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Volkswagen's new base model Touran has been a roaring success on the sales charts. We find out why.

Growing up

There will be a time in life for most of us when we finally have to ditch our hot hatches for something more sensible. You grow older, get married, have a kid, then have a second kid. But the need to sit just four occupants doesn't sound like there's a need to give up that Golf GTI. And then you remember that there's the maid and the occasional outings with the grandparents and the reality will finally sink in - you do have to give up that GTI for a boring seven-seater MPV!

And then you say, "Heck, I still want to drive something that at least offer warm hatch levels of performance but affordable!" Hmm, there is actually a seven-seater MPV out there that seems to fit this description and it's the Volkswagen Touran.

With a boxy profile and right angles all over, the Touran looks somewhat unimaginative. Blame it on the German obsession of maximizing the use of interior space in this compact MPV - square exterior equates to more cabin room after all. The latest update has improved the Touran's looks just a wee bit though - the nose features Volkswagen's latest corporate face which means it has slimmer headlamps and radiator grille for a more streamlined look while the rear features Touareg-style tail lamps that now extend onto the tailgate and have distinctive light patterns when lit, as well as a larger rear window. From the sides, the new model is most distinguishable from the old at the D-pillar area - there's now a more prominent upward kink at the rear side windows.

It's not all about aesthetics though as the new front end also equates to a more aerodynamic vehicle overall - drag coefficient has fallen from 0.32 to 0.29. The latest Touran might not be all new and radical looking on the outside but the tweaks have certainly improved its overall stance and visual appeal a tad.

Eager and willing

It might displace only a puny 1390cc but thanks to parallel super- and turbocharging, the Touran Sport's four-pot makes an unsurpassed 170bhp for an engine its size. The base Touran uses the same twincharged unit as the Sport's but with its power tuned down to 140bhp, which is still plenty for a MPV.

From just above idling speed, the Touran's motor will pull strongly towards the upper rev range thanks to 220Nm that is available from 1250rpm, which is 20Nm less than the Sport's 170bhp motor can muster. At low to mid revs, one can hardly notice that this is the lower output motor. Only at high revs will one notice that this is the 140bhp motor as it will feel short of breath and poke compared to the higher output unit.

The engine's power delivery is linear and it's still a relatively quick MPV - 0-100km/h in 9.5 seconds is nothing to be ashamed about even though this is a full second slower than the Touran Sport. It's not the smoothest and the sweetest revver of VW engines though - go past 4000rpm and it starts to sound a bit unrefined and starts to puff.

It was only about half a year back that the Touran Sport was updated with Volkswagen's dry clutch 7-speed DSG gearbox. The base Touran uses the same gearbox and it isn't as smooth as the GTI's 6-speed wet clutch box at low speeds. Things improve once the Touran gets up to speed as the box executes its smooth, lightning fast, well-timed shifts. Unfortunately, the base model misses out on the Sport's steering mounted shift paddles but you still can select gears manually by flicking the gear lever to the left. The Touran's dynamic performance is matched by its handling capabilities - it corners almost as well as a Golf despite its height and the steering inspires confidence. Surprisingly, the relatively taut handling doesn't come at the expense of ride comfort; it is as comfortable and pliant as a Golf.

Room to grow

The Touran's interior is all Germanic efficiency and no nonsense functionality. The driving environment is very VW. The ambience is very drab and sombre, thanks to the use of dark coloured materials even though the seats feature brown coloured inserts. The Touran's catalogue of storage spaces extends to the roof headlining - there are various small compartments above to store odds and ends.

New to the updated model here are the switches for the climate control and a revised instrument panel with the dials backlit in white instead of blue in the old car. In addition, there's a new three-spoke steering wheel from the Golf as well as a redesigned DSG gear lever that first seen in the Tiguan.

Passengers will enjoy generous amounts of room in the middle row. The seats slide fore or aft to adjust for more legroom for the rearmost row. The Touran might not offer as much space as larger MPVs but smaller adults or children can at least feel comfortable on short to medium journeys.

The rear seats can be folded away modularly to convert it into a load carrier. With all the rear seats up though, cargo space can be limited even though there is an additional underfloor storage compartment, where you can store the third row seats' head rests when they are folded down.

As expected, the base Touran here is not as well-equipped as the Touran Sport model. It lacks the latter's RNS 510 radio navigation system, the foldaway tables behind the front seats, paddle shifters, front fog lamps, cruise control and so on. But the Touran is still better equipped than most of its Japanese rivals thanks to standard rain and light sensors, factory fitted stereo, and trip computer.

The Touran's entry-level price tag means it is priced pretty close to the usual suspects Japanese mid-sized MPVs which makes it a very good buy indeed considering that it will be cheaper to tax and fuel, is quite possibly a better drive and better equipped. If you've just started a family and need something that has the capacity to seat seven while being relatively affordable and offers strong performance then the Touran might just be it.

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