Volkswagen - family holiday
According to statistical studies, not every person is able to steer even a tiny business and become an entrepreneur in general. There are about 6-8% of such people among the entire population of our planet. But it seems to many of us that if, by the will of fate, we find ourselves in the position of director of the RBR group of companies or on the football field in front of the opponent's goal, we will definitely not miss.
I'm just one of them. And the first thing I thought about, looking at the new Touran: what is it for at all? No, from a utilitarian point of view, everything is clear - to carry people in an amount of 5 to 7 people. But after all, crossovers can no less effectively cope with this task, for which people have incredible love and are ready to pay any money for them. And therefore, it is more profitable for business not to spend money on all sorts of MPVs, but to engage exclusively in the reproduction of SUVs.
But when I approached Volkswagen marketers with this economic program, it soon became clear that its theoretical justification was not entirely correct. In fact, not only in Europe with their ideal roads, but also in China - the second market for the VW Touran after Germany - there are a lot of buyers who choose a car clearly for their needs and are not ready to pay a cent for extra millimeters of ground clearance and 4Motion all-wheel drive transmission.
Keeping traditions
Therefore, the third generation Touran did not get all-wheel drive, although the MQB platform underlying the compact MPV allows this. For family and practical people, a comfortable lounge is more important than cross-country ability. Therefore, you can get rid of the high transmission tunnel by making the floor in front of the sofa absolutely flat. So now the three passengers in the middle row are equal in rights. And if they are at least a little inferior to Alexander Karelin in the growth and development of the muscles of the shoulder girdle, then all three will feel absolutely comfortable on a long trip.
But the interior of the car has not only become wider - the distance between the rear doors has grown by 36 mm, it has also added 63 mm in length. And although the two folding armchairs of the gallery are still only suitable for transporting children, all other seats are now more spacious. There are new pluses regarding practicality and carrying capacity. In the new compact van, all seats can be folded, with the exception of the driver's seat. The trunk curtain retracts into the underground, and you get a spacious flat area where you want to sleep, you want to carry bikes or building materials. Sea places!
The hold volume of the relevant version is 1857 liters. For example: the maximum boot volume of the new Volkswagen Golf Variant is 1620 liters.
Precise work
Of course, someone can make a statement that the Golf behaves incomparably better on the road. Yes, he is really very good, both in terms of comfort, and in terms of tenacity and clarity of reactions, and, in general, he can teach his compact van brother a couple of lessons. But if we compare the Touran not with a lighter and lower car with a smartly tuned chassis, but with direct family and economic competitors, then in this company it is perhaps the most skilled today. It rides clean, a little softer than the Golf. On a high-speed straight line or an arc - it is comfortable and collected, in turns it is accurate and reliable. Rulitsya Touran, albeit not very recklessly, nevertheless, it is never boring. At the same time, the capabilities of the 150-horsepower TSI engine, with which the German van will most likely be available in Russia, are enough for the eyes, both for long-distance travel and for maneuvering in dense city traffic. And paired with the above engine, the 7-speed DSG box does an excellent job of changing gears smoothly and quickly in automatic mode and does not mind at all if you decide to do it yourself. If you need even more pepper, you can order an adaptive chassis (DCC) with various driver settings. In Sport mode, the suspension is firmer, the steering is heavier, and throttle response is faster. And for calm swimming, you can choose Comfort or Eco. There is also an individual mode that allows you to customize the reactive force on the steering wheel, the "density" of the shock absorbers and the temperament of the motor. It is clear that DCC is not the most relevant option for a family car, nevertheless, the new Touran has such equipment. In Germany, the adaptive chassis costs 1,035 euros. How much they will ask us for it and whether it will be available at all in our market is not yet known. Yes, prices have not yet been determined. We will find out everything next year, with the start of car sales in Russia.
Volkswagen Touran is a great car for trips to the country house or a country house , it feels good both on asphalt and when driving over rough terrain.