Test drive Volkswagen Touareg 2002 - 2007 SUV

VW Touareg R5: Waiting for a miracle

The first pancake, if high -class experts work on its baking, does not always come out lumpy, and some new products from the world of cars are a vivid example of the irrelevant saying. For example, the first serial SUV from Volkswagen is a five -door Touareg. And barely appearing on the market last year, he immediately redrawn it taking into account his interests ...
 
A year ago, at about the same time, we tested the first instance of Tuareg officially imported in the Republic of Belarus-with a 3.2-liter 220-horsepower VR6 gasoline engine. They were gloriously rolled: in his career, the Lenin Debutant of the Belarusian SUV market demonstrated all his talents, not forgetting to show in the case a magnificent all -wheel drive transmission with electronic management. No matter how we tried, it was not possible to bury Touareg in the mud - the car stubbornly left the most seemingly dead places. And it was impossible to stop it even with the help of diagonal hanging, from which VW left simply playfully.
 
Today we are again in Leninsky, and again on our VW Touareg test. But another: the last time we went to versions with a regular, spring suspension, and now for the test a modification with options pneumatic suspension was provided, which allows you to change the road clearance. By the way, our second Touareg differs from the previous car as the engine-for the test we took a version with a base 2.5-liter 174-horsepower R5 turbodiesel. True, the basic tuareg is supplied with a 6 -speed manual gearbox, and ours was equipped with automatic - also six -speed, by the way ...
 
For the year that we did not see each other, much has changed in the fate of Tuareg: he stopped being a novelty, gradually moving into the category of successful market products. SUVs with the Palksvagen emblem were increasingly meeting on Belarusian roads (and outside the roads, of course), some even with tuning. They say that this model was even formed - after comparison with competing models, buyers made their choice. However, it is too early to rest Volkswagen on his laurels: competitors who appreciated Tuareg hastily presented upgraded versions of their models.
 
But Tuareg is still one of the best in its class. More precisely, he, in fact, does not have direct classmates, because the market is still few full -size parquet SUVs with such gyper potential. Some competitors can overtake the Tuareg on the asphalt, others can go around it on a serious off -road, but a model that could go on equal terms with the entire distance both along the asphalt and mud, it is difficult to imagine. Is that a related Porsche Cayenne ...
 
But even the first -market success of the first -born does not allow the Volkswagen concern to relax: judging by the changes that we noticed during the second meeting with the Tuareg, the Germans are constantly improving the model. For example, even the only drawback that we managed to detect during last year’s dough has been eliminated today. Then we drew attention to a small information board located on the instrument panel, directly between the speedometer and the tachometer. It was highlighted in red, and small numbers and letters denoting the automatic transmission mode were practically not read, especially on the go. Now another display is installed on the tidy - with normal backlight, with larger numbers. And even with a screen-sister! When the ignition is turned off, a color picture appears on the display - a fragment of a sandy beach ...
 
However, we did not take the car in order to admire the pictures on the panel, first of all, we were interested in the characteristics of the basic turbodiesel. Indeed, with the cost of about thirty thousand euros, the base version, and even with an economical and traction turbodiesel, is simply doomed to success - the volume of its implementation, judging by the experience of sales of other models, will probably be several times more than other versions.
 
So, under the hood of Tuareg, a five -cylinder in a row engine with a 2.5 -liter working volume, developing a power of 174 hp. A good, by the way, is an indicator at the level of modern Kommon-Raleovsky engines, although the VW engine has a fuel injection with a pump-record. But the torque indicator is even more impressive: at 2000 rpm, this engine gives as much as 400 nm! True, given that this indicator is divided by 2200 kilograms of the equipped mass of the SUV, it turns out not so impressive.
 
Nevertheless, Tuareg even with a turbodiesel and automatic transmission remains a dynamic car. Not explosive, as a previously tested 3.2 -liter gasoline version, namely dynamic - that is, well and quickly gaining speed. The start is especially impressive from the place: thanks to an excess of torque on the bottom, from the intersection, the Tuareg leaves first. In the first gear, acceleration is impressive - even in the seat presses! But at the same time as switching to the second gear, the wave subsides, and then the car simply accelerates. Quick enough and without visible tension.
 
The sports and manual modes of a 6 -speed machine do not have a special influence on the dynamics of acceleration - still you will not accelerate faster than 12.9 seconds to a hundred seconds. And you won’t jump over the maximum speed in 197 km/h. But in sports mode, Tuareg is more willing to respond to the movement of the gas pedal and holds longer for the transmission of acceleration - for the urban rhythm this is more convenient. In the manual, the box generally switches upward only after the tachometer arrow enters the red zone, and the ability to independently change the transmission allows you to effectively slow down with the engine.
 
This turbodiesel has one disadvantage - noise. At idle speeds, the five -cylinder engine only mutters slightly, but on the overclocking its rollene already creates discomfort. Yes, and vibrations from the engine are felt ... more precisely, this is not even vibration, but some kind of itching - small fraction is transmitted to the steering wheel, pedals and driver's seat. Let’s release the gas - itching disappears, you will begin to accelerate - it appears again. Although at speeds above average and this effect disappears - vibrations from the engine are no longer felt.
 
Otherwise, there are no complaints about the engine, if its sound is not taken into account, then it remains only to admire the magnificent traction and elasticity, as well as the opportunity to very rarely call on the gas station. The appetite, by the way, is very moderate for a turbodiesel engine - on the highway, a two -ton Tuareg consumes only 8.4 liters per 100 kilometers! In the city, to overcome the same distance, he will need 12.9 liters, but still it is nothing compared to the consumption of fuel in gasoline jeeps. By the way, a very interesting point - Tuareg with an automatic transmission in urban mode is a little more economical than a version with mechanics! So this is not only more convenient, but also a more perfect transmission ...
 
But Tuareg's air suspension left behind a very ambiguous impression. Yes, the ability to increase the road clearance to 300 mm costs a lot, especially when there is a possibility of scratch on the obstacle on the thresholds. On the road is a stone? It's okay - increased the road clearance and go quietly. However, no - it will not work calmly. When you drive an off -road by car with a good country cottage, you begin to treat each obstacle as a personal enemy. You go and try to determine all the possible threats: whether the branch will leave the scratch on the body, whether the stone will be touched by the threshold, whether the bumper will struck on the sand ...
 
And, to be honest, additional centimeters of the road clearance do not give special confidence: it is good that they are, but this is not a reason to go all the heavy. Moreover, the immodest Tuareg dimensions do not allow you to control the distance to the obstacle, because only the sky is clearly visible on the off -road from the driver's seat. And even when the air suspension is raised to the upper position, thoughts about sticking stones and pieces of wire, which love to leave traces on the body, constantly come to the head.
 
In general, as the Volkswagen PR manager Alexander Demidovich, who closely watched our maneuvers on the off-road, should not perceive VW Touareg as a car for operation in a career. This is primarily a universal car on which you can comfortably move in any conditions. But it is not worth abuse of this - for special conditions there is always a specialized technique that will probably be better in its habitat than the Touareg station wagon. Indeed, in Tuareg, which has a very luxurious salon, a pleasant appearance and a good, a painful turbodiesel, it’s nice to just drive along the roads and outside the roads. And for mixing dirt in a career you can find something more specialized.
 
Pavel Kozlovsky
 

Source: Autogazet / N 19 (458) dated 05.25.04