VW Touareg

At times I wonder what it is with the car makers, everyone seems to be stepping on others' toes in their desire to grow, and in the process somewhat dilute the core values that their own brand stands for. Then, changes are inevitable!

The Touareg changes the eye appeal of the traditional macho-looking SUVs. On the outside, the subtle muscularity of the Touareg is visible through its smooth flowing lines. Standing alert, reminding one of the guards at the Buckingham Palace, the Touareg exhibits simplicity and understated charm.

The classic VW appearance is prominent in its familiar Passat-like grille flanked by headlamps pushed to the corners, giving it much credence into the VW family of cars. It looks capable, but not in a bold, in-your-face way.

Short front and rear overhang with all four wheels pushed out to the corners do nothing to hide the fact that this is not just a pretty face you are looking at! It can and does business on the rough comfortably.

Inside, the Touareg takes a sportier angle on the luxury segment and is styled in a manner similar to the Phaeton - VW's executive non-starter. Burled walnut trim on the front and rear doors, center console and dashboard as well as leather and chrome accents definitely announce 'luxury and style', but in a subtle way.

There's no third-row seating, keeping the passenger count to five - which in our view is a very good thing considering that the market is full of similar-sized vehicles having seating for seven but in a very cramped space. And then of course, does everyone need seven seats? Definitely, a point to ponder.

Since there are no optional third row seats, there's plenty of cargo room in the back. Fold down the second row bench and the boot storage expands from 555 to 1570 litres. This feature was very much emphasised when some friends came visiting and had plenty of shopping to carry back home. At first glance, it seemed an impossible task with four big suitcase plus a huge storage box - not to forget three pieces of hand baggage. Well, the porters at the airport had a tough time handling the above when it was discharged from the Touareg's spacious boot.

The Touareg delivered to us featured a 3.2-litre 24-valve V6 unit, developing 220 horsepower and 305 Nm of torque. Volkswagen also has the 4.2-litre V8, a 5.0-litre V10 TDI and the most powerful of the lot, the 6.0-litre W12 unit available for the Touareg in this region.

To check this SUV inside out, we took it where they actually belong - the dunes of Hatta. The Touareg had no problems getting in and getting out. The transition from a city slicker to an absolute off-roader was perfect.

It was like saying, 'just point the nose and the Touareg takes it all.' Although our test car had the standard suspension (there is an option of air suspension and active dampers), it steers easily and accurately in a way you would not expect of a proper off-roader. The Touareg is remarkably easy to place, and equally easy to drive - both on- and off-road. The brakes are progressive and give good feel.

One very innovative and highly useful feature in the Touareg is the air compressor to inflate deflated tyres after playing around in the dunes. This is a very intelligent and desirable feature, especially for a SUV, as one does not need dawdle slowly in search of a service station to inflate tyres once on the blacktop.

It is indeed a mystery as to how and why other manufacturers missed installing this piece of equipment in their products. Full marks to Volkswagen for thinking out of the box!

Safety features include dual front and side impact airbags, side curtain airbags and LATCH system for child safety seats. Active safety features like ABS, ESP, EBC and HBA give the safety level of the best passenger cars.