Touareg: Return of a Volks legend
Singapore
VOLKSWAGEN Group Singapore's managing director Ricky Tay has a new company car, and it's a big one.
The Volkswagen Touareg made a return to the Singapore market this week, following a half-year absence due to "supply issues", as company insiders describe it.
VW has yet to facelift the burly 5-seat sport utility vehicle, but the Touareg does have new features for our market, many of them to help drivers manage its size.
It now comes with an above-view parking camera as well as Park Assist Plus, a system that lets the car slot itself into a parking spot without driver input on the steering wheel or pedals.
It also has a radar setup that keeps an eye out for pedestrians and obstacles, peering so far ahead that it works at up to 250 km/h, and automatically brakes the car to a dead stop if needed. Also new are systems that help the Touareg keep within lane markings.
As before, a 340 horsepower, 3 litre engine gives it the power to reach 100 km/h in a swift 5.9 seconds.
That makes the sporty styling elements that come with the optional R-Line pack seem apt.
It costs S$33,000 more than the standard Tourag Elegance (which costs S$366,900 with certificate of entitlement), but the R-Line also comes with 4 wheel steering that makes it nearly a manoeuvrable as VW's smaller Golf, air suspension and such niceties as ventilated massage chairs for front passengers.
Rivals such as the Porsche Cayenne (the Touareg's mechanical twin) offer more prestige but come at a premium, and VW is hoping the long equipment list will help the Touareg stand out in a crowded field of large SUVs, many of which have 7 seats.
With supply issues sorted for the moment, Touareg sales are now a question of demand.
