The bench is easily wide enough for three adult backsides, and the space enough plenty for the attached six legs. The up-spec Touareg versions give a/c with two independent rear zones as well as two up front. The boot also gains by the car’s huge width. It’s 810 litres, plus a big underboot compartment that held, on the test car, a collapsed spare and air pump. There’s also tons of storage around the cabin. The Touareg’s cabin material quality and finish used to be a thing of wonder, because there were few luxury SUVs when it launched. Now all the premium brands are at it. The Touareg hasn’t moved on far enough, so some of the materials around the lower dash feel pretty ordinary by today’s standards. It looks good at night though, with many of its contours picked out by LED backlighting. For real wow factor, then, you need the version with the so-called Innovision cockpit. This mates a 12-inch TFT driver display to a 15-inch centre touchscreen packing 1920 by 1020 pixels.
The operating system takes a bit of getting used to. But because the screen is so darned huge, it’s possible to set it up with shortcuts and a series of mini-tiles that give the info you want. Mostly the display is uncluttered because the virtual buttons appear only when a proximity sensor sees your finger approaching. Usual glass-cockpit moans apply though. Firstly the screen is so big it’s hard to accurately jab onto the button you want. Second, some things are too deep in the menus - for instance tone controls for the audio. Third, it soon gets covered in messy fingerprints. At least it does if you’re as greasy as I evidently am. The system has four USBs, a wireless hotspot, and inductive charging mat. You’ve all the usual choice of inputs - USB, CarPlay, Android, Bluetooth, DAB, radio, SD card. The top version has a hybrid radio system that uses both web radio and DAB, seamlessly switching between depending on available signal.
The standard stereo serves up a pretty powerful and vivid sounds. Basic-spec Touaregs get a slightly smaller screen with most of the same abilities, including connected apps. But they have a set of actual buttons to control the climate. I’d be happy with that. With all this glass on the dash, it looks like the centre air vents have been relegated to a position where they can aim only at your belly button. In fact there’s a diffusing grille on top of the dash. I found the cabin climate nice and balmy even as the temperature soared to 31 degrees. Yup, that’s cool by outback standards but I’m a pale Pom and it was hot for London. The head-up display option is crisp and clear, and as comprehensive as any. What’s it like on the road? The launch engine in Europe is a 3.0-litre V6 diesel, mated to the familar 8-speed autobox.
