First Drive Review
Touareg. Feed that one to your spell checker, and watch it choke.
Once you get past the gritty-looking name worn by this all-new Volkswagen sport-utility vehicle -- it's taken from a nomadic tribe in the Sahara -- the rest of the machine is slicker than a Brylcreemed weasel. VW says it has aimed for a best combination of two usually separate SUV worlds. On-road, the Touareg serves as a luxury sedan, and off-road, it attacks terrain with a "mountain-goat attitude."
Right. And the meek shall inherit the earth, too, but the fine print says, "Not in our lifetime."
Only this time there's no disclaimer. We drove preproduction samples at VW's proving ground near Wolfsburg, Germany, on both smooth pavement and in the stuntworks meant for off-roaders. Conclusion: Range Rover has company coming.
The Touareg's U.S. lifetime will start in June 2003, when it hits VW stores at a rate of 45,000 or so a year. Price of the base model with a 3.2-liter V-6 and all-wheel drive will be in the $35,000 neighborhood. Add the optional 4.2-liter V-8 from the Audi A8, or the 420-hp W-12 expected in 2004, plus air suspension, and you'll knock on 50 large.
Any carmaker that announces "luxury sedan with a mountain-goat attitude" unaccompanied by a laugh track had better have done its homework. And VW has. Remember, this is a new platform to be shared with Porsche (its version is the Cayenne, due out by March).
There's nothing trucky going on here. Instead, it's a unit body with independent suspension on both ends. The 112.6-inch wheelbase is relatively long for the 187.0-inch overall length, which translates to short overhangs and therefore athletic approach and departure angles (28 degrees). The machinery is tucked up high in the underbody to minimize dragging the belly over humps (breakover angle is 22 degrees) and drowning in deep water (fording depth is 23 inches).
The optional air suspension lifts ground clearance to 11.8 inches.
All Touaregs (say twah-reg) will have six-speed automatics and electronically controlled all-wheel-drive systems with high and low ranges and a locking center differential. A locking rear diff is optional, and VW is working on a locking front, too.
The exterior dimensions are slightly smaller than the Acura MDX's, and the Touareg is about three inches longer than a BMW X5. "Can't park anything bigger in Europe," said one VW exec. Interior room is closer to that of the X5, because big spaces are carved out for tire clearance (18-inch wheels are standard, 19s are optional) and powertrains. There's no third-row seating. Entry and exit for the second row is easy, with excellent room for two adults. Three across is tight, however. In front, the space is sportily intimate rather than Suburban-style expansive.
On pavement, this is a muscular-feeling car, with tight roll angles and quick reaction times. VW sketched out a handling course with cones on its black lake. Tire grip is high, especially with the optional 275/45ZR-19 tires. With no ditches to roll into, we felt free to explore handling extremes. There's none of the tippy feeling you expect of trucks. Yet we never quite made friends with the Touareg at the limit, mostly, we think, because the computer kept intruding to keep us safe. The more we pushed, the more we tested the stabilization software rather than the chassis response. Still, there were no casualties; call it a success.
Maneuvering through off-road obstacles was more amusing. Turning the knob on the move to "cross country" engages low range, and one more click locks the center differential. On a steep uphill section, we lifted off the power entirely. The Touareg eased to a stop and locked itself in place without coasting backward, thanks to the hill-holder feature. On steep downgrades, the driver-selected engine-braking control automatically slowed descent to a walking speed. We also tried the spiral road, which twists tightly enough to put daylight under the tires at diagonal corners. No problem. You'd think these ventures were just another trip to Dillard's. In "cross country," the throttle-by-wire system automatically desensitizes the accelerator, thereby eliminating the geared-down jumpiness of traditional 4x4s.
At no time did we hear a clank or graunch from the machinery below, nor did we feel a quiver or clunk in the body. VW really is serious about the mountain-goat stuff. And body stiffness is first-rate.
For the determined adventurer, VW promises a special off-road package with various computer interventions to control traction and shock damping. There'll be an "outside" spare-tire mount, too, on a gorgeous cantilevered arm constructed of welded sheetmetal. Included is a tailgate uniquely shaped to provide tire clearance.
VW is admittedly late to the SUV market, but there's nothing cautious about its opening bid.
