We get up close with dramatic new Touareg

THE VW Touareg is due for a complete overhaul in 2017, and Auto Express has had an exclusive tour of the T-prime concept that previews the next-generation model.

Unveiled at April’s Beijing Motor Show, the T-prime is an imposing SUV concept. It looks wider and lower than the Touareg, but senior VW sources told us it’s a close indication of how the new model will look.

“The wheelbase of the show car is an Audi Q7’s,” said VW’S sales and marketing boss for full-size vehicles, Frank Thomas. “So we’ll take a few millimetres out of the rear door length for the production car. If anything, we think the slightly shorter body makes the crease along the sides and the falling roofline look even more dramatic.”

The front end certainly doesn’t lack drama, with a huge chrome-plate grille, deep air intakes and aggressive running lights that stretch through the centre of the VW badge. At the rear, the neat tail-light graphics reference the symbol often used to show a mobile phone’s signal strength, or, you could imagine, the amount of charge left in a plug-in hybrid’s batteries.

Despite the switch of platforms, Thomas insisted VW will resist the temptation to offer the T-prime with a conventional four-cylinder diesel engine. “Customers want the extra relaxed performance of six cylinders,” he told us. “We’ll start with a V6 diesel, but we will offer a V8 TDI at the top of the range.” A petrol/electric hybrid will also feature.

The T-prime’s cabin is a showcase for the future direction of Volkswagen interiors. The front is dominated by the huge touchscreen mounted in the centre of the dash and angled towards the driver. It’s a 15-inch display, and VW’S engineers plan to use the increased screen space to allow levels of configuration previously unseen on a car interface (see panel, right).

The concept is a four-seater, and while the production Touareg will have space for five, Thomas admitted the car “could be offered in a more luxurious version”, with higher-quality leather and four seats.

The production version of the next Touareg is likely to make its public debut in spring 2017, with European sales starting in late summer or early autumn. It’ll be built at VW’S plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, with the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne, and is set to cost from £50,000.