Volkswagen Touareg: slim but not slight

Time and again we have heard complaints from VW loyal fans who will be with their Jetta or Passat, and traded, a Touareg, with the promise of something more useful, a little more flexibility in a vehicle was happy, that was (surprisingly ) an inch shorter than the Passat.

They were often disappointed, sometimes angry to find that twice as much or more on fuel costs. You see, while the Touareg sold in this country against car-based crossover vehicles, it is a much heavier (5300 pounds in TDI trim is), heavy SUV capable of towing and off-road with the best of them .

Volkswagen has today unveiled a first look at the next generation of the Volkswagen Touareg in 2011, well ahead of its official Geneva Motor Show preview later this month, and one of the most important elements of the message is that law, the Volkswagen Touareg, a lot of weight lost and provides for interest earning power of the crossover back to the audience.

The new Touareg is 450 pounds lighter and 20 percent efficient. Volkswagen offers the new Touareg in a hybrid model, which move the car manufacturer as capable of purely electric mph with speeds up to 31st VW claims nearly 29 mpg (European combined) for the new Touareg Hybrid, while the Touareg TDI manages nearly 32 mpg. The CHP numbers generally correspond, roughly speaking, the EPA highway numbers. In comparison, given the current Touareg TDI 25 mpg on the highway, while the base Touareg V-6 is only 14 mpg city network, 20 highway.

, Helping to draw these figures fuel, together with the weight less and a new eight-speed automatic, which in 2011, VW Touareg line standard.

Even considering these improvements, the 2011 Touareg is no lightweight is on the route. It has better torsional rigidity than its predecessor and retains its off-road toughness. In the standard models of the Touareg robustness is weakened a bit of an efficient all-wheel-drive system has a Torsen limited-slip differential and off-road mode, the car electronics calibrated slip. Hill Descent Assist is also included. One area where technology package available, including center and rear locking diffs to bring the performance level of the outgoing Touareg, with a rotary switch, a low range or automatic control of the differential locks.

"How this can be equipped, the Touareg can conquer any terrain on Earth," VW said in its press release.

2011 Volkswagen Touareg

2011 Volkswagen Touareg
Enlarge image
Inside, Volkswagen introduces a new design of seats and more legroom front and rear view of the Bank is more than six inches front / rear travel, plus a power-folding system fitted to a completely flat load floor. The new Touareg is about the same size as the outgoing one, about an inch in wheelbase and length.

2010 The Touareg is also achieve an outgoing high performance in safety, with a straight five-star performance of the federal government and a very impressive list of features. VW promises to nine airbags on board the new Touareg, with options for a room with four cameras View Monitor, Lane Assist and Side Assist, adaptive cruise control and bi-xenon headlights with dynamic lighting Assist. There are also adaptive roll compensation, although we are not sure if it is the equivalent of being on a voluntary basis (the 2010 and earlier) with Continuous Damping Control suspension.

The basic sound system includes a 6.5-inch touch screen, while the other available features include a panoramic sunroof that one of the biggest SUV, a two-tone burgundy / black or beige / black interior in Nappa leather asserts is optional, just like real wood trim.

Look for the US-spec 2011 VW Touareg occur this fall.