Volkswagen Touareg - The second generation

Volkswagen officially introduced the official photos of the second generation Touareg. The new model borrows the lines of Golf and applies them on a larger scale. Great news: The Touareg is now hybrid too!

Volkswagen unveiled today the official model that will carry forward the tradition of the brand’s SUVs , started in 2002. Although at first was it regarded as a freak in a range that seemed complete, Touareg has found his place on the market very fast, managing to cover a hole that Volkswagen heads have marched on getting help from the image of elegance and semi-premium of their model. Well, the main opponent of the X5 and ML, returning with new forces, with a generation hoping to at least match the 500,000 Volkswagen Touareg copies sold world wide so far.

DESIGN

On the exterior, the new Touareg remains faithful to the design principles that mad him famous, showing that the creative people of Volkswagen wanted to signal a normal evolution of the current model, not choosing a revolution that would have landed the German SUV on minefield. The lines are more dynamic, full of power, the front is borrowed from the smaller brothers Golf, Polo and Scirocco, with lamp units that extend, continuing the grill. The stamp that is individualizing the Touareg is represented by the “games” inside the lamp units, the German designers taking advantage of thegenerous dimensions provided by the Touareg’s elements to frame the headlights in rectangular of LEDs. In the rear, the taillights seem an evolution of the ones found on Golf, the big change here being represented by the appearance on the side of theexhaust system endings.

INTERIOR / TECHNOLOGY

Inside, the Touareg is stuffed with the latest technology, the systems filling a cockpit that stays in the limits of the classic Volkswagen. The German engineers have equipped the Touareg with the new camera system allowing real time observation of the elements around the car during parking maneuvers, with an automatic system that sets the beam / running lights, with a GPS package with 6.5 inch screen accompanied by an own hard drive, and a four-area air-conditioning system. Touareg 2′s technical facilities continue with a series of last generation pneumatic suspension, and especially with the eight-speed automatic transmission available on the standard version.

THE HYBRID VERSION

The new generation of the German model gets rid of no less than 459 lb in the basic version, the most spectacular appearance being signed by the hybrid drive train that combines the turbo V6 petrol engine of 333 HP whit an electric drive of 47 horse to reach a reasonable total of 380 hp and 428 lb-ft of torque. The electric motor is placed by the German engineers between the automatic gearbox with eight speeds and the gasoline engine, being able to move new Toureg by himself and the carry it using 100% electric power up to as speed of 30 mph. In these conditions, Touareg Hybrid displays an average mileage of 28.6 mpg.

Touareg Hybrid (380 hp, 580 Nm) – average mileage 28.6 mpg. 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds, top speed 149 mph.

CLASSIC ENGINES

The customers that are less oriented towards ecology can still benefit from a full range of petrol and diesel engines beginning with the V6 FSI with 280 HP, switching to the 3.0-liter V6 TDI diesel with 240 HP engine, fitted with Start & Stop as standard and reaching to the new Volkswagen V8 TDI engine of 4.2-liter and 340 HP, which we found two months ago on the new generation Audi A8. Volkswagen officially drops the V10 and W12 engines found on the previous generation, which are no longer facing the environmental rigors of the time.

Touareg V6 FSI: 280 HP, 265 lb-ft of torque, average mileage 23.7 mpg

Touareg V6 TDI: 240 HP, 406 lb-ft of torque, average mileage 31.7 mpg

Touareg V8 TDI: 340 HP, 590 lb-ft of torque, average mileage 25.8 mpg

LAUNCH

The 2011 Volkswagen Touareg will be presented on March 2, at the Geneva Motor Show, where Porsche will also bring the new Cayenne model created on the same platform as the VW SUV. Touareg can be ordered from European dealerships as of April, as the prices of the model will be announced after the official launch.