Volkswagen Touareg: The people’s luxury champion

It seems that each and every time I drive a Volkswagen, I slowly but surely warm up to it.

 

The Tiguan left me wanting, while the Polo Notch left me impressed but sad (because it isn’t what the market was looking for at the moment). But the Touran left me literally somewhat in tears because I really, really liked it and felt sad returning it. The Touareg is indeed the very best of them, so far.

 

The original Touareg was, interestingly enough, developed in conjunction with Porsche, and the development team was located at Porsche’s skunkworks in Weissach, about an hour away from Zuffenhausen.

 

Weissach is where all Porsche prototypes and race cars are built and tested, at its impressive and secretly guarded facility. Three hundred people were involved in the development of the first generation Touareg, and the platform, now internally code-named VW PL71/PL72, would eventually see duty with Volkswagen (Touareg), Porsche (Cayenne) and Audi (Q7 and the rumored Q8/Q9 SUV’s).

 

In the near future, it will also most likely underpin the basic architecture of Bentley’s ultra-luxury SUV EXP 9 F, according to my own talks with Bentley marketing and engineering personnel.

 

So of course, when the Touareg hit the local market, the buzzword was that the Touareg would be a budget Porsche Cayenne/Audi Q7. In reality that wasn’t the case, mostly because of the perceived branding. It’s not a bad thing in itself because the Touareg should stand proud on its own, having its own unique identity.

 

Power comes from the VW Group’s familiar 3.0 TDI V6 CRDi diesel engine with hotside/inside turbo technology that sees the large Borg-Warner VGT turbine nestled in the valley of the V formation, along with the exhaust ports of the engine and the intake plenums of the engine on the lower outer side of the V.

 

This configuration was first utilized by VW but has now been followed by rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. This allows for shorter exhaust manifold piping work and improved exhaust gas flow and response, reducing lag and allowing the use of a single, larger turbocharger, which offers more thermal stability versus heat and more power.

 

It produces a commendable 241.64 horsepower and 550 Newton-meters of torque mated to the same VW Group’s eight-speed Tiptronic-style automatic transmission, used in almost all of the VW-owned brands from Bentley (Continental GT, Flying Spur), Porsche (Cayenne and Panamera diesels) and Audi (A8, Q7). It also comes standard with VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system.

 

Not to be outdone by its more posh siblings, the Touareg comes with large 18-inch alloy wheels called Karakum (all VW alloy wheels have interesting and unique names, not just codes and numbers) with 255/55R18 all-terrain tires, LED taillights, LED front driving lights, HID headlights, and front and rear foglamps, plus an integrated roof rail just begging for a roof basket or bike rack for some outdoor adventure.

 

Capable on offroads

 

And, truthfully, every single review of the Touareg says that the large VW behemoth is very capable offroad, thanks to its impressive electronic driving aids, height-adjustable air suspension, electronically locking rear differential and 4Motion all-wheel drive system.

 

Despite its size, parking isn’t a daunting task, thanks to parking sonar sensors all around the car and a reverse rearview camera. No problems slotting it into my tiny carport.

 

Inside, you get manually operated leather seats (to lower costs) that adjust in eight different directions; a handsome three-spoke steering wheel that adjusts for reach and rake, the gear-lever that has Tiptronic-style manual override controls; a simple fuel/trip/vehicle computer; and an eight-speaker CD-tuner that connects to your mobile media device via USB and 3.5-millimeter Aux-in jack to play MP3/MP4 files.

 

You also get the Adaptive Chassis Control, an adjustable self-leveling air suspension with comfort, normal and sport settings. Of course I kept it in sport mode about 90 percent of the time; I was able to cover a mostly 500-kilometer highway mileage with the car, taking it as far out as Clarkfield in Pampanga up north and up the cool mountains of Tagaytay down south. And it was one of the most pleasurable times I’ve ever had with a test unit, indeed.

 

Safety comes in the form of nine airbags (as standard), ABS brakes with emergency brake assist, ESP traction/stability control and automatic rain sensing wipers, should a sudden downpour catch you out while green laning—preferably away from pesky radars and speed cameras because you will find yourself behind bars, given the Touareg’s potential for speed.

 

There’s also a quad-zone Climatronic climate control system and the rear seats fold flat to allow you to haul large, bulky objects. Chrome inlays in the interior liven up what would have been a very drab, boring interior, upgrading the mood to a simple, functional and typically understated German fashion.

 

City driving

 

Despite offering only a simpler eight-way adjustment, it’s very easy to find a comfortable driving position that will leave you relaxed yet alert, well-supported even during spirited driving, and unstressed after slogging through 90 minutes of Edsa traffic.

 

Normal city driving leaves you with about 8.5-9 kilometers per liter (the engine still being quite tight); and on the highway, bouncing off between 90-130 kilometer per hour (for overtaking), I’d get an easy 12.5-13 kpl. With a much more careful right foot, I’d see spikes of 16.5-17 kpl—impressive given the large size and almost barn-door aerodynamics of the frontal surface area of the Touareg.

 

If the 241.64 HP/550 Nm of torque are impressive, the brakes have the outright grunt to match. Repeated overtaking down the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay zigzag route saw the massive four-piston front and two-piston rear brakes hold up fine with no hint of fade.

 

Pedal pressure was firm, consistent and well-modulated. The steering is typically German-heavy: More effort is required at parking lot speeds. But on the highway, the electronic power steering evens out nicely so it feels stable, serene and composed at highway speeds, with none of the nervous, snatchy and uneasy on-center feel of many of today’s Japanese-, Korean- and American-branded cars.

 

Flooring it, you can hear the smooth but aggressive V6 diesel rumble like it has no business doing so, sounding more like a petrol-fed drinker rather than the oil burner that it is. The Touareg will simply overwhelm you, spoil you and goad you to go faster on the straights, harder through the corners and, once you get tired of the pavement, go down some undiscovered trail in the dirt.

 

Gasoline-powered V8 SUVs are no match especially on long-distance runs, and it delivers the refinement and comfort levels only a properly German-engineered car can provide.

 

I really love the Touareg. Truthfully, I was afraid to drive it because I’ve spent so much time behind the wheel of its upscale siblings, the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7—both of which I loved dearly and would sell a kidney or two to buy.

 

I was afraid to find a chink in the PL72 platform’s armor because the Touareg is, after all, the more mass-market variant with less trimmings, toys and goodies. But the Touareg is able to stand proud on its own, making it a truly impressive SUV that more people can afford (Obviously, not everyone can still shell out P4.3 million for a luxury SUV).

 

I wonder if VW Philippines accepts kidneys as down payment for a Touareg.