2005 Volkswagen Touareg Preview

2005 Volkswagen Touareg V-8

You can drive it anywhere. But do you need a SUV that can cross the Sahara?

Should You Buy This Car?

Another vehicle that must be mentioned in light of the Touareg's sticker is Toyota's Lexus RX330. The RX is less sporty, and less off-road-worthy. But it's just as luxe, and it's both quicker feeling and more comfortable on a daily basis.

Maybe that's why the RX has outsold the Touareg more than 3 to 1 in 2004.

Or if you want to spend less, consider the five-passenger Nissan Murano, which sells for $30,750. It has a V-6 that's makes the Murano a tad slower than the V-8 Touareg but delivers far superior fuel economy (20 city, 24 highway). Maybe that's why the Murano is doubling current Touareg sales.

If you're getting the idea that the Touareg has a lot of competition, you're right.

Volkswagen, naturally, would prefer that you compare its Touareg with the likes of a Land Rover Discovery. That's fine, but VW might also note that Land Rover is hardly kicking such vehicles out of the showroom at a brisk pace (Discovery sales are roughly half that of Touareg sales). It seems that over-the-top off-road capability isn't necessary to sell SUVs anymore. It was way back in the 1990s, but we're nearly halfway through the next decade now. What family-car buyers want are somewhat tall station wagons that handle like sports sedans.

VW actually had just such a vehicle, disguised as a minivan, about three years ago when it showed off the next Microbus concept. Released then, such a car would've proved that minivans can be cool; it would've split the difference between minivans and SUVs (much like the Acura MDX), which is really what you're seeing from the likes of the Cadillac SRX and the forthcoming Vision Grand Sports Tourer Mercedes people mover.

Luckily, VW has at least a minor fix for improving the VW Touareg package, a V-10 diesel that'll raise torque to 479 foot-pounds, serious grunt that'll compete with the output of the exceptionally fast Infiniti FX45. And what of fuel economy? Try 24 mpg combined, which is fantastic compared with any current-selling, sports-luxe SUV.

All we hope is that, for a change, VW doesn't tarry yet again and let its competition beat it to the performance-diesel punch.