. However, for 2 years before the Touareg was introduced, VW parted ways with Porsche and incorporated their own engineering into the vehicle to improve its off-road capabilities. The Touareg runs with a 50:50 torque split between the front and rear axles, while the Cayenne has 62% of the torque delivered to the rear wheels (though both vehicles can transmit upto 100% of the torque to either axle if required).

As an off-road vehicle, the Touareg has specifications that would put most other off-road vehicles to shame. Specifications include

• 236 mm ground clearance (299 mm with air suspension)
• 28 degree approach and departure angles (33 degree with air suspension)
• 27 degree breakover angle (32 degrees with air suspension)
• 35 degree lateral driving angle
• 45 degree ascent and descent angle
• 500 mm fording depth (579 mm with air suspension)

[SS-Traveller]

Touaregs that were introduced (and still sold in the latest version) in India came with double-wishbone steel suspension, and air suspension was probably on offer earlier as an expensive option (VW's website does not offer air suspension on the Touareg now). The vehicle under review is a pre-owned one procured for an undiclosable price from the first owner with 63k km on the odo, came to India as an individual legal import with complete documentation from the middle-East, and has air suspension.

Suspension control knob and settings for Auto, Sport and Comfort modes

I preferred the Comfort setting. The little button on the right allows the suspension to be set to its fully extended state all the time.

Details of front suspension

Details of rear suspension

Lowest level of suspension when parked

Suspension extends to maximum automatically when low range gearing is selected

Compressed air tank in boot, to change suspension ride height. Note the space for spare tyre where a space-saver can be placed.

Air filler valve under the driver's seat to re-inflate tyres as required - how cool is that! (All Touaregs are provided with a high pressure hose as well, and steel suspension Touaregs have a separate tyre inflation compressor installed in the boot. The hose appears to be missing from this car - will be procured and replaced in time!).

Touaregs sold in India come with 255/55 tubeless radials on 18" 7-spoke 'Valley' alloys, with a full-size spare. This vehicle has 275/45 radials on 19" 5-spoke alloys, with a full-size spare (European and US spec Touaregs now come with run-flat tyres and no spare).

Interesting mount for spare tyre

With the low-profile tyres, ride comfort is not great, especially when the suspension is set to Sport mode. Bumps and thumps filter into the cabin, and there is some amount of audible tyre roar even with the windows up. Shift to Comfort mode, and things change quite appreciably - the ride is softer, noise reduces, but body roll increases (but not to the point of wallowing). I preferred leaving it in Comfort mode than using the Auto mode, wherein the electronics decide to stiffen up the ride on hard acceleration or fast turns. Overall, though, we found the ride comfort to be as good as that of a Freelander 2, and much better than that of a Captiva LTZ 4x4, both of which we had test-driven earlier in the process of procuring this car.

[SS-Traveller]

This vehicle is powered by a 2967 cc V6 TDI diesel engine with common rail injection system, generating about 225 bhp and 500 Nm (in current tune on new Touaregs, the same engine generates about 235 bhp and 550 Nm).

Note the absence of the battery in the engine bay. The battery is located under the driver's seat.






Pneumatic hoses controlling the front suspension strut, visible in the engine bay


The engine is very refined for a diesel, with hardly any clatter and vibration on idle, even when standing alongside with the bonnet open (but obviously not a smooth and quiet as a petrol engine). On the move, the cabin is so well insulated that one could be forgiven for mistaking this to be a petrol. It revs freely all the way to 4000+ r/min, and 100 km/h comes up pretty quickly (the 0-100 km/h figures as tested internationally indicate about 9 seconds). That is certainly fast on automatic transmission, but other engine options offered in the Tourareg do a whole lot better! However, the engine is pretty frugal, returning about 8 km/l in the city and an expected 11 km/l while cruising on the highway.

There have been many engine options in the Touareg, from the exotic to the mundane. Some of them are

• 6-litre DOHC W12 petrol engine (yes, that's 4 banks of cylinders arranged in a W-pattern) generating 444 bhp & 600 Nm
• 5-litre V10 TDI diesel with 309 bhp & a gut-wrenching 750 Nm of torque, powering the car from 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds - that is getting into supercar league! A few V10's were imported into India, and I have noticed at least two on Delhi roads. Look at what this car can do!

VW Touareg towing a Boeing 747 - Fifth Gear - YouTube

There are also the

• 4.2-litre 306 bhp V8 and 3.6-litre 238 bhp V6 petrol engines
• 3.0-litre V6 225-235 bhp V6 diesel, the one under review
• 2.5-litre inline 5-cylinder diesel with a (by comparison) paltry 172 bhp and 400 Nm output.

[SS-Traveller]

The engine is mated with a Tiptronic 6-speed gearbox (standard across all engine variants) allowing manual shift with automatic override. Some models are known to have steering mounted paddle shifters as in the Cayenne, but in this car, there is no paddle shift. Move the transmission lever from D to the right, and one can manually toggle between the gears at will. Once engine revs drop below (or go above) what is considered to be fine by the electronics, the gearbox will downshift (or upshift) on its own.

All four wheels are driven all the time (but not announced to the world as the Toyota Fortuner does with its Full Time 4 Wheel Drive badge!) through a torque sensing centre differential that splits torque 50:50 between the front and rear, with 100% torque delivered to any one axle if required. Volkwagen call it the 4XMotion system, similar to Audi's quattro and Mercedes' 4Matic systems.

Low range ratios can be engaged through the electronic rotary knob on the centre console (after shifting the transmission into neutral - the MID warns the driver to shift with a display saying so).

When 4L is engaged, the centre diff is NOT locked, unlike in, say, the Fortuner or Grand Vitara. Further turning the knob locks the centre differential, and one more turn also locks the rear differential. This can be appreciated through the MID display.

Low range selected, differentials not locked

Centre differential locked

Centre diff as well as rear diff locked

[SS-Traveller]

Apart from the usual speedo, tacho, fuel and temperature gauges, the Touareg comes equipped with oil pressure gauge and voltmeter. The last time I remember seeing all these gauges together was in my custom-built Amby from 25 years ago!

Samurai's CJ has this too!

One look at the meter console is enough to convince anyone that this is a car built to cope with extreme driving conditions, and keep telling the driver about it. In addition, it would even allow the driver to live to talk about it!

Fire-extinguisher tucked away neatly below driver's seat

The steering is adjustable through motors for rake as well as reach, and lifts up and back to allow easy entry-exit for the driver, when the engine is turned off

Steering mounted controls include cruise control, Bluetooth and volume controls for the ICE, and controls for the MID display.

Light switches are typically European, with a rotary knob to the right of the dash to turn lights on and off, along with a smaller knob to dim the instrument panel. Turn and high beam controls are on the left stalk while wiper controls are on the right.

Wipers are rain-sensing, but mercifully, VW also provides manual control for the intermittent wipe function, to vary the timing between pauses. (Please pardon the out-of-focus photo).

The headlamps are xenons, which follow the direction of the steering. I did not realize that cornering headlamps are such a HUGE convenience until I drove this car around at night

The brakes are 330 mm discs all round, ventilated up front and solid at the rear, with ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. In addition, the Touareg comes equipped with electronic stability program (ESP).

There are 8 airbags, with an option to turn off the passenger side airbag.

[SS-Traveller]

With motorized & heated front seats with thigh support and back squab adjustments, 3-position memory for both driver and co-passenger seats, Napa leather and burr walnut all over, VW's underrated (in India) off-roader also oozes understated style and comfort.

Electrical adjustment of front seats with 3 memory settings

Four-zone climate control - front controls

Rear climate control

Rear AC vent on B-pillar

Rear cabin reading light

Tilt & slide sunroof

Sunroof control. Apart from the time, the digital display also shows the compass direction the car is pointing at. Touaregs sold in the middle-East are supposed to be equipped with GPS receivers, but I could not figure this one out.

HUGE boot space


Extra space below the lid where the space saver tyre was supposed to go at one time

Compact package containing toolkit and jack

Cavernous felt-lined glove compartment with cooling vent that can be turned off

ICE - did not get a chance to try it out extensively. The ignition key goes into the keyhole to the right of the picture. New Touaregs come with keyless entry, called Kessy in VWese.

[SS-Traveller]

Volkswagen's advertisements from their Touareg brochure are quite inspiring, and even without looking at them before, I was seriously tempted to disappear into the mountains with the vehicle, instead of writing this review! The feeling of being in control of a vehicle that one is completely comfortable in, combined with the knowledge that it can trample over anything that Rohtang Pass can throw at it, are the hallmarks of a complete car in my books. It is frugal yet powerful, has impressive off-road ability despite being supremely well-behaved in its road manners, and is almost idiot-proof.

I say almost because VW's service backup in India for this vehicle is almost non-existent, and a minor glitch in the back of beyond can well leave one stranded without help. Much as I would love to take this vehicle to Leh, I would rather have the H-4® tag along for assistance, just in case.

Someday soon, we'll do that...

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

As an off-road vehicle, the Touareg has specifications that would put most other off-road vehicles to shame. Specifications include

• 236 mm ground clearance (299 mm with air suspension)
• 28 degree approach and departure angles (33 degree with air suspension)
• 27 degree breakover angle (32 degrees with air suspension)
• 35 degree lateral driving angle
• 45 degree ascent and descent angle
• 500 mm fording depth (579 mm with air suspension)

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what does so great about 500 mm fording depth. I think many sedans can manage 1.6 feet of water

[Akshay1234]

Absolutely great review. And seems like its a great deal, for a car which can do pretty much everything a Cayenne and a Q7 can. Those rims too are gorgeous. I didn't get what that air filler thing under the drivers seat was?

Also I think a good wipe up to lose all the dust on the interior, and a good exterior detailing job, and the car will look brand new. I'm already surprised at the great condition its in considering the age.

Also you might want to pick up another set of 17" rims and tyres to go along with that, if you plan on taking it to Leh, etc. Taking these rims and tyres proper offroad will be suicidal.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

what does so great about 500 mm fording depth. I think many sedans can manage 1.6 feet of water

Tanveer, the Safari and Scorpio have recommended fording depths of 350 mm. It is a different issue whether a sedan can drive through 1.6' of water, but would any sedan do it without water ingress into vital components like engine / gearbox / diff?

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Absolutely great review.

Thank you.

...a car which can do pretty much everything a Cayenne and a Q7 can.

More than what a Cayenne can. The Cayenne was built to be faster, the Touareg was built to be more capable off-road.

I didn't get what that air filler thing under the drivers seat was?

That is the outlet point to connect a hose to, and use the car's compressor to fill air in the tyres. No need to carry a separate tyre pump running off the cigarette lighter socket.

Also I think a good wipe up to lose all the dust on the interior, and a good exterior detailing job, and the car will look brand new. I'm already surprised at the great condition its in considering the age.

Agreed about the dust and mud. I'm never too enthusiastic about cleaning cars, but I guess it spoils the pictures somewhat!

Also you might want to pick up another set of 17" rims and tyres...

That is certainly an option under consideration. IMO low profile tyres are almost suicidal on Indian tarmac roads, forget about taking them to Leh.

[noopster]

Beautiful review. Do you own this vehicle, SST?

I have seen some Touaregs on the road in Pune (including one about an hour or two ago) and they have awesome road presence for sure. Is VW serious about selling this model in India? What's the approximate price BTW?

[v&v]

Doc, nice review. It was nice to see the beast in flesh.
One question does it have seat heating option ?

Touareg looks great in white.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by noopster

Do you own this vehicle, SST?

No.

Originally Posted by noopster

What's the approximate price BTW?

About 58L INR OTR Delhi.

Originally Posted by v&v

...does it have seat heating option ?

Yes.

[kpzen]

Doc, thats a fantastic review.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

That is the outlet point to connect a hose to, and use the car's compressor to fill air in the tyres. No need to carry a separate tyre pump running off the cigarette lighter socket.

Interesting.
Do you have more details on this ?
How does one select which tire and the pressure ?

[CRtorquefan]

That's really a Nice & very comprehensive review SS.
VW really designs their car in a very Intellectual way & Touareg is the prime example of this.
Its really a Hidden Treasure of features.