Volkswagen’s bland looking yet capable Touareg SUV has been under the surgeon’s knife for a mid-life facelift that will make its debut at the Beijing Auto Show scheduled to commence on 20th April. While the current generation model was launched in 2010, the car’s boring looks never really portrayed the true capabilities of the SUV. The facelift however, promises to change that apart from offering a complete set of updates and changes to the cabin. To begin with, the design changes on the 2015 Touareg is rather evolutionary than revolutionary.
The plain looks have been replaced with a little more drama in the form of sharper lines and enhanced chrome garnish added to the front fascia of the SUV. Retaining the familiar Volkswagen grille in front, the four bar (instead of 2) grille gets wider and more prominent; while the revised headlight design now incorporates bi-xenon lamps across the range. The bumper has also been redesigned and now features wider air intakes.
The rear has been tastefully reshaped including the tail lights on the 2015 Touareg. Apart from the styling changes, Volkswagen also offers two new alloy wheel designs along with the choice of five new body colours. As of now, there are twelve shades on the colour palette that customers can choose from. The cabin design is the same as the current model, but there are a whole new range of leather options, wooden trims, new buttons and white back-lighting inside the cabin. The quality of materials and plastics inside the cabin has also significantly improved.
The tried and tested V6 diesel engine will continue to be offered on the 2015 Touareg, but will now be a EU-6 compliant unit. The engine comes in two power output options namely 202 HP and 255 HP. There is also the flagship V8 TDI engine on offer. For the petrol counter parts, Volkswagen has announced the V6 and V8 TSI models along with a hybrid version featuring a V6 unit producing 377 HP of power. All the variants get the 4Motion all-wheel drive, while the 8-speed automatic transmission with a new coasting function is also standard across the range.
Volkswagen has also added new fuel saving technologies which include SCR-DPF catalytic converter module that uses AdBlue, along with low rolling resistance tyres, idle-stop and a battery regeneration system. The 2015 Touareg is also more aerodynamic courtesy of the air inlet openings in front, modified door mirror caps and new wheel spoiler and returns a claimed fuel efficiency figure of 14 km/l on the V6 diesel variant.
Standard technologies include an automatic post-collision braking system, and updated (optional) radar-based automatic distance control system and an optimized start-stop system are also on offer. The Touareg will hit the European market starting in the third quarter this year. While market specific timelines are not available as yet, the Indian launch can be expected best by next year itself.
