4x4 review: VW Touareg awakens the nomadic spirit

Proof that 4x4s can tackle epic adventures and elite society functions in equal measure arrives in the form of the Volkswagen Touareg.

This luxury SUV has the clout to cross mountains, yet is blessed with enough class and comfort to spare you the ignominy of looking like a flustered yokel at journey’s end.

Got a dinner date in Monte Carlo? Put on your best togs and take the Touareg. It will stride across France, Alps and all, in an afternoon. Need to rescue a sheep from a snowdrift? The Touareg will take you there, although you might balk at the thought of flinging Flossie in the boot of a £41,000 motor.

The Touareg is now in its second incarnation and although the newest model is marginally longer and wider than its predecessor, it boasts better fuel economy and emissions, chiefly because an aluminium-rich weight-loss programme has seen the big veedub shed 200kg.

With permanent four-wheel drive, an eight-speed automatic gearbox and a 238bhp V6 diesel providing power, the lighter, lither Touareg leaps out of the blocks. Air suspension and a chassis shared with the dearer and less handsome Porsche Cayenne make sure you won’t sprint straight off the road at the first corner. The ride, on-road at least, is supremely comfortable.

Being a VW, it goes about its business with no airs and graces, something that can’t be said of rival machines, such as Cayennes and BMW X5s. If travelling incognito is your thing, you’ll warm to the Touareg.

Volkswagen has sent us an SE model to test, enhanced with a few upgrades, and it’s lovely, in a sort of “boutique hotel bedroom on wheels” sort of way.

An eight-inch colour screen for the stereo and easy-to-read satnav dominates the dash. The front seats, swathed in black alcantara and Nappa leather, adjust every which way you can think of, and the optional 20-inch alloys add a touch of bling. Just mind how you don’t scuff them on that rock-strewn riverbed on the way home from the office.

Actually, if it’s the full off-road experience you’re after, spend your money on the “Escape”-spec Touareg, which features low-ratio gears, smaller wheels with higher-profile tyres, even greater ground clearance and a larger fuel tank.

Oddly, for a car that Volkswagen hopes will pinch sales from the seven-seat Land Rover Discovery, the Touareg still doesn’t accommodate more than five passengers. Maybe the boffins at VW HQ know something we don’t, but we can’t help feeling that it’s an opportunity missed. That apart, we can’t fault the Touareg.