THE Touareg has always been a competent and comfortable prestige SUV. It has not lived up to sales expectations, but the poor showroom showing cannot be blamed on the car itself. Rather, most Australians were not ready in 2003 to pay the type of money that could almost get them a Mercedes or BMW for something with the Volkswagen badge on the nose. The company trimmed back the prices to make the big Vee-Dub a more realistic competitor and replaced the slow selling V8 petrol model late last year. Now it has updated the Touareg with fresh styling, increased safety, new options and redesigned seats.

Volkswagen Touareg
Released: September 2003
Ended: July 2007
Family Tree: TouaregThe first Touareg was jointly developed with the Porsche Cayenne, with which it shares the platform, 4WD system, some body parts and a V6 engine that was not sold in Australia. The vehicle finally gave Volkswagen a player in the booming prestige SUV market. Unlike many of its softer competitors, the Touareg has low range to give it more off-road credibility. In Australia it was offered originally with a 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine, a 4.2-litre V8 petrol and a 5.0-litre V10 diesel. The V6 petrol engine was upgraded to a 3.6-litre direct-injection V6 in late 2006, when the V8 petrol was dropped to make way for a 3.0-litre V6 diesel.
Facebook Twitter Instagram