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Volkswagen Touran Sport 1.4 TSI (A) Review
19 Feb 2010|33,135 views
And that's the problem with the Touran. The average guy next door might not know enough about the automobile, yet, he'd still want to splurge on a nice, big family mover with the cliché "value for money" phrase in mind.
So take it a step beyond cubes and tell said neighbour that it certainly has numbers worth screaming for - 170 bhp and 240 Nm to be exact.
Add to the fact that our previous, 6-speed DSG equipped Touran test car got to 100km/h from rest in 8.33 seconds. Obviously not R material, but quick when compared to smaller, lighter cars.
Generally flexible
The Touran has lots of hidden abilities. We say that because you'll probably find yourself looking at it and thinking that it looks like any other people-mover. You're right though, because that's where it starts off from.
Milk-chocolate coloured leather-coated seats greet the eye amongst other high-quality materials in the cabin which already make it more comfortable than your average C-class. Add gunmetal-coloured garnish-bits to make it more interesting, and throw in the new Volkswagen CD-radio console in ebony.
So take it a step beyond cubes and tell said neighbour that it certainly has numbers worth screaming for - 170 bhp and 240 Nm to be exact.
Add to the fact that our previous, 6-speed DSG equipped Touran test car got to 100km/h from rest in 8.33 seconds. Obviously not R material, but quick when compared to smaller, lighter cars.
Generally flexible
The Touran has lots of hidden abilities. We say that because you'll probably find yourself looking at it and thinking that it looks like any other people-mover. You're right though, because that's where it starts off from.
Milk-chocolate coloured leather-coated seats greet the eye amongst other high-quality materials in the cabin which already make it more comfortable than your average C-class. Add gunmetal-coloured garnish-bits to make it more interesting, and throw in the new Volkswagen CD-radio console in ebony.
 |
The bright projector headlamps are of course, driver-adjustable for beam angle, so be sure to set it at "3" and above if you're driving in Singapore, lest you want drivers in front of you to indulge in gestures galore.
Flexibility of the Touran beats many in its class - legroom was found to be spot-on even for dwellers of Fat Town USA. The front and middle row of seats were both horizontally and vertically (recline) adjustable, while third row seats were partially reclinable. They also fold down in order to accommodate more luggage.
The double-folding front passenger seat, along with the driver's chair, incorporates lunch trays big enough for a 15-inch screen Macbook Pro. And if all this isn't enough for you, release the levers to take care of those chairs which gladly, don't feel like they weigh as much as timbre furniture at home.
 |
A minor disappointment would probably be that those side storage compartments aren't as big as those found in the Mark 5 Volkswagen Golf. While they're able to hold a full 1.5-litre bottle of mineral water (see pictures), we feel that it could be bigger.
There are, according to the catalogue, 39 different storage areas found in and around the cabin, the most obvious being the roof-bins. There are also under-seat trays, three fold-down roof mounted cubbies and a rear under floor bin just to name the ones on the top of my head.
We even found a high-quality (see pictures) tyre pump that was able to fully deflate its rubbers in under a minute.
Talking about looks, the fog lamps and radiator grille are all fluid, but contrast with the now aging grille when put alongside the new Golf and Passat CC. But it still has that lowered look that gives away more if you want to be dynamic.
Driving Impressions
This year's Touran is of course, updated with Volkswagen's 7-speed DSG which Volkswagen claims, makes the car more efficient and maybe a little quicker. And like with the Scirocco, we ended up forgetting that the Touran isn't a Golf. It has thoroughly impressive handling abilities that blend magically with the turbo-supercharged 1.4 that it gets.
Blindfold someone and tackle the same series of bends in a both the Golf and Touran, and chances are he or she will probably lose track of which Vee-dub you were driving. The only hint to the driver would be a very slight amount of increased bodyroll. After all, you can't escape the laws of physics, but it has to be said that its centre of gravity felt very low indeed.
There are, according to the catalogue, 39 different storage areas found in and around the cabin, the most obvious being the roof-bins. There are also under-seat trays, three fold-down roof mounted cubbies and a rear under floor bin just to name the ones on the top of my head.
We even found a high-quality (see pictures) tyre pump that was able to fully deflate its rubbers in under a minute.
Talking about looks, the fog lamps and radiator grille are all fluid, but contrast with the now aging grille when put alongside the new Golf and Passat CC. But it still has that lowered look that gives away more if you want to be dynamic.
Driving Impressions
This year's Touran is of course, updated with Volkswagen's 7-speed DSG which Volkswagen claims, makes the car more efficient and maybe a little quicker. And like with the Scirocco, we ended up forgetting that the Touran isn't a Golf. It has thoroughly impressive handling abilities that blend magically with the turbo-supercharged 1.4 that it gets.
Blindfold someone and tackle the same series of bends in a both the Golf and Touran, and chances are he or she will probably lose track of which Vee-dub you were driving. The only hint to the driver would be a very slight amount of increased bodyroll. After all, you can't escape the laws of physics, but it has to be said that its centre of gravity felt very low indeed.
Second gear seems to be the key with the new Touran's transmission. A shorter ratio has enabled better in-gear acceleration, although you might need to shift to third in order to sprint to 100 km/h from rest.
We stopwatched it at 8.37 seconds - that's 0.04 seconds faster than our previous attempt at the 6-speed version, so suffice to say, it is the same. And with 240Nm starting from 1,750rpm onwards, it pulls almost as strongly as a 2-litre common rail diesel, and achieves a top speed of nearly 210km/h.
Acceleration does not fade till 180km/h, where the speedometer needle appears to be more laboured as it heads south-east.
But still, it's hard to imagine these abilities when you're not driving it, really - an MPV that pulls all the way to its 7000rpm rev limit, and one that accelerates hard from zero with that faint but distinctive whine of a supercharger in action. Keep being alert with your ears and you might be able to tell when Mr Blower gives way to Mrs Snail around 4000 rpm to 4500rpm. We say that because it's nearly imperceptible, really.
Is it better now?
Yes. The Touran is really, really smooth and refined at any rpm, and you sort of feel that the engine is caved in somewhere in the car and not right in front of you. They've worked hard at Volkswagen in order to tune those two forced induction systems so that their acoustic fingerprints aren't too obvious.
Add to the fact that the new 7-speeder also returned mileage figures of at least 7 litres per 100 km through city even when we weren't being careful with the throttle.
And it's faster than most MPVs out there. Seriously.
We stopwatched it at 8.37 seconds - that's 0.04 seconds faster than our previous attempt at the 6-speed version, so suffice to say, it is the same. And with 240Nm starting from 1,750rpm onwards, it pulls almost as strongly as a 2-litre common rail diesel, and achieves a top speed of nearly 210km/h.
Acceleration does not fade till 180km/h, where the speedometer needle appears to be more laboured as it heads south-east.
But still, it's hard to imagine these abilities when you're not driving it, really - an MPV that pulls all the way to its 7000rpm rev limit, and one that accelerates hard from zero with that faint but distinctive whine of a supercharger in action. Keep being alert with your ears and you might be able to tell when Mr Blower gives way to Mrs Snail around 4000 rpm to 4500rpm. We say that because it's nearly imperceptible, really.
Is it better now?
Yes. The Touran is really, really smooth and refined at any rpm, and you sort of feel that the engine is caved in somewhere in the car and not right in front of you. They've worked hard at Volkswagen in order to tune those two forced induction systems so that their acoustic fingerprints aren't too obvious.
Add to the fact that the new 7-speeder also returned mileage figures of at least 7 litres per 100 km through city even when we weren't being careful with the throttle.
And it's faster than most MPVs out there. Seriously.
And that's the problem with the Touran. The average guy next door might not know enough about the automobile, yet, he'd still want to splurge on a nice, big family mover with the cliché "value for money" phrase in mind.
So take it a step beyond cubes and tell said neighbour that it certainly has numbers worth screaming for - 170 bhp and 240 Nm to be exact.
Add to the fact that our previous, 6-speed DSG equipped Touran test car got to 100km/h from rest in 8.33 seconds. Obviously not R material, but quick when compared to smaller, lighter cars.
Generally flexible
The Touran has lots of hidden abilities. We say that because you'll probably find yourself looking at it and thinking that it looks like any other people-mover. You're right though, because that's where it starts off from.
Milk-chocolate coloured leather-coated seats greet the eye amongst other high-quality materials in the cabin which already make it more comfortable than your average C-class. Add gunmetal-coloured garnish-bits to make it more interesting, and throw in the new Volkswagen CD-radio console in ebony.
So take it a step beyond cubes and tell said neighbour that it certainly has numbers worth screaming for - 170 bhp and 240 Nm to be exact.
Add to the fact that our previous, 6-speed DSG equipped Touran test car got to 100km/h from rest in 8.33 seconds. Obviously not R material, but quick when compared to smaller, lighter cars.
Generally flexible
The Touran has lots of hidden abilities. We say that because you'll probably find yourself looking at it and thinking that it looks like any other people-mover. You're right though, because that's where it starts off from.
Milk-chocolate coloured leather-coated seats greet the eye amongst other high-quality materials in the cabin which already make it more comfortable than your average C-class. Add gunmetal-coloured garnish-bits to make it more interesting, and throw in the new Volkswagen CD-radio console in ebony.
|
The bright projector headlamps are of course, driver-adjustable for beam angle, so be sure to set it at "3" and above if you're driving in Singapore, lest you want drivers in front of you to indulge in gestures galore.
Flexibility of the Touran beats many in its class - legroom was found to be spot-on even for dwellers of Fat Town USA. The front and middle row of seats were both horizontally and vertically (recline) adjustable, while third row seats were partially reclinable. They also fold down in order to accommodate more luggage.
The double-folding front passenger seat, along with the driver's chair, incorporates lunch trays big enough for a 15-inch screen Macbook Pro. And if all this isn't enough for you, release the levers to take care of those chairs which gladly, don't feel like they weigh as much as timbre furniture at home.
|
A minor disappointment would probably be that those side storage compartments aren't as big as those found in the Mark 5 Volkswagen Golf. While they're able to hold a full 1.5-litre bottle of mineral water (see pictures), we feel that it could be bigger.
There are, according to the catalogue, 39 different storage areas found in and around the cabin, the most obvious being the roof-bins. There are also under-seat trays, three fold-down roof mounted cubbies and a rear under floor bin just to name the ones on the top of my head.
We even found a high-quality (see pictures) tyre pump that was able to fully deflate its rubbers in under a minute.
Talking about looks, the fog lamps and radiator grille are all fluid, but contrast with the now aging grille when put alongside the new Golf and Passat CC. But it still has that lowered look that gives away more if you want to be dynamic.
Driving Impressions
This year's Touran is of course, updated with Volkswagen's 7-speed DSG which Volkswagen claims, makes the car more efficient and maybe a little quicker. And like with the Scirocco, we ended up forgetting that the Touran isn't a Golf. It has thoroughly impressive handling abilities that blend magically with the turbo-supercharged 1.4 that it gets.
Blindfold someone and tackle the same series of bends in a both the Golf and Touran, and chances are he or she will probably lose track of which Vee-dub you were driving. The only hint to the driver would be a very slight amount of increased bodyroll. After all, you can't escape the laws of physics, but it has to be said that its centre of gravity felt very low indeed.
There are, according to the catalogue, 39 different storage areas found in and around the cabin, the most obvious being the roof-bins. There are also under-seat trays, three fold-down roof mounted cubbies and a rear under floor bin just to name the ones on the top of my head.
We even found a high-quality (see pictures) tyre pump that was able to fully deflate its rubbers in under a minute.
Talking about looks, the fog lamps and radiator grille are all fluid, but contrast with the now aging grille when put alongside the new Golf and Passat CC. But it still has that lowered look that gives away more if you want to be dynamic.
Driving Impressions
This year's Touran is of course, updated with Volkswagen's 7-speed DSG which Volkswagen claims, makes the car more efficient and maybe a little quicker. And like with the Scirocco, we ended up forgetting that the Touran isn't a Golf. It has thoroughly impressive handling abilities that blend magically with the turbo-supercharged 1.4 that it gets.
Blindfold someone and tackle the same series of bends in a both the Golf and Touran, and chances are he or she will probably lose track of which Vee-dub you were driving. The only hint to the driver would be a very slight amount of increased bodyroll. After all, you can't escape the laws of physics, but it has to be said that its centre of gravity felt very low indeed.
Second gear seems to be the key with the new Touran's transmission. A shorter ratio has enabled better in-gear acceleration, although you might need to shift to third in order to sprint to 100 km/h from rest.
We stopwatched it at 8.37 seconds - that's 0.04 seconds faster than our previous attempt at the 6-speed version, so suffice to say, it is the same. And with 240Nm starting from 1,750rpm onwards, it pulls almost as strongly as a 2-litre common rail diesel, and achieves a top speed of nearly 210km/h.
Acceleration does not fade till 180km/h, where the speedometer needle appears to be more laboured as it heads south-east.
But still, it's hard to imagine these abilities when you're not driving it, really - an MPV that pulls all the way to its 7000rpm rev limit, and one that accelerates hard from zero with that faint but distinctive whine of a supercharger in action. Keep being alert with your ears and you might be able to tell when Mr Blower gives way to Mrs Snail around 4000 rpm to 4500rpm. We say that because it's nearly imperceptible, really.
Is it better now?
Yes. The Touran is really, really smooth and refined at any rpm, and you sort of feel that the engine is caved in somewhere in the car and not right in front of you. They've worked hard at Volkswagen in order to tune those two forced induction systems so that their acoustic fingerprints aren't too obvious.
Add to the fact that the new 7-speeder also returned mileage figures of at least 7 litres per 100 km through city even when we weren't being careful with the throttle.
And it's faster than most MPVs out there. Seriously.
We stopwatched it at 8.37 seconds - that's 0.04 seconds faster than our previous attempt at the 6-speed version, so suffice to say, it is the same. And with 240Nm starting from 1,750rpm onwards, it pulls almost as strongly as a 2-litre common rail diesel, and achieves a top speed of nearly 210km/h.
Acceleration does not fade till 180km/h, where the speedometer needle appears to be more laboured as it heads south-east.
But still, it's hard to imagine these abilities when you're not driving it, really - an MPV that pulls all the way to its 7000rpm rev limit, and one that accelerates hard from zero with that faint but distinctive whine of a supercharger in action. Keep being alert with your ears and you might be able to tell when Mr Blower gives way to Mrs Snail around 4000 rpm to 4500rpm. We say that because it's nearly imperceptible, really.
Is it better now?
Yes. The Touran is really, really smooth and refined at any rpm, and you sort of feel that the engine is caved in somewhere in the car and not right in front of you. They've worked hard at Volkswagen in order to tune those two forced induction systems so that their acoustic fingerprints aren't too obvious.
Add to the fact that the new 7-speeder also returned mileage figures of at least 7 litres per 100 km through city even when we weren't being careful with the throttle.
And it's faster than most MPVs out there. Seriously.
Car Information
Volkswagen Touran Sport 1.4 TSI DSG (A)
CAT A|Petrol|13.1km/L
Horsepower
127kW (170 bhp)
Torque
240 Nm
Acceleration
8.5sec (0-100km /hr)
This model is no longer being sold by local distributor
All Used Volkswagen Touran Sport
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