Volkswagen Touareg 2010 - 2019

Vad nytt? Ny generation av Volkswagens största suv. För vem? Den som behöver dra tungt och transportera mycket.

The VW Touareg is a quick, comfortable and refined luxury SUV that comes loaded with clever technology

Much of the original Touareg’s appeal was that it was low-key for such a big car, and that it had much more off-road ability than its big-Passat looks implied. The new one has too bold a grille to be thought of as low key, although the overall design remains pleasingly simple and elegant. The interior is if anything a little too grown-up – it could do with some of the cheeriness of the T-Roc and Polo. It’s a successful evolution of a big-selling car. It may be a little short on magic and mystery, but it drives well and looks after you. The new third-generation car, due on sale in autumn 2018, may challenge those assumptions. Volkswagen, selling a million of the previous model and with markets like China lapping them up like hot dim sums, has stated that this is now without question going to be its flagship model, and as a result, it gets a raft of newly introduced technology to make it the sharpest-driving, most tech-laden vehicle it offers. The new platform has plenty of trick hardware hanging off it: entry-level Touaregs will be underpinned by steel-sprung suspension, but more advanced offerings include air suspension, with rear-wheel steering and active roll compensation. Such is the width of available parameters, engineers could have set it up so the only body roll came from the tyre walls, but it was felt a couple more degrees of lean made it feel more natural and SUV-ish. Allied to this are two new 3.0 V6 diesel engines, with power outputs of 226 and 280bhp, while a 4.0 V6 diesel will be announced later and a petrol plug-in hybrid is coming, although exact dates and specifications are cards held close to chests in Wolfsburg. Sitting on a new platform, the Touareg is nearly 8cm longer, and more than 4cm wider (and marginally lower) than the outgoing model, with a big increase in bootspace: capacity is up from 697 to 810 litres with the rear seats in place. Car infotainment systems lag (often necessarily) a long way behind the phone in your pocket, but with its new Innovision Cockpit, the Touareg has all but caught up, VW hopes. The touchscreen is a vast cliff-like edifice dominating two-thirds  of the dash, stretching from the driver’s instrument binnacle to the passenger's inside knee, and almost completely negating the need for any buttons. Only a large volume control wheel survives the cull, because this tactile pleasure is one buyers don’t want to lose apparently. But on the screen, you can corral your key data into tiled sections in whichever way it suits you, have whatever you fancy operating in the middle of the dash or in front of the driver, and even run Night Vision on it too. Crucial to all of this is the system's UX. It actually swipes, scrolls and pinches like a smartphone, rather than the clunky, half-hearted system before, and because of the size of the screen, you can direct your finger in to operate functions without having to take your eyes off the road at peer at piddly little virtual buttons. Finally, it feels as though the digital touchscreen has come of age, and it also frees up the cabin to be more airy and stylish too. We squinted a bit at it for a while, and what is clear is that the new car has much sharper edges, with some surprisingly curvaceous and wide rear flanks. There are many more angles and chamfers that sweep through as many as three of four panels than on the outgoing car and the front grille encompasses the whole nose, and certainly gives the impression of increased aggression. Which might be just what the all-important Chinese market wants, but may not play so well in European markets. We’ll find out for sure when the wrapping is peeled off. Even in slightly rattly, stickered up pre-production models, the new Touareg is clearly a huge leap forward in every respect. To find out just how well it drives (or not!), stay tuned for our full VW Touareg review in the weeks after its world debut in March 2018. By Steve Moody

Often forgotten in favour of more exotic fare, the Touareg’s a hidden SUV hero

The new VW Touareg shares a platform with the Audi Q7 and Lamborghini Urus, matching their talents for less cash