Overview

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.