Every time I climb into a Volkswagen Touareg I’m reminded that this is no volume crossover SUV from a mainstream automaker,
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
but rather a premium CUV in every sense of the word. This is evidenced everywhere, from the higher grade of materials used inside the cabin to the way each door thumps shut, but possibly the most obvious clue to the Touareg’s upper crust character is the way it drives.
After pressing one of four proximity sensing buttons at each door for access, a simple push of the start button ignites the engine at which point another suitably premium sound exudes, optional clean turbo-diesel technology. Yes, this is the same diesel as offered in various Audi and Porsche models, VW’s direct-injection and turbocharged 3.0-litre V6. It’s tuned to produce 240 horsepower from 3,900 to 4,400 rpm and 406 lb-ft of torque from 1,750 to 2,750 rpm and drives all four-wheels by way of Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel drive via a state-of-the-art eight-speed automatic transmission, so response
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
to throttle input off the line is near instantaneous and acceleration up to speed is impressive despite the mid-size SUV’s hefty 2,130-kilo (4,696-lb) curb weight.
The Touareg’s mass and accompanying solidity is part of what gives it the aforementioned premium feel. In Teutonic tradition it seems thoroughly over-engineered, as if VW expects it to outlast the Cascadia earthquake and tsunami even if parked on Vancouver’s Denman and Davie when the wave hits. Of course you’ll want to be well on your way up one of the local North Shore mountains if the experts are right and “the big one” finally lets loose, and the Touareg won’t stop climbing when the road ends either.
While still more capable off-road than most crossovers, since its second-generation redesign for model year 2012 VW’s 4×4 hasn’t been as much of a rock crawler
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
as the original. The majority of its diehard Canadian followers haven’t seemed to care, however, nor did an onslaught of new buyers who’ve increased its take-rate from 706 units in 2010 to 1,618 in 2011 when the model was introduced partway through the year, whereas 2012, the first full year of the updated model’s availability, saw sales rise to 1,975 deliveries. Hardly peaked, 2013 witnessed an increase to 2,087 units and last year Volkswagen Canada managed to move 2,332 Touaregs off of dealer lots. While the growth is impressive, such numbers are more akin to the monthly tallies of some competitive mid-size SUV producers.
Let’s
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
not forget that while the Touareg is every bit a premium luxury SUV, its maker is one of the largest volume producers in the industry. We already know VW wants to tap into the much larger mainstream market that saw 9,749 new Toyota Highlanders hit Canadian roads last year, 17,940 examples of the Ford Edge, 24,715 Dodge Journeys, and 32,474 units of the short and long-wheelbase Hyundai Santa Fe. Volkswagen will have to wait until its upcoming Passat-based seven-passenger crossover arrives on the scene before it can hope to compete with this level of volume, especially since the Touareg, which is built to a much higher standard than any of these mass-volume minivan replacements, starts $20,000 to $30,000 higher at $49,675 plus $1,760 for freight and pre-delivery prep. My TDI Execline equipped tester was priced at $68,575, and while at first glance it seems a high price to pay for a VW, after time spent in this particular Touareg you’ll be thinking it’s a bargain.
Let’s
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
face it. If you want to buy a mid-size CUV from a premium brand you’ll be knee deep into the $40k range at the very least, and that’s just for models that have been upgraded from their lower mainstream counterparts like Cadillac’s SRX, Infiniti’s QX60, Lexus’ RX and Lincoln’s MKX. Forget about the Honda minivan-based Acura MDX that starts off in the mid-$50s. Instead of basing the Touareg on a lower class sibling, it actually is built on the same underpinnings as the $60k Audi Q7 and $70k Porsche Cayenne; lofty company indeed and it shows.
Soft-touch synthetics covering the dash top, door uppers and door inserts can hardly be called news within the premium or mainstream mid-size CUV class these days, but you won’t find any volume players wrapping all of the roof pillars in the same high-quality woven fabric as the roofliner. My Touareg tester’s no-cost optional
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Terracotta Brown Vienna leather was a cut above in quality and finish too, while the brushed aluminum and beautiful engineered ebony wood trim that runs across the instrument panel, doors, and lower console is as good as anything from the luxury branded set. Interior storage bins and cubbies are felt lined, another nod to first-class expectations, while the quality of the leather wrapping the steering wheel and shift knob is almost as tactilely satisfying as the ideally weighted, damped and fitted switchgear throughout the cabin.
Trappings of the good life are everywhere, from expected luxury features like dual-zone automatic climate control and powered windows with one-touch up/down all-round to the unexpected such as automatic adaptive HID headlamps that light up around curves and automatically engage low beam when oncoming headlights
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
are sensed. They get signature LED DRLs too, while LED fog lamps can be found up front and LEDs infused into the taillights too, the heatable and power foldable memory-linked side mirrors with driver’s side auto-dimming getting turn signals integrated within their body-colour caps as well.
This was a top-tier Execline-equipped model being tested, so it’s no wonder it came with a gorgeous set of 20-inch Masafi alloy wheels shod with 275/45R20 all-season tires on the outside and a heatable powered tilt and telescopic multifunction sport steering wheel on the inside, plus heatable 14-way power-adjustable front seats with three-position driver-side memory, adaptive cruise control with Stop and Go, an electronic parking brake, rain-sensing wipers, heatable windshield washer nozzles, ambient interior lighting, an auto-dimming rearview
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
mirror, a colour TFT multi-information display, an infotainment system with an eight-inch full-colour high-resolution touchscreen display featuring navigation (that wouldn’t find Richmond, BC while I was in Richmond, BC, but rather sent me to Richmond Corner, NB) and a reverse camera, a 620-watt 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system, heatable rear seats, rear side sunshades, a powered panoramic glass sunroof with a powered sunshade, park distance control, a powered tailgate with foot-activated Easy Open capability, the latter revealing one of the best finished cargo holds in the class.
Fully carpeted with a stunning set of chrome metal tie-down hooks at each corner, an even more eye-catching chromed loading edge protector that’s so nice you’ll be tempted to leave its protective plastic overtop so it won’t get scratched, the Touareg allows a total capacity of 909 litres (32.1 cubic feet) with its 60/40 split-folding
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
rear seatbacks in place and 1,812 litres (64.0 cubic feet) when lowered via powered release controls on the cargo wall. A centre pass-through behind the rear seat armrest offers cozy warm rear outboard seating for two while skis or other long items are placed in the middle, while a standard retractable cargo cover hides valuables from would-be thieves.
The Touareg is capable of a payload weighing up to 670 kilos (1,477 lbs), while you can strap up to 140 kilograms (308 lbs) to its roof rails when equipped with crossbars. If a boat or camper is part of your active lifestyle you’ll be glad a trailer hitch receiver and seven-pin wiring harness connector are part of the package, allowing a towing capacity of up to 3,500 kg (7,716 lbs) when a pin adapter, ball mount and ball are added. Yes, the
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Touareg might look like a sleek crossover SUV, but it certainly doesn’t behave like one when the hauling gets heavy.
It behaves like the best in the business when straights start to curve too, the Touareg’s double-wishbone front and four-link rear suspension setup allowing a level of on-road capability that few in either mainstream or premium sectors can match. VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive includes adaptive torque distribution that apportions the ideal amount of twist to the wheels with the best grip, making this SUV almost as agile over slippery surfaces as it is in the dry. To aid such challenging situations further, VW equips each Touareg with hill descent control, traction and stability control, ABS-enhanced four-wheel discs with electronic brake-force distribution, emergency brake assist, engine braking assist, Area View, Front Assist featuring autonomous
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
emergency braking with pedestrian monitoring, Lane Assist, Side Assist, Intelligent Crash Response System (ICRS) and a full assortment of airbags.
Everything I’ve noted would be impressive enough on its own, but one of my favourite Touareg TDI features is its outstanding fuel economy. Remember that this a substantive mid-size SUV, but its claimed fuel economy is ultra lean at just 12.0 L/100km in the city and 8.1 on the highway. With its 100-litre fuel tank you won’t be stopping to refuel too often either, which to many will be a very real luxury as well.
Impressive luxury and premium quality everywhere, but the Touareg struggles from brand identity in a similar way to how the old Phaeton did here in North America,
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
an issue that’s actually become worse since the automaker has pushed further down market with its compact Jetta to increase sales. You can’t push out $15,000 compacts on one end of the market and then expect to have the same brand appeal at the other end, where the snobbish set is quite willing to pay much more than VW is asking for its Touareg in order to claim ownership of a three-pointed star, blue and white roundel or Zuffenhausen crest. We’re not talking common sense here, we’re talking uncommon wealth.
That’s
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
why the Touareg’s much better value doesn’t result in much higher sales, even with its premium-level four-year, 80,000 km comprehensive warranty. This is why its days may be numbered. It’s possible that VW will hang onto the Touareg as a flagship SUV even when the Passat-based seven-passenger crossover hits the market, similar to how Infiniti continues forth with its QX70 in the sportier five-passenger segment while the larger QX60 enjoys the majority of sales, but here I go again comparing the Touareg to a premium branded SUV and Volkswagen to a premium brand. As much as it deserves praise for measuring up in every respect, those with the thick wallets aren’t responding as well as you’d think they would.
I
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
showed you how the Touareg’s 2,332 sales were overwhelmed in the mainstream mid-size CUV segment last year, and this doesn’t change amongst premium players other than having lower numbers due to their more exclusive cachet. Still, the five-seat segment sales leading Lexus RX sold 7,913 units last year, while Mercedes-Benz M-Class came second with 5,532 units down the turnpike and BMW’s X5 (which can be had with optional seven-passenger seating) achieved third with 5,470 sold in 2014. Cadillac complains about poor sales but its SRX still did quite well at 4,134 units, while Lincoln’s MKX achieved 2,702 sales last year. Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport just barely outsold the Touareg with 2,580 units in 2014, which only left the Audi Q7 at 1,959 units, although it doesn’t really compete directly with the Touareg, as it’s solely a seven-passenger vehicle. The pricy Porsche Cayenne did well with 1,904 deliveries, whereas Infiniti’s QX70
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
didn’t with 466 (the QX60’s 3,613 sales don’t really count for the same reasons as the Q7 and Volvo’s XC90 that only sold 427 units last year).
Even this 2015 model’s minor update doesn’t seem to be pushing sales any higher. Yes, odd for me to leave a mid-cycle refresh to the end of a review, but if you hadn’t noticed any changes by now then all of their efforts won’t sway your purchase decision. Subtle is an understatement, the revisions including a slight reworking of the brand’s now trademark horizontally slatted grille with an even more horizontal theme thanks to more metal brightwork, a new lower fascia with a centre air inlet that forms a stylized “A” instead of a “V”, the standard addition of marginally reshaped bi-xenon headlamps brightening up the frontal view while a band of chrome trim wraps around the entire sill line. New wheel designs offer sizes
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
from 18 inches up to 21, the 20s on my tester particularly nice. The cabin gets some new colour and decorative trim options plus updated aluminum switchgear, while some of the controls that were previously backlit in white are now done out in red. The overall result is a great looking SUV made even better looking, although VW’s intended hopes of better sales haven’t materialized due to a six-month YTD tally of only 1,068 units in Canada and a 3,310 unit YTD total in the US which, if it remained steady throughout the year would result in the worst calendar year since the 2010 recession. Of course, we shouldn’t judge the Touareg’s success just by its North American sales. After all, VW has sold more than 800,000 examples worldwide over the SUV’s 12-year tenure, which isn’t bad for a premium SUV.
In the end, VW can be proud of their Touareg. It’s every bit as good an SUV as those from the premium brands just mentioned and even much more upscale than some,
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
while they’ve stuck to their guns and kept it available for more than a decade. I, for one, have always been a big fan, and not being as badge-oriented as some Canadian consumers I actually like the fact that it flies under the “look at me I’m rich” radar. But truth be told, I’m not rich and therefore would be much more interested in a more price-sensitive albeit larger and more accommodating seven-passenger VW crossover when it becomes available, as long as it comes with optional TDI power, and I don’t think I’m alone in this respect. Volkswagen will likely double its overall CUV sales at the very least, and keep a lot of buyers in the family fold that it’s currently losing to competitors who are well entrenched within a family hauling market the German brand has long neglected.
So if you’re looking for an excellent premium SUV at a great price, Volkswagen has a Touareg with your name on it. Then again if its VW logo doesn’t match your RL wardrobe, Burberry accessories, Gucci wristwatch, LV handbag, Apple iPhone6 smartphone or any of your other luxury branded symbols of a good life well lived, VW group has an Audi Q7 or Porsche Cayenne that should suit you just fine.
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