Volkswagen Touran

Radio-controlled cars may be only a fraction of the size of the real thing, but when you have to transport 20 of them (for our forthcoming Christmas test), you need serious space. And our Touran has it. We simply couldn't have got all the delivery boxes, fuel and radio gear into a conventional boot - but in the VW MPV we barely had to trouble the well thought-out rear seating. Stow the back chairs, flip the middle row forward and I was ready to have some remote-controlled fun.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Kim Adams

November 2004

Radio-controlled cars may be only a fraction of the size of the real thing, but when you have to transport 20 of them (for our forthcoming Christmas test), you need serious space. And our Touran has it. We simply couldn't have got all the delivery boxes, fuel and radio gear into a conventional boot - but in the VW MPV we barely had to trouble the well thought-out rear seating. Stow the back chairs, flip the middle row forward and I was ready to have some remote-controlled fun.
Of course, running a car such as the Touran also means you're popular with anyone wanting to move anything bigger than the weekly supermarket shop. Production editor Gary Lord found the versatile VW ideal for shifting a washing machine - it could even be transported upright, reducing the risk of messy leaks. But the Auto Express DIY enthusiasts will soon have to look elsewhere, as VW's smallest MPV is departing our long-term fleet after eight months and 15,000 miles.
I will certainly miss it, because it did everything I asked of it. Whether hauling products for my job as consumer editor, towing a trailer or tackling a 50-mile commute, the Touran was never troubled. Star of the show is the 2.0-litre Pumpe Düse diesel engine - it's refined, swift when needed and flexible enough to keep gearchanges to a minimum. And all this while returning 40mpg-plus. Superb!
The clever cabin also impresses. It's packed with handy cubbies and storage bins, which are just the right size for a drinks bottle or tissues box. In the rear there's more good news, with most seat variations achieved with an easy pull of a fabric loop. We also liked the props to stop the middle row falling back when tipped forward.
Less pleasing, though, are the plastics used. Even though we've taken great care of the car, they seem to sport another mark after every trip to the DIY store or council dump. For a model which will regularly carry pushchairs and the like in the back, the materials are simply not tough enough.
Despite having done 14,895 miles, OY04 FJJ isn't due a service, so the glitches mentioned in our previous report (issue 823) have yet to be tackled. While the problem with foglight condensation seems to have resolved itself, we hope the dealer will sort the central locking - the front passenger door still stays locked. Reader Giles England from Blackpool, Lancs, has the same fault, and says there's now a VW recall to fix it. Our only worry is that one of the parts which may be required is on back order.
And talking of spares problems, we have been unable to replace the switch blank we used for our Smartnav sat-nav system, as it has to be ordered from Germany, and the Touran will go back to VW before it arrives. Sourcing new front tyres was less of an issue, although Dunlop does not make matters easy by calling the non-asymmetric version of its Sport 01 on the Touran the 01A! This meant one wasted trip to the tyre fitter where the wrong rubber awaited us. VW's baby MPV may not look exciting, but for me it's everyday performance that counts - and there the Touran shines. It's a thoroughly good car to own and drive, and its last day on our fleet will be a sad one for me...