Volkswagen has given the Touran MPV a mid-life makeover, but is it enough to make the functional car interesting?
Plain and simple best describes the original Touran. Its one-box exterior made even the utilitarian VW Transporter van look positively dynamic, and speaking of vans, VW is celebrating 60 years of van making in Wolfsburg this year, so Happy Birthday.
Touran is still boxy but the front end now has a softer, more sophisticated look that Volkswagen first debuted with the EOS convertible. The headlights are curvy and overall the front end is far more appealing.
Inside, Touran features the usual VW switches and quality materials, but the driving position remains very van-like. There is a high and commanding driving position much loved by owners but the thick 'A' pillars restrict visibility somewhat.
My test car is the 1.4 litre TSi Highline with DSG gearbox (automated manual transmission).
I love this gearbox as it makes for effortless driving. You have a Go and a Stop pedal and a gearbox that can accelerate the car quicker than you could manually. It is more economical too.
Sadly I'm not a fan of the manual Touran as you're forced to raise your feet quite high off the floor to use the three pedals.
DSG is terrific as it lets you drive the car like an automatic or if you wish you can shift the gears yourself with a simple push of the gear lever.
The seating features three independent seats in the middle row and comfortable chairs up front. Like many mid sized MPVs the boot space is super when used as a five-seater (695 litres) but very poor when used as a seven-seater (just 121 litres).
On the open road Touran offers up some surprises thanks to the new and very nippy 140bhp 1.4 TSi. TSi delivers so much power for its small size by using a mechanically driven supercharger (or blower) and an exhaust driven turbocharger to force feed the engine more fuel/air mix into the engine.
And because superchargers work well low down the rev range and turbos, VW says there is no turbo lag, in theory.
The engine does remind me of turbo of old, as it is far from subtle when provoked to deliver maximum power. So far from feeling short-changed in my 1.4 seven-seater I am able to cut quite a dash on the open road and still get 38 to the gallon!
Volkswagen is doing a lot of top-secret development work on newer engines that are greener and more efficient. Expect to see new variations of TSi engines plus CCS engines (Combined Combustion System) that can not only run on diesel but the new generation of biofuels.
VW is also pioneering GCI (Gasoline Compression Injection) engines that like diesels don’t use spark plugs.
Touran is a solid effort that even with a facelift lacks flare when compared to the Citroen C4 Picasso or Ford S-Max.
Michael Sheridan
