since 1976
since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
THE Premium SUV (sport utility vehicle) market is a hotbed of activity where prospective customers are increasingly spoilt for choice. There is the super luxury class for the ultra-elite segment of society, the luxury range for the fat wallets and the premium range for the well-off folks.
The third category includes the less prominent brands for those who would like a premium drive without drawing much attention. It’s not that they do not have the money to plonk down for a Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Porsche SUV. These well-to-do folks just want to stay ‘under the radar’ with a car brand that draws less attention to one’s financial status.
Volkswagen is among the less forward brands when it comes to that although few would deny that it’s a rich people’s vehicle. It’s unlike the 1970s and 1980s when the Volkswagen was indeed the people’s car in the Beetle that stood out from other cars on the road with its iconic shape.
Although Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) would like to ‘go back to basics by calling its range of VW vehicles the people’s car’, it refers more to the attractive prices that its vehicle range come with against the other premium brands without losing on equipment, features, safety and driving performance.
To impress the Malaysian media on this fresh outlook, VPCM organised a rather unusual drive experience with the latest Touareg R-Line, the flagship of the VW SUV range. We actually drove the Touareg R-Line off road along dirt tracks that included river crossings, albeit shallow ones.
We couldn’t foresee a Malaysia premium SUV owner doing that even if he wanted to survey his plantation or construction site. Perhaps, a European premium SUV owner might do it but we found it unlikely that a Malaysian premium SUV owner would drive his RM400,000 plus vehicle on such road conditions. By the way, the Touareg R-Line is priced at RM469,999 that includes Volkswagen Assurance Package on the road but no insurance.
That’s because there are cheaper vehicle options to conduct one’s property survey with that are reasonably comfortable. Nevertheless, the Touareg R-Line off-road venture gave us a new experience for a Malaysian perspective, although going off-road with premium vehicles is not new to us. We had done that some 10 years ago in the UK in really demanding off-road conditions with another premium brand.
For the Touareg, under convoy drive conditions, we got to feel the Hill Descent Control on downward stretches. With our foot off the accelerator pedal, the system controlled the speed at which the vehicle went down the slope at a safe and sedate pace. By selecting Offroad via a rotary dial on the centre console, the adaptive air suspension with standard Automatic Self Levelling provided us a comfortable ride on such uneven and bumpy terrain.
The system automatically adapts the vehicle height to match terrain conditions. It could also be selected for lowering the ride height by 40mm to facilitate easier loading and unloading of items. And for the river crossings, VW says the Touareg has a wading level of an impressive 550mm. We, however, couldn’t put that to the test as the stream crossings were shallow and the deepest one was probably under 100mm.
Had it rained the day before, the muddy dirt tracks would certainly offer a challenging experience in the all-wheel drive Touareg R-Line. That would certainly give us a base for comparison with the premium SUV drive we previously enjoyed in the UK, although the latter vehicle was a part-time four-wheel drive model.
But should the Touareg R-Line owner wish to survey his off-road property and estates, we could vouch for the fact that he could do so in reasonably good comfort and at a realistic pace. And this is speaking from our experience as a driver and rear seat passenger.
He could also take pride in the fact that the Touareg R-Line is the latest model with design and feature updates. There is also the fact that the Touareg R-Line is being assembled for the first time out of Europe at Pekan, Malaysia. This VW premium SUV is built in Bratislava, Slovakia and joins its ‘sister’, the Porsche Cayenne, in that respect. This move is probably to explore using Malaysia as the assembly hub for the Asean region and beyond.
Volkswagen says the latest Touareg has adopted a ‘sharpened’ stance front and rear to measure up to its ‘commanding stance’. The front sees new designs in the front radiator grille, headlamps and lower apron, while the rear design has a continuous horizontal LED (light emitting diode) strip linking the taillamp clusters. The centrally located VW logo here is now illuminated in red, which is said to be a first as this was previously available only in China and the US.
The R-Line trims are reflected in the 20-inch Braga alloy wheels, enhanced chrome detailing and the ‘R’ insignia on the front doors and being emblazoned on the front grille. It’s Volkswagen way of combining ‘stylish elegance with sporty dynamism’.
The latest Toaureg is also said to redefine lighting technology with the new IQ Light HD Matric headlamps that are described as one of the best lighting systems in the world. Volkswagen says this ‘highly intelligent’ lighting system of more than 38,000 interactive micro-LEDs illuminates the road more precisely than before.
Another new feature is the Night Vision that is a first for a Volkswagen in Malaysia. It provides the driver with a better view of the road at night. The system uses an infrared sensor in the front camera to detect thermal signatures from humans and animals up to 130 metres ahead. This would help the driver be aware of potential collisions, like the one involving a tiger along the East Coast highway recently.
And information for the driver and front passenger is well taken off in the Innovation Cockpit that Volkswagen describes as an ‘intuitive combination’ of digital display panels merged to form a ‘one-screen design’. This is a design concept that is increasingly seen in many modern passenger vehicles today. In the Touareg R-Line, the panels are the 12.3-inch digital cockpit for the driver and 15-inch Touchscreen with the ‘Discover Pro Max’ infotainment system.
For a five-seater premium SUV, we found ourselves quite nicely pampered by the leather seat upholstery and the spacious interior ambience. This was only to be expected from a flagship SUV that measures 4878mm in overall length, 1984mm in overall width and 1717mm in overall height. The wheelbase is long too at 2899mm.
We definitely enjoyed the music with the ‘concert hall’ experience when it was played. This comes from a 730W Dynaudio Consequence sound system that is powered by an 80W amplifier. This is supported by 13 speakers ‘strategically situated around the cabin’ and a sub-woofer in the boot floor. Good sound insulation that kept wind and road noise to a minimum level played its part too.
Highway driving was a smooth and effortless one for the Touareg R-Line what with its ‘proven’ 3.0-litre (2995cc) V6 TSI. It has an undersquare configuration with 84.5mm bore and 89.0mm stroke. This is a 24-valve double overhead cam per cylinder bank with twin-scroll turbocharger, direct fuel injection and variable valve timing.
The power output is rated at 250kW (340PS) at 5300rpm and 450Nm torque that is developed early from 1340rpm and staying peaky till 5300rpm. It is complemented by an eight-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel drive system. The Touareg R-Line is said to sprint from 0 to 100km/h in six seconds while the top speed is capped at 250km/h.
We could cruise comfortably at legal speeds by keeping engine speeds at 2000rpm and below, thanks to the strong low-end torque and eight-speed automatic transmission. And for quick overtaking, all we had to do was kick down on the accelerator and the 3.0-litre V6 would churn out the horses to get us going quickly. We could feel this strong speed build-up as a passenger in the G-force that pushed us to our seats.
The Touareg R-Line could easily lead one to being within the sights of the police speed detector as it could gobble up the road at robust speeds. So, watch your accelerator foot or pay the price. It provided a nice, stable feeling on the highway and its ride comfort was well up to par to measure up to its premium status.
We didn’t have too much driving time taking the Touareg R-Line through winding roads but for the few corners that we took the premium SUV through, we felt that the AWD tend to exaggerate the understeer. As the system is adjusting to the cornering forces by apportioning torque to the wheels, it tended to make the vehicle veer towards a straight line. We had to be mindful of that and choose our corning line and speed carefully. We learnt this from an AWD SUV that we owned before.
All told, if you want to stay under the radar while enjoying some comfortable driving experience with strong road performance and reasonably good fuel economy, the Volkswagen Touareg R-Line could just be your cup of tea.
