If you want a luxurious Volkswagen, this is the car to buy: the third generation Touareg. Why? The Phaeton is done. They said so themselves. We shouldn’t expect to see it in Europe. They still have a derivative in Asia. That one has a different name and is a different car built for that market. If you want a luxurious Volkswagen in Europe, from now on you’ll have to buy a Touareg.That’s why Volkswagen had to improve their quality. They want to be in the premium segment. It’s important you’re able to say your brand is premium. They had to improve their quality. The previous Touareg had been around for some time. Now they have a completely new one with a new control concept and a new look. Because this is the top model, you can expect to see these things return in the smaller VW models. The looks of the new Volkswagen Touareg. It has grown up more and it’s bigger. It’s 4m88 long and 1m98 wide.All these extra centimeters and millimeters are mainly beneficial to the interior. There’s more room for the occupants and the luggage in the back. I’ll get back to that later. This is an R Line, a more sporty edition. There’s also an Ambience and Atmosphere. The Ambience is more for the elderly with warm materials, such as wood and brown leather. The Atmosphere is more high-tech with light-gray leather and aluminum accents. The R Line is more sporty. We see the real difference at the rear. The previous Touareg had a big trunk of 697 liters, but this one has 810 liters. This car is more luxurious. Here’s a button to lower it for easier loading. It has a powered trunk cover that hides everything. It’s optional, but you can order it.It also has a powered retractible hitch, which can be combined with Trailer Assist. Trailer Assist is a system that helps people with trailers. You can tell the multimedia screen where you want to park it. The car will steer the trailer there by itself. That’s good to know, because the Touareg is popular as a tow car in the Netherlands. That’s not bad. We think the rear looks like an Audi. Especially the sharp taillights. It looks like the previous Q7. In some parts. The new Touareg has to be more premium. Making it look like an Audi is good. Of course, the looks are important.I get why people think this is important, but the real news is over here. Much has changed in the interior. There are almost no physical buttons. Here’s one for the hazard lights, one to mute the stereo
sound, and two selectors for the drive modes and ride height. That’s it. There are some buttons on the steering wheel, but it’s one big display nowadays. We have a display in front of us and there’s a big touchscreen on the right. It’s 15 inch. Everything happens on and in there. This is the new Volkswagen style. All future models will get this. It’s available in the Touareg now. Just like Tesla, everything is in this display. The big screen controls climate control, satnav, car settings, phone, multimedia, everything combined with the display in front of you.If you’re going to do that, it should work well. That’s a point of criticism I have for Tesla. I don’t like using a big touchscreen, especially when you’re driving faster. It’s hard to find the right things. Volkswagen has a solution. First, they used the same technology as the multimedia systems of smaller cars. Buttons appear when you reach for the screen. It gives you a clear image, but when you want to do something, VW knows it should activate things. Big buttons appear. They’re easy to reach. It’s intuitive, except for the swiping. There’s a home button at the bottom that seems to be inspired by Apple phones.This home button should return you to the start screen, but there are two of those. It takes me to a different screen when I press it twice. There’s some kind of logic, but it’s not 100% intuitive. That’s a small point of critique. It could be improved upon. It’s not easy to reach the satnav instantly. The home screen has a big box and smaller boxes. When I push and hold, I can change the view. It flips over and I can choose to display my phone, satnav, or traffic in that specific box. I like it right now. I tap outside of the box and it flips back. This is brilliant. We’re driving the new Touareg in Austria.We’re looking for a place to stop and shoot some pictures. I saw a 930 convertible behind me, so I let it pass. He wants to go faster on these mountain roads. It has a nice vanity plate. HASH911. Who is in that car? I’m not kidding, it’s Hans-Joachim Stuck. He’s a legend who taught me to drive the Golf GTI TSR. He’s a real legend. He asked me if I was looking for a nice spot. He invited me to his home. He has a nice spot there to film the car. We’re doing that now. We’re following him. That’s brilliant. I still have to discuss the handling. That’s important to know about a completely new car. Volkswagen says the car can do a
lot. I believe them. The previous Touareg wasn’t a wuss either. It held its own both on and off-road. At the introduction they decided to use one of the latest development models, add camouflage stickers, and drive it from the Bratislava factory to Beijing. It was unveiled at the China Motor Show.They did a road trip of thousands of kilometers over all kinds of difficult terrains in Kazachstan etc. They used this in the marketing message to show it’s possible with this car. We’re in Austria. I have to say it’s more civilized. The car does well. The engines. At first it’s available with a V6 diesel engine: the 3-liter TDI. We already know this engine. It’ll sit in the new Audi A6 and A7. It has the same automatic transmission too. It works just fine. 282 hp and 600 Nm (443 lb ft). For those who want to, it does 0-100 kph (62 mph) in 6.1 seconds.It has a top speed of 235 kph (146 mph) on steel springs. It goes 3 kph (2 mph) faster on the air suspension. The adaptive air suspension is adjustable in a funny way. It’ll lower by 15mm when you drive faster. It’ll lower an extra 10mm when you go over 160 kph (99 mph). You can also raise it when you go off-road. 20mm is standard in Terrain mode, but you can choose to go extra high. You can raise the ride height by an extra 70mm compared to the standard driving mode. If you want to, you can also lower the car by 40mm for easier loading of the trunk. The car we’re driving has the air suspension. It handles well. It’s not very tight, though.They did pay attention to the suspension development. Hans-Joachim Stuck helped, or so the Volkswagen man proudly told us yesterday. The rear axle has nice technology. It actively steers along in this car. The anti-roll bar is stiffened by a motor in corners for less body roll. The car keeps more level. It doesn’t stay completely level because they didn’t like that. You do have to feel you’re taking a corner, but it leans less than without the system. In the middle they installed the motor that tightens the anti-roll bar. It can also release the anti-roll bar, freeing you of it on a straight road. The rear is a bit more loose left and right for more suspension comfort in a straight line. That’s a nice feature. This car has a number of assist systems.A night vision assistent, for example. It cooperates with the lights. This car has a huge light package with 12-13 modes. It highlights obstacles on the road
shoulder. It keeps oncoming traffic and pedestrians out of the high beams. It even considers the reflection of traffic signs. These reflect light. When too much light hits the signs, the light dims for you to read the signs. It’s a very smart system. We drove the car in the dark yesterday. You see the light change continuously. The LED diodes are switched on and off in smart ways to guide the light beams.It’s cool to see. It’s a bit too much sometimes, but it works really well. How to rate the Touareg? It’s a car that does almost everything well without standing out. If you want an SUV to drive ‘in the picture’ more, other Volkswagen Group cars are available. The Touareg is understated, a bit wholesome. Nothing is wrong with that. There has always been a large customer base and this model will definitely get one too.Subtitles – Maru’s Text Support .
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