The 2011 Touareg is all new from the ground up but is still recognisable as Volkswagen’s mid-size SUV. It claims to offer the comfort and quality associated with Volkswagen’s products, but with strong performance both on and off-road. The sleek looks reflect the current range of Volkswagen vehicles. Inside there’s room for five with a spacious boot (with powered tailgate) that houses a spare wheel under a false floor. Technology includes a very clever headlight system called Dynamic Light Assist, which uses a camera to detect oncoming traffic and adjusts the Touareg’s bi-xenon headlights automatically to reduce glare. Adaptive cruise control and a lane departure warning system are also available, as is Front Assist, which warns drivers of impending collisions and will even brake automatically if no action is taken. Side assist warns of vehicles in the Touraeg’s blind spot when changing lanes. Up to nine airbags are available in the Touareg to protect occupants in the event of a crash. The exact specifications of the V6 Touareg range in the Middle East were unclear at the time of writing. We’ll update the page when the information becomes available.
“We (are) more convinced than ever that volume-wise you can build real (full-scale) factories for electric vehicles,” says Erb, alluding to the automaker’s bullish market projections. MEB will be the first VW-brand platform to switch to a more streamlined data-processing strategy. It uses a centralized domain controller Erb says will reduce the number of microcontrollers to a handful from an average 60-80 today and permit over-the-air software updates. Although similar in concept to what Audi already is doing, components won’t be identical. “The (electric/electronics) platform will be a different one for Volkswagen, because it also will apply for our MQB,” he says. MEB also will be a prime conduit of VW’s advanced driver-assistance systems, including traffic-jam assist and, ultimately, full autonomous technology. The automaker says the BEV platform will be prepped for a full array of lidar, radar, ultrasonic and vision sensors to provide a 360-degree view of the area surrounding the vehicle. “It’s a gradual process,” Hinrich Woebcken, CEO of Volkswagen North American Region & Volkswagen Group of America, says of the automaker’s plans to roll out ADAS technology via the new EV platform. “You can be assured all of the (advanced) technology will be prepared for (MEB).
For instance, MEB is expected to be the basis for a production version of VW’s Sedric concept car, an electric, autonomous, ride-sharing fleet vehicle ultimately expected to be produced for the automaker’s MOIA mobility arm. At CES 2018 this week, VW announced it is partnering with NVIDIA on an “Intelligent Co-Pilot” system for the I.D. Buzz that will incorporate artificial intelligence to provide driver alerts when a bicycle is in the vehicle’s path and gaze tracking for driver-distraction alerts, as well as gesture-control and facial-recognition features. As for the MEB’s battery strategy, VW will offer a standard pack that will top 200 miles (322 km) of range in the U.S. 300 miles (483 km). Charging time is as little as 30 minutes for 80% of the maximum range, the automaker says. The battery pack’s lithium-ion cells will be prismatic, at least initially, meaning Panasonic Energy is the likely supplier. Panasonic, the only major EV battery maker producing prismatics, already provides cells to Audi, Porsche and Tesla and also is Tesla’s partner in a new battery plant in Nevada, which presumably would be a candidate to supply any U.S. However, Erb says the liquid-cooled packs could accommodate pouch-type cells, and that VW will have to be prepared to adjust sourcing depending on supply-chain issues. “You have to be flexible,” he says. “But if you localize the product…you are going to change parts. You have to. This also would apply to the (battery) cells, as far as we see at the moment. “And we’re already planning for the next-generation of batteries,” he adds. VW’s electrification plan doesn’t end with MEB. Erb promises there will be hybrid versions of all the automaker’s models eventually.
There was a time when the Ford Focus was a comfortably straightforward choice in the mainstream family hatchback market. But recently, Ford’s star car has been feeling the squeeze. The Golf is more affordable than ever (and no less brilliant), while the Astra has been transformed since it shed a few kilos. More than ever, the likes of Kia and Hyundai are snapping at the heels of the Focus on practicality, interior finish and cost of ownership, too. Heck, even the forthcoming Toyota Auris looks good. So Ford really has pulled out all the stops for the fourth generation of Focus, driven here for the first time ahead of first deliveries in September. The car sits on an all-new platform, called C2, and many versions feature independent rear suspension and the option of continuously variable damping. The engine line-up is perhaps the most familiar bit of the package. The range starts with a Style edition at a smidgen under £18,000 - significantly lowering the Focus’s entry price point, albeit without much in the way of infotainment beyond a DAB radio.
To get better connectivity you’ll need to step up to mainstream Zetec, which is followed in the line-up by sport-focused ST-Line and ST-Line X, and the more luxurious Titanium, Titanium X and Vignale. There’s an Estate, naturally, and there will also be a jacked-up pseudo-SUV called the Focus Active, although we’ll have to wait a few more months before we get a chance to try it. The regular five-door’s styling is clearly an evolution of what’s gone before - notably around the front end, which looks very much like the Fiesta’s big brother (as it should, you could argue). But glance down the flanks and the transformation quickly becomes apparent; there are 53 extra millimetres in the Focus’s wheelbase, in a clear bid to improve one of the Mk3’s biggest drawbacks: limited rear cabin space. The view from behind the wheel has a distinct whiff of ‘latest Fiesta’ about it - but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. All but Style editions get a SYNC 3 infotainment system, complete with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
