Volkswagen Touareg (03-09) - Review

Review by David Ross on
Last Updated: 10 November 2009
Volkswagen's Touareg has been a steady seller since its launch in 2003 offering a classy and comfortable car with good four-wheel drive ability. It was developed with the Porsche Cayenne, sharing much the same off-road hardware and a V6 petrol engine. However, Volkswagen has a rich diesel heritage, and the Touareg fitted with one of these engines offers the best illustration of what it can do, whether it's the hard-working 2.5 TDI, smooth 3.0 V6 TDI or the brutal 5.0 V10 TDI. Changes for 2007 included a tweaked front end, plus the availability of new technology to make it safer and more accomplished whether on the road or in the wild. There's even a Bluemotion model, offering improved fuel economy and lower emissions, although it's still far from green.
4 out of 5

Other Volkswagen reviews

4.5 out of 5

Safety

The Touareg was awarded the maximum five starts for adult occupant safety in Euro NCAP crash tests and every car has dual front, side and full-length curtain airbags, Isofix child-seat mounting points, ABS and electronic stability control as standard. A deadlock and an alarm system takes care of security, while a keyless entry and start system is optional. New safety features for 2007 include Front Scan - a form of adaptive cruise control that can slow the car down to a complete stop if an obstacle is sensed in front. Side Scan alerts the driver to another vehicle occupying the blindspot alongside the car before changing lanes on the motorway.

NCAP Test

Euro NCAP logo Euro NCAP

Provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.

Visit Euro NCAP for more info

  • Adult Occupant Rating

    5 out of 5

  • Child Protection Rating

    4 out of 5

  • Pedestrian Test Rating

    1 out of 5
4.5 out of 5

Reliability

This is Volkswagen producing cars to the highest standard. Although there were a few glitches with the earliest cars, there should be no mechanical worries.

Car check problem points

Body

No problems reported, but check for off road damage.

Engine/Gearbox

No problems reported.

Other

Two recalls in 2003. The first was to fix the wiring loom that was chafing the left seat console and the second was to fix faulty rear seatbelt locks.