Five technologies for a smarter VW future

The brand new Volkswagen Touareg that we drove in Salzburg, Austria, last month is a technology-packed Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV). But, how will these technologies impact the brand's model lineup and development moving forward in the future? We pick out five technologies found in the new Touareg that highlight Volkswagen's technological development, as well as pointing the way forward for the brand as it pursues high-tech innovations and solutions.

The Innovision Cockpit is a sleek and customisable digital interface

1. Innovision Cockpit

The Innovision Cockpit consists of the 12.0-inch digital instrument cluster and the 15.0-inch infotainment system, merged into one seamless platform. This isn't a brand new technology, but it's all about the execution here. As cars become increasingly digital, you can expect such digital solutions to be prevalent in all of the brand's cars moving forward. After all, it's definitely the most driver-centric solution, offering high amounts of customisation and personalisation.

The system will point out the current status of frequently used routes, even if navigation is inactive

2. Smarter Navigation

The navigation system features Nav-Gen4-Routing and self-learning navigation. Nav-Gen4-Routing uses predictive models to consider route profiles, topography and recurring traffic situations to provide you with the best available routes, making your journey quicker and more stress-free. The self-learning navigation also learns frequently used routes and saves them for a long time to point out the current route status and alternative routes, even when the navigation is inactive.

Traffic Jam Assist is particularly useful when you are crawling in bumper to bumper traffic

3. Traffic Jam and Roadwork Lane Assist

Usually, many of the autonomous driving functions that you can find in new cars operate at highway speeds. In the Touareg, the Traffic Jam and Roadwork Lane Assist offers partly automated steering and lane departure warning at speeds of up to 60km/h, and also manages both acceleration and braking. This function will be particularly useful in Singapore considering the proliferation of roadworks and traffic jams on our tiny island.

The active anti-roll bars help resist body roll, offering a more stable and composed ride

4. Active roll compensation with electromechanical adjustable anti-roll bars

The Touareg features active anti-rolls bars that react accordingly to the driving situation and your driving style. You can't necessarily see this, but it definitely has important implications moving forward. As cars get bigger and heavier (especially SUVs), we do hope this technology finds its way into more models. It offers greater driving stability and composure, mitigating some inevitable problems of having heavier, bulkier cars.

Trailer Assist helps to reduce the hair-pulling frustration that trying to park a trailer can induce

5. Trailer Assist

The Trailer Assist function in the Touareg helps to semi-autonomously reverse the vehicle with a trailer attached. Doing that manually can be incredibly frustrating and counter-intuitive, with the trailer never going the direction you want it to. With Trailer Assist, the car seamlessly negotiates the complexities of knowing when to turn the steering wheel and when to straighten up, making the process much simpler and more convenient.

Of course, these innovative technologies will definitely come at a financial cost. That said, it still offers us a look at what is possible in the future for the VW brand. Here's hoping that these technologies will make their way into more cars in the brand's lineup in time to come.