Volkswagen Touran

Stylish Volkswagen Touran gets a spacious and flexible cabin with a well rounded and comfortable drive

Auto Express Car Reviews

Rating:
Latest deal price: from £15,849 to £23,333
For : Seven-seat option, strong engines, comfortable ride
Against : Tiny boot with seven seats in place, dull styling

The Volkswagen Touran is essentially a smaller seven-seat version of the Sharan. The two look similar, but the Touran's lighter weight and smaller proportions mean it has the edge on style and efficiency. Volkswagen even offer a 1.2 turbocharged engine in this MPV, but it never feels underpowered and offers almost 50mpg.

Our pick: Volkswagen Touran 1.6 TDI 140 SE

Video: watch CarBuyer's video review of the VW Touran

Styling

As with all Volkswagens, the Touran gets a three-bar chrome grille and angular headlights. Unlike the larger Sharan, which has sliding doors, the Touran has conventional hinged doors. Visually there's not much difference between basic models and top-spec Sport versions, but the latter get large alloys, chrome trim and tinted rear windows. The Touran has a high-quality interior characterised by a logically laid out dash and a high driving position. Wind, road and engine noise are all well contained, so long-distance driving is a relaxing experience. S trim models are equipped with all the basics, including air-con but SE models get a few fun extras.

Driving and Performance

Petrol engines consist of a 104bhp 1.2 TSI and a 138bhp 1.4 TSI. The latter is arguably the best option because of the extra grunt, but the 1.2 never feels underpowered. Diesels suit the Touran better and are available as a 1.6 TDI with 89bhp or 104bhp and a 2.0 TDI with 138bhp. We'd recommend you steer clear of the 89bhp unit, as it can feel slow. Handling is impressive, with body roll well controlled and light but responsive steering.

MPG and running costs

The 1.2 TSI, 1.6 TDI and 2.0 TDI are all available with BlueMotion Technology tweaks to cut fuel economy. By using start-stop and brake energy recovery, these engines achieve 47.9mpg, 61.4mpg and 58.9mpg respectively. The 1.6 TDI is cleanest, emitting 121g/km making it free from road tax for the first year. As well as a three-year/60,000 mile warranty, Volkswagen offers a three-year/30,000 mile fixed price service plan.

Practicality

You can either order the Touran as a five or seven-seat model. Boot space in the latter becomes quite limited with all of the seats in use, with just 121 litres on offer. Fold the rearmost two seats down and this increases to almost 700 litres. With all seats down there's a vast 1,913 litres of space. The flexible seating arrangement means the rear bench can be transformed into two outer seats and a table in the middle.

Safety and reliability

The old Touran has already achieved a five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating, so this new model is expected to achieve the same. It's got a host of airbags as standard, including curtain and side airbags along with electronic safety systems like ESP and ABS. Any problems affecting the previous generation Touran were relatively minor and this new model should be no different.

For an alternative review of the latest Volkswagen Touran visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

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4 Comments

Crazy!

I drove this vehicle yesterday, back to back with a Grand C-Max and the Peugeot 3008.

It was by far the LEAST comfortable and blandest looking out of the three. Build quality and squeeks and rattles were, in all fairness, on par with the C-Max with the Peugeot lacking a little.

As for drive the C-Max and Peugeot were far better in corners and straight line acceleration from similarly powered engines.

Regarding the external looks, both C-Max and 3008 were quite good looking cars, made even more so when compared with the Touran.

I was truly disappointed with this vehicle as I had read all of the hype but will now be focussing on the Grand C-Max, purely on the basis that the quality and styling of the interior was slightly better than the 3008 and nearly everything about it was better than the Touran.

By Varro on 19 July, 2011, 11:49am

Question for Varro

Hi Varro, it's interesting to read your comment.
I thought the Touran, compared to the grand C-Max, would have more space in the width in 2nd row (for seating three abreast, especially with child seats) as well as a bigger boot with five seats in place, despite being shorter overall. At least that's what the official figures (and the measurements of the trade press) say. If that weren't the case, the much cheaper price and the sliding doors would make me choose the grand C-Max. Did you compare interior measurements? I need a car that can carry 5+luggage on a regular basis or 5+2 on occasions, and can squeeze into tight parking spaces; I am less concerned about looks and dynamics. Thanks

By giulivo on 27 July, 2011, 1:09pm

BJ

Excellent car, bought the 2 litre tdi SE DSG as I didnt want it with sport seats or large wheels. Easy, economical and a quiet drive and its extremely comfortable and the versatility is amazing! So far, no issues at all since delivery in June '11. Regularly returns 53mpg overall...

By initref on 20 September, 2011, 11:16pm

DEAR VARRO

Either you do not have the knowledge to drive or you are completely nuts. i have owned the vw touran for 6 months during that time i have taken on the motorway 20 times therefore i know what i am talking about. the vw touran is an amazing vehicle even though it may be a bit boring to look at it makes up on driving.

By CARSARETHEBEST on 29 December, 2011, 2:01pm

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Volkswagen Touran