The new Volkswagen Touareg’s greatest rival is neither the BMW X5 nor the Mercedes-Benz ML350.
It is Volkswagen’s “own” Porsche Cayenne, which shares its platform and other unobvious oily bits with the fellow full-size SUV.
The entry-level Porsche Cayenne, believe it or not, costs just a couple of thousand bucks more than the Touareg, but the latter is packed with significantly more standard equipment.
The Porsche doesn’t even come with xenon headlights, which are a $5500 factory option that really ought to be “free” on a quarter-million ride.
Admittedly, people place a premium on the cachet of Porsche vis-a-vis a mass-market badge that adorns everything from Caddy to Multivan, Polo to Phaeton. Also, the five years’ complimentary maintenance programme for all new Porsches is the best in the business.
New Volkswagen Touareg has loads of toys on board, including proper four-wheel-drive.
Compared to the Volkswagen Touareg, the Cayenne is also sportier-looking on the outside and more purposeful on the inside.
But the Volkswagen newcomer is otherwise all the German sports-utility that you need, with a couple of extra features thrown in as a bonus.
These include a spectacular panoramic sunroof, which measures over 1.4 metres long and almost a metre wide, making the comfortable cabin seem even roomier. Another unexpected feature is the heated steering wheel!
Accidentally activating this redundant function is quite impossible, because it is buried deep inside the 8-inch touch-screen system, somewhere between two obscure sub-menus.
The rest of the comprehensive cockpit infotainment, which includes a 60GB hard disk and 3-D GPS navigation, is logical and enjoyable, while the modern conveniences on board are plentiful and useful.
The most modern is Area View, an all-round camera system that displays the vehicle’s immediate surroundings and diagonal wide-angle views from the front and rear bumper corners. VW Area View is yours for an additional and very reasonable $1700.
On the road, the new Touareg clearly has the size and speed to dominate traffic, with perky Tiguans and pesky Touran taxis scurrying out of the way, without any sense of irony.
The 2.1-tonne machine handles, stops and steers competently, but it needs space to manoeuvre.
At the same time, the 3.6-litre V6 drivetrain could use another 20bhp and 40Nm, the 8-speed automatic could be smoother still, and the 18-inch suspension could be a little more pliant in urban conditions.
Living large in the new Volkswagen Touareg is a pleasure, as long as you don’t think too much about its capable and arguably more desirable cousin from the prestigious Porsche camp.
Volkswagen Touareg 3.6 (A)
ENGINE 3597cc, 24-valves, V6
MAX POWER 280bhp at 6200rpm
MAX TORQUE 360Nm at 3200rpm
GEARBOX 8-speed automatic with manual select
0-100KM/H 7.8 seconds
TOP SPEED 228km/h
CONSUMPTION 9.6km/L
PRICE INCL. COE $247,800 (as of December 2010)
