Test Drive: 2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI

By Kevin Harrison

My nephew has just marked his sixth month on this earth and he has got to be one of the most entertaining babies around. A mere tap on the glass of the window will have him laughing in stitches. He seems to have an extreme fascination with place mats and whenever you present him with his favourite glow-worm, he becomes more hypnotized than a young girl at a Justin Bieber concert.

Trying to feed him, however, can be a bit of a challenge. It’s quite clear that the little guy just does not like his apple puree. And trying to trick him to open his mouth by making him laugh with some window tapping doesn’t work either because he then proceeds to just laugh with his mouth closed. Smart kid.

There can be quite frustrating challenges in the automotive industry as well. For instance making an efficient SUV is just as difficult as feeding apples to my nephew. You’ve got a vehicle that’s inherently heavy shaped like a drag producing box with a need for a powerful engine. Not the best recipe for efficiency indeed.

But that doesn’t stop automakers from trying. Volkswagen introduced their first ever SUV in 2005 and it took them until them three years to figure out how to make the Touareg more efficient. The TDI was then born, back in a time when diesel engine technology, for some reason, still left a sour taste in peoples mouths despite the advances in technology to make them cleaner, quieter and more efficient.

The Touareg TDI is back again for this second generation, but it actually faces some stiff competition, from its German peers, of which I thought bested the previous generation iteration of the Touareg TDI.

Is this version a more credible contender?

Firstly, the Touareg is much improved in terms of the interior over the 2010 Touareg TDI. While the previous generation was quite comfortable with high quality materials, this new interior is much cleaner, refined and logical. There’s no mistaking the 2011 Touareg TDI for anything but a premium vehicle once you step inside. The rear seats offer plenty of legroom and will fit three full-sized adults quite comfortably thanks in part to the reclining bench back there. The cabin is opened up nicely by a panorama sunroof. The rear seats don’t quite fold flat, but it still offers plenty of cargo room to swallow up mostly anything you challenge it to. The 12-speaker system is spot-on and as is the navigation.

Outside, the Touareg’s look has been softened in my opinion, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The large twin-spoked 20 inch wheels along with a sleek profile and horseshoe shaped LED daytime running helps definitely help the Touareg to stand out in a good way. It’s a classy look typical of most German designs which captures attention in a graceful, elegant way. Many American and Japanese designers could learn from this simplistic design language.

Power is generated by a 3.0 litre V6 turbo-diesel and makes 225 horsepower and a whopping 406 pound feet of torque. The torque is really the part of the recipe that gets this 5100 pound mid-size SUV off the line in an impressive 6.8 seconds. Torque thankfully chimes in at around 2,000 RPM and boy is it ever a head-snapper. When putting your foot to the floor, there’s no question that the Touareg TDI feels fast. But perhaps the more impressive thing about this engine is what it does when you are waiting at a red light. The engine is dead quiet. No diesel clatter, not ear bleeding loudness. Nothing. When the light turns green, it feels and sounds as if you’re driving a regular gas engine V6. Even when you try to test that 6.8 second run to 100, there’s still no audible indication that you’re driving a diesel, in fact, there were more than a few occasions when I just plain forgot about it. From inside the cabin there’s no noise intrusion, it’s not until you roll down the window and push the Touareg TDI a little harder that the diesel noise becomes prevalent, and even then it’s not that bad.

The Touareg TDI is rated at 11.1 L/100 kms city and 7.0 L/100 kms highway. I got a combined rating of around 9.7 L/100 kms. Not bad at all considering you can get similar levels of efficiency from a Honda Accord which isn’t nearly as versatile.

Handling is good, but that’s relative. It’s good considering how high off the ground it is and how heavy it is, but don’t expect to set any records in the Nurburgring. The 4motion all-wheel drive system does a good job of keeping the Tourareg TDI planted. The large wheels and low-profile tires likely play a role here as well. The heavy diesel engine produces a bit of understand and can be nose heavy under heavy braking, but overall it feels composed. I never had the chance to try out the Touareg’s handling abilities, but making the Touareg off-road ready is as simple as switching a dial on the console from on-road to off-road.

One feature I really liked was the ‘auto-hold’ feature which does as the name suggests. Whenever I came to a stop on going up a hill, this feature did a great job of preventing the Touareg from slipping backwards when taking your foot off the brake. In fact, I used it in regular traffic as well. In a manual transmission car you can take your foot off the brake without rolling forward, but in an automatic, you can’t. This feature allows your right foot a bit of a brake in between stops. There were a few instances when it seemed as though the auto-hold was hesitant to release the Touareg once you stepped on the gas, however.

Faults? Well, sometimes the touch screen doesn’t respond to commands. And I still find the dial typical of all VW’s difficult to get the sunroof to get what you want it to do. And I prefer a bit heavier steering. And I’m not a fan of rear turn signals that don’t flash amber. As you can plainly see, I’m reaching to find a whole lot wrong with the Touareg TDI.

And here’s the thing. The biggest advantage of the TDI is obviously fuel efficiency, but its inherent torque-y-ness makes combined with good handling makes it quite an entertaining drive as well. It seems as though Volkswagen has been able to achieve the impossible task. I should hire them to feed my nephew.

It terms of its competition, I can now confidently say it’s up there. While the BMW X5 diesel may have an edge in styling and handling, the Touareg TDI is a no brainer against its porkier and more expensive Audi Q7 diesel as well as the much forgotten Mercedes-Benz ML diesel. The Porsche Cayenne on which it is based also has a diesel version, but its safe to assume the Touareg isn’t even close to being in the same league. All in all, however, the Touareg TDI is definitely worth a spot on you car shopping list.