Volkswagen’s facelifted Touran has barely been out a year, but CAR has already spied the replacement car testing in Germany. The new car is being rushed in because the current Touran – and the Mk5 Golf on which it’s based – is expensive for VW to build. The Mk6 Golf and Mk2 Touran will solve that issue, with fewer variants and a design optimised to make production quicker and cheaper.
The Mk 6 Golf we spied last year bore a striking resemblance to the current Mk5, and judging by these pictures the Touran is following in the same vein. Both the new Golf and Touran are thought to be based on the current platform. While they’ll each be updated for the new cars, the silhouettes will remain much the same.
The front of the new Touran should be more shapely though, with sharper Eos-style lights. We also expect the Touran to have a few hints of the Up concept in it, as a company official confirmed to CAR that the little family of concepts preview VW’s future design language. The Up has also enjoyed the best reception of any VW concept car in recent years, so they’d be daft to ignore such a response.
So far, so VW. So what about under the bonnet?
We’d love to say the quad-turbo W16 from the Veyron had found its way into the back of the Touran, but we can only dream. Expect the current range of engines to continue unchanged, though the Touran will get the newly announced seven-speed DSG. Volkswagen claim the extra ratio not only means an increase in acceleration, but helps to cut fuel consumption and C02 emisssions by over five percent compared to the six-speed manual.
Petrols
1.4 TSI 138bhp/162lb ft
1.6 100bhp/109lb ft
Diesels
1.9 TDI 88bhp/155lb ft
1.9 TDI 104bhp/185lb ft
2.0 TDI 138bhp/236lb ft
2.0 TDI 168bhp/258lb ft
What else is on offer?
Expect the new model to be more gizmo-packed. The current Touran was one of the first models to pioneer ‘park assist’ – you control the pedals while the car does the wheel-twirling for you. Expect the Touran to offer an updated Park Assist, as well as some of the new technology shown on the Passat CC. Touch-screen sat-nav, lane assist, and ‘mobility tyres’ that enclose sharp objects while keeping the tyre sealed should although appear, though perhaps not all will be available in th UK.
With the Golf set to be seen this year, expect an official unveiling of the Touran in 2009 at Geneva or Frankfurt. Prices should start at under £15,000.