Volkswagen's third generation Touareg is a large luxury SUV that's now smarter looking, safer, better-equipped and more efficient. As before, this car's dynamically better than you expect it to be, both on road and off it. True, it can't offer more than five seats, but then neither can key rivals like BMW's X5, Mercedes' GLE-Class, Jeep's Grand Cherokee, the Lexus RX or Porsche's Cayenne. If you're looking at one of those contenders in this segment, then this under-rated Touareg offers a very complete package with a value proposition that could prove hard to resist. Large luxury SUVs tend to be more about style than substance. Here's one that's different, Volkswagen's much improved third generation Touareg. The original version of this car, launched in 2003 and named after a North African tribe, represented the Wolfsburg brand's first venture into the luxury SUV market and struck a chord with quite a few buyers in this segment.
The second generation version, introduced in 2010, was less successful; Wolfsburg hopes to regain momentum with this, that model's successor. The prospects seem quite promising; this MK3 Touareg does, after all, use the same MLB Evo platform you'll find in Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini large SUVs. And, unlike them, it's actually quite at home off road. As before, the idea is to provide an appealing compromise between the extreme 'SUV'-ness of, say, a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Jeep Grand Cherokee. And more paved-surface-orientated large SUVs like the BMW X5 and the Mercedes GLE. Most versions of this third generation Touareg uses 3.0 V6 TDI power mated to an eight-speed automatic Tiptronic gearbox and 4MOTION all-wheel drive. Most MK3 model Touaregs are bought with the 3.0 V6 TDI diesel engine but there are four trim levels - 'SE', 'SEL', 'R-Line' and 'R-Line Tech'. Prices start at around £46,000 for this engine in 204PS form - there's a premium of around £1,800 to get it in 262PS guise.
The asking figures range up to about £58,000. The 3.0 V6 TSI petrol version starts in 'SEL' trim from about £53,000. Options include electrically adjustable front seats featuring a special pneumatic massage function with no fewer than eight programs. The intensity of the massage functions can be continuously adjusted via individual air cushions. Natural light comes in through the optionally available panoramic sliding roof - the largest yet offered by Volkswagen. The transparent roof section is 1,270mm long and 825mm wide (inner dimensions), and the front half can be continuously opened and electrically moved back by almost half a metre (495mm) and raised. Meanwhile night driving can be more pleasant thanks to an optional LED ambient light system. Using the ambient light, the atmosphere on board the Touareg can be personalised via 30 different light colours whose brightness can be adjusted. There's also an optional night vision system using a thermal imaging camera. Camera-driven safety innovations include 'Front Cross Traffic Assist' - which responds to traffic crossing in front of the car. Don't expect too much here. This is, after all, a large luxury SUV that in 3.0 V6 TDI form carries a substantial 2,070kg of kerb weight. Expect 42.8 mpg on the combined cycle and 182g/km of CO2 from the 286PS variant. The 3.0 V6 TSI petrol version manages 31.7mpg on the combined cycle with CO2 emissions of 203g/km. If that's not good enough, you can ask your dealer about the forthcoming petrol plug-in hybrid version. As for servicing, well as usual with Volkswagen models, there's a choice of either 'Fixed' or 'Flexible' maintenance packages. You'll choose the 'Fixed' approach if you cover less than 10,000 miles a year and with this, the car will typically be looked at every twelve months. If youre looking for a new Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 V6 TDI 4Motion 231 R Line Tech 5dr Tip Auto Diesel Estate for sale, youve come to the right place. What are you waiting for? Make an enquiry online using the link above or call one of our friendly sales advisors today.
Good station wagons aren’t always easy to find. These are the wagons that are special, and especially affordable. It’s nice to see that the brand new Volkswagen Golf Wagon meets the favoured criteria. First of all, you need space to make it work. When one looks to buy themself a new wagon, because they need the space and practicality, a number of people think let’s get the big Falcon or the Commodore to do the business. You don’t always have to go this big. What the Lexus wagon, the Accord wagon and Volkswagen Golf Wagon have over the big wagons from Ford, Holden and Mitsubishi is that they are a lot more frugal on fuel. A few less litres of luggage space in the back equates to a whole heap less litres of fuel at the pumps. And where the Volkswagen Golf has it over all other station wagons is in the engine bay. The Golf Wagon has some of the most fuel efficient petrol and diesel engines in the business. The Volkswagen Golf Wagon range offers two diesel and two petrol models offering low fuel consumption and lively performance.
