A HIGH-TECH TRIUMPH VW's Touareg R-Line has the gift of gadgetry
Though it may not rival the beauty of top 4x4s, Volkswagen’s admirable Touareg R-Line is the most advanced SUV in the world, says Neil Lyndon
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‘The Touareg is at the pinnacle of our car-making capabilities,’ said a Volkswagen executive at the recent launch of the new Touareg luxury 4x4. ‘Everything we can do, we have put into this car.’
You’d never guess to look at it. As colossal two-ton lumps of SUV go, this third-generation Touareg is mildly and inoffensively handsome, with a faintly noble profile and an upright, military bearing, but it would never stand out in the crowd of Range Rovers, Discoveries, Porsche Cayennes and Audi Q7s that throng around the gates of every public school in Scotland.
That, partly, is the charm of the thing. Where every other 4x4 in this class is designed to draw attention to itself, showing off the class and wealth of its owner, the Touareg quietly eschews such ostentation, as if to say, ‘nothing to see here – move along, please’.
While there may be nothing to shout about over its appearance, the Touareg is indeed a showcase on wheels of technological development. VW are surely right to say it is ‘the most advanced SUV yet to appear’. Partly constructed in aluminium, the new car is lighter than its predecessor even though it is higher, longer and wider. Based on the same platform as Bentley’s Bentayga and Lamborghini’s Urus, the Touareg shares much of its gadgetry with Audi’s A8 which (as previously reviewed by this column) has a fair claim to be the world’s most refined car at present.
This box of tricks doesn’t just have four wheeldrive, it also has four-wheel steering – an innovation developed for F1 almost 30 years ago and then abandoned because it produced hair-raising handling characteristics. Now, with advanced computer controls, it is possible to turn the rear wheels fractionally in the opposite direction to the front wheels, producing more responsive low-speed handling and tighter turning circles (in fact, this very large Touareg turns in the same circle as a VW Golf). Even better, the driver is entirely unaware of the processes that are at work. He may even give the credit to himself.
Via a thermal imaging camera, the Touareg’s Night Vision Assistance gizmo detects people and animals who might be lurking in the gloom and then projects their outline onto the heads-up display on the windscreen. The semi-automated steering system, which can take over lane-keeping, steering and braking, can also negotiate roadworks. The anti-roll bars are electro-mechanically controlled and the optional air-suspension automatically adjusts according to the road surface, even if it’s a rutted and boulder-strewn track. Like the A8, the Touareg is ready to drive itself as soon as the law allows.
The Touareg’s knockout feature is, however, one that nobody outside will ever see – Volkswagen’s Innovision Cockpit combines 12-inch and 15-inch screens, blending driving and infotainment functions in an almost cinematic, gently curving display. Peerless graphics – including Google Earth mapping for the navigation system – and rich, lustrous colours combine brilliantly with an interface that offers simple smartphone menus and rapid downloads. Tesla watch out: this is how all the technology that has been developing for the last 25 years was always intended to work – simply, efficiently and without demanding a day’s instruction. It is included as standard in the top-of-the line R-Line Tech version but will set you back more than £2,000 on other versions. Fitted with a three-litre V6 diesel and eightspeed automatic gearbox, our R-Line test car rocketed from 0-60 mph in six seconds and was as enjoyable as a Porsche Cayenne to extend into a canter on country roads, even though – at £52,000 – it would be thousands of pounds cheaper. Our energetic approach may explain why our average fuel consumption was 26.9 mpg rather than the 40.9 mpg the manufacturers claim, but when you’ve got the world’s most advanced SUV in your hands, it would be a shame not to allow it to show off a little.
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The Touareg is a showcase on wheels of technological development