2019 Volkswagen Touareg Spy Shots

Volkswagen is in the midst of an SUV onslaught that will see existing models like the Tiguan and Touareg not only redesigned but joined by several all-new models. It all started with the Atlas that debuted at the 2016 Los Angeles auto show and has continued with the redesigned Tiguan at the 2017 Detroit auto show and T-Roc at the 2017 Frankfurt auto show. The next SUV from VW will be a redesigned Touareg, a completely undisguised version of which has just been spotted. Compared to the Atlas, also a mid-size SUV, the Touareg isn’t quite as long, which makes sense as it will remain a 5-seater while the Atlas comes standard with seven seats. Furthermore, the character lines along the sides of the vehicle sit above the door handles while on the Atlas they are below the handles. The platform is the SUV version of the Volkswagen Group’s MLB design, common to the Audi Q7, Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne.

The flexible platform is also tipped to underpin a new full-size VW SUV based on the T-Prime Concept GTE from the 2016 Beijing auto show. The redesigned Touareg looks to have adopted a wider, more dynamic look than the outgoing model. We also expect it to be lighter and feature a more upmarket interior. New tech goodies should include a digital instrument cluster as well as some driver assist systems and perhaps even some semi-autonomous tech. It’s too early to talk specifics but we could see an inline-4 introduced as the base option. Above this should be a V-6 and eventually a plug-in hybrid option. The standard transmission should continue to be an 8-speed automatic. Look for the redesigned Touareg to debut at the 2018 Beijing auto show next April. Sadly, the vehicle isn't expected in the United States as VW is fully focused on the locally made Atlas here. The current Touareg was already dropped from the market here after the 2017 model year. VW fans still desiring a mid-size SUV but don’t want the family-oriented Atlas can look forward to a new offering from the German automaker. A second SUV is confirmed for production at VW’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee and is believed to be a production version of 2015’s Cross Coupe GTE concept.

The US versions contain a roof reinforcement to account for US NCAP’s particular roof crush and lateral impact tests and the car also has reinforcements added to it rear longitudinal beams to comply with the US rear impact standard. The New Ghibli is equipped with a seven-airbag system and anti-whiplash front headrest to provide maximum occupant safety. At the front, two-stage airbags are concealed from the occupants inside the steering wheel and dashboard to protect the head in frontal accidents while a knee airbag protects the driver’s legs and reduces the femur load in crash situations. The chest and hips of the front occupants are further protected by the side airbags beneath the seat leather. The sides of the occupants’ heads are protected by two head “curtain” bags mounted in the roof of the car, next to the B-pillar. The “curtain” bag protects the heads of the front and rear occupants against lateral impact. The front seats are brimming with safety equipment designed to reduce trauma to the occupant's cervical vertebrae. If the car is involved in a rear-end accident, its active headrests automatically reduce the distance between their surface and the passenger's head.

The front three-point seatbelts are equipped with load-limiting pyrotechnic pre-tensioners, which trip in a collision to hold the passengers securely and prevent or minimise injury. The front seatbelts are fitted with height adjusters; properly adjusting the height of the seatbelts to the occupant's height, which is not only more comfortable but also improves the safety function of the device. The rear-view parking camera on the new Ghibli makes manoeuvring and reversing safer and more comfortable. Installed next to the luggage compartment’s release button, it views the area behind the car, and shows the resulting colour image on the 8.4” MTC display. The system works together with the standard parking sensors and sounds an acoustic warning as it approaches obstacles behind the car. Part of the reason the Ghibli’s exterior design is so distinctive is, in part, due to its use of Bi-xenon headlights and LED daytime running lights. The LED tail light assembly is also highly innovative, providing excellent visibility with the style and safety essential to this class of car.

Each headlight includes LED daytime running lights, with a light shape that provides instant recognisability in both day and night running. Each light also contains direction indicators, LED side position lights and a side reflector. With a video camera mounted in front of the rear-view mirror, the lighting system offers a beam control specifically for motorway driving which increases the depth of the light beam without the need for manual high beam activation. Sensors monitor the driving style and speed and if the road is clear, the beam depth offers the greatest depth and width, combined with the directional rotation of the headlights themselves. In addition, there are four different automatic lighting setups: for city driving, for motorway conditions, for low visibility and for driving on the opposite side of the road in applicable countries. Each of these modes automatically activates a strategy to best illuminate the road surface. The Town Beam turns on below 45km/h and sets the beam wider and shallower, giving a better view for turning and for peripheral danger zones while causing minimum disturbance for fellow road users.