Volkswagen Touareg Sport Edition: worthy of the Sport moniker

NO TRACE of the tortuous drive that the Touareg went through in Sagada

AS A CAR enthusiast, one can easily dismiss Volkswagen as a company merely living on past glories, looking back in time with rose-tinted spectacles.

Indeed, when a company such as the Ayala Group throws considerable financial muscle and effort into it, it’s bound to be very interesting, to say the least. It may even be said: Are these guys serious?

Volkswagen’s Touareg Sport Edition is one such interesting bit of kit. Though it shares its basic platform with the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne (and the upcoming Bentley Bentayga SUV and Lamborghini Urus SUV, if the latter ever does see the light of day), it’s hard to see the family connection.

The Audi is bigger and larger, while the Porsche feels sharper and more aggressive—ironic, considering globally that the Touareg was the first to break cover.

To the well-heeled, it’s easy to dismiss the Touareg simply as a cheap alternative to the Audi and Porsche. At P4.3 million, it competes against the likes of Toyota’s legendary Land Cruiser LC200—a very tough opponent, considering it has a bigger, brawnier, more powerful D4-D V8 CRDi diesel engine, compared with the former’s 3.0 TDI V6, which lacks the newer BorgWarner VGT turbocharger that pumps out 260 horsepower and 590 Newton-meters of torque, found on other VW-Audi Group vehicles.

But dismiss these preconceptions and allow the Touareg to prove itself, preferably on a long drive up north, and you’ll see why the Touareg deserves to stand toe-to-toe, not just against other SUVs in its price range (the aforementioned LC200), but also against true premium-brand European SUVs of Lexus (RX and even LX570), BMW (X3, X4, X5 and X6), Audi (Q5 and Q7), Porsche (Macan and Cayenne), and Land Rover/Range Rover (Discovery, RR-Sport).

THE TOUAREG Sport Edition exhibits impressive performance, efficiency and ability.

THE REAL test was going up to Sagada. After raising the ride height to Offroad mode, the Touareg confidently crossed some roads badly damaged by trucks and constant rains, which is the most challenging offroading Touareg owners will ever encounter.

The Touareg Sport Edition differentiates itself from the regular Touareg variants, with a few simple exterior additions. It rides on 20×9-inch Mallory Design alloy wheels shod with 275/45R20 high-performance rubber, and has a faint silver underspoiler on the front and rear bumpers.

Inside, you get an updated RCD550 multimedia system with MP3/MP4, Aux-in and USB connectivity with Bluetooth telephony.

On the center console are the adjustment for the suspension’s damping firmness (Comfort, Normal and Sport) as well as ride height (Loading mode, Normal mode and Offroad mode).

It also has ABS-EBD brakes, engine drag control, stability and traction control and nine airbags as standard, so it’s quite safe should you overzealously explore the envelope of the Sport abilities of the Touareg.

While we might lack the length, width and smoothness of Germany’s autobahn, we’re slowly making up for it with our very own world-class highways, the NLEx, SCTEx and TPLEx.

In its latest and current iteration, the TPLEx stretches all the way to Urdaneta, Pangasinan, bringing the north closer than ever. The moment your vehicle sets foot on the NLEx, the drive to Baguio is no more than three and a half hours away—and that is within the speed limit, to boot.

And so we did, setting off from Volkswagen Bonifacio Global City all the way to the luxurious confines of Camp John Hay’s Manor Hotel.

On the highway, the Touareg showed off its supreme prowess in long-distance cruising: at 100-120 kilometers per hour, the Touareg felt so smooth and stable, so composed, serene and refined that the danger of falling asleep was very real.

Suffice to say that even the Touareg felt sleepy; the indicated top speed of 240 kph feels very achievable, and very conservative.

On the highway, the suspension is best left in Sport mode to give the best composure, confidence and stability on the highway.

THE TOUAREG made mincemeat of Kennon Road.

On Baguio’s infamous Kennon Road, the convoy of eight Touaregs danced in perfect symphony, conquering the mountain pass with ease, thanks to some aggressive driving on the part of ACE’s Franz Decloedt, who, with two-way radios, signaled us when it was clear and safe to overtake.

The Touareg made mincemeat of Kennon Road, but the real test would be the next day, going further north to Sagada. Before hitting Camp John Hay, our group made a beeline for the BenCab Museum in Baguio, one of the city’s secret gems, a haven for artists and connoisseurs alike. It serves excellent food, to boot.

The next day, the Halsema Highway proved to be the most challenging piece of public road I’ve ever driven anywhere in the world.

Totaling over 150 kilometers from Baguio to Sagada, with not a single piece of straight road longer than 800 meters, Halsema Highway (or Baguio-Bontoc Mountain Trail) is named after American engineer Eusebius Julius Halsema, who was also the mayor of Baguio City from 1920 to 1937.

At 7,400 feet (2,255 meters) above sea level, it is the highest point of the Philippine highway system.

Truthfully, with lack of sleep, elevation change, and a slightly upset stomach, the ride going up Sagada was sheer torture.

THE HIGHEST POINT in the Philippine highway system belongs to the Baguio-Bontoc Mountain Trail.

There was also some offroad driving involved, and after raising the ride height to Offroad mode, the Touareg confidently crossed some roads badly damaged by trucks and constant rains, which are the most challenging offroading Touareg owners will ever encounter.

Upon reaching Sagada, having a hearty organic lunch and native Igorot massage, I felt much better and relieved as we drove back home.

And as we were fighting to beat nightfall, the Touareg really showed its “sport” mettle.

Flat out, the Touareg cornered confidently. On decreasing radius off-camber corners, the Touareg’s Haldex all-wheel-drive system would pull the front end through the apex and line it up neatly at corner exit.

The brakes were impressive, offering fade-free performance. I had to ride it through at least a third of the way due to lack of familiarity with the road and ever-changing weather conditions, which also meant that we needed to keep our convoy of eight cars tight while traveling as fast as legally possible.

The Touareg belied its size and considerable heft, cornering confidently, braking reassuringly, and accelerating with much vigor despite being fully loaded with cargo.

The vehicle handled like a sports sedan more than a SUV, and returned an impressive 8.5 kilometer per liter on our trip to Sagada and back.

On the highway back to Manila the next day, fuel consumption spiked to as low as 14 kpl, and returning an overall average of 11.2 kpl.

THE REAL test was going up to Sagada. After raising the ride height to Offroad mode, the Touareg confidently crossed some roads badly damaged by trucks and constant rains, which is the most challenging offroading Touareg owners will ever encounter.

The steering is speed-sensitive, lightening up at parking lot speeds but increasing in heft as you explore the limits of the 3.0 TDI V6’s upper-end abilities, your common sense and the law.

SUVs are the wave of the future, and until electric propulsion takes over mass motoring, which is still a decent amount of years away, diesel will remain at the forefront of advancement in internal combustion technology, offering impressive fuel efficiency, low exhaust emissions, and instant, enormous useable torque and power.

Despite Volkswagen’s “dieselgate” scandal, wherein Volkswagen admitted to cheating on the exhaust emissions of many Euro V and some Euro VI diesel engine models, the local Volkswagen TDI diesel units remain unaffected as the Philippines only mandates Euro IV emissions standards.

If you need a sporty, fuel-efficient SUV that seats five in absolute comfort, desire German engineering but want plebian pricing, or at least one that’s not too expensive, well then the Volkswagen Touareg Sport Edition should be on top of your list.

It might not have the snobby marquee badge, nor the fancy interior and exterior accouterments one expects from a luxury SUV.

But the heart of the Touareg Sport Edition is truly golden, exhibiting impressive performance, efficiency and ability while undercutting its engineering rivals (the European aristocrats and the lone Japanese one) significantly.

Don’t think of the Touareg as a cheap alternative, think of it as the people’s champion!