Behold The New, Lighter Volkswagen Touareg And Its Epic Screen

The high-tech third-generation Volkswagen Touareg has arrived, bringing with it a main screen the size of a mid-level Nasa facility
Behold The New, Lighter Volkswagen Touareg And Its Epic Screen

Volkswagen has revealed the new, third-generation Touareg at the Beijing Motor Show. The brand’s latest flagship SUV and new technological standard-bearer has arrived, following a teaser last month.

Just check out that massive media screen, which will come either as standard on high-spec models or as an option. Called the Innovision Cockpit when combined with a 12-inch instrument display, it measures 15 inches diagonally corner-to-corner and it looks gargantuan on the centre console.

Behold The New, Lighter Volkswagen Touareg And Its Epic Screen

Unfortunately, it does mean that the heating and air movement controls have migrated over to the screen. Anyone who’s ever tried to turn the fan up two notches and the temperature down a couple of degrees on a screen-based system, while driving on a typical bumpy road, will know what an infuriating setup it can be.

It allows for a much more user-customisable cabin, prioritising the apps you use most or want to have at your fingertips. It’s on permanently and has split-screen functionality. LED matrix headlights, a head-up display and active all-wheel steering – already seen elsewhere in the Volkswagen Group – are other tech highlights.

Behold The New, Lighter Volkswagen Touareg And Its Epic Screen

The boot of the longer, wider Touareg is biblically large. Seriously, you could lose your children in there. Luggage space with the rear seats in place is 810 litres, up from 697. For context, a Skoda Superb Estate, which itself has a stupidly big boot, makes do with 660 litres.

Some 106kg have been chopped out of the body. Now 48 per cent aluminium and 52 per cent high-tensile steels, it helpfully makes room for all the extra tech features. We’ve no details yet on how much lighter the new car is overall than its predecessor.

Behold The New, Lighter Volkswagen Touareg And Its Epic Screen

Air suspension is present, correct but sadly not standard across the board. Its ride height and behaviour changes according to the selected driving mode. There’s Normal, Comfort, the 25mm-raised Off Road and the ‘oh balls, I’ve grounded on a tree stump’ mode, which lifts the car to 70mm above normal.

Above about 75mph the suspension automatically lowers by up to 25mm, but you can select a Loading mode when stationary that drops it by 40mm so that it’s easier to… well, you get the idea. Also useful is a wading depth of up to 570mm depending on suspension mode.

Behold The New, Lighter Volkswagen Touareg And Its Epic Screen

Trailer assist helps avoid most of the complications associated with reversing trailers and caravans, but the Night Vision option is more interesting. It shows living things in colour against a black and white background; either green or red depending on the level of risk they pose.

Trim lines will span the non-linear and slightly confusing likes of ‘Atmosphere’ and ‘Elegance’, which until a couple of years ago was a Skoda grade. We’re expecting it to go on sale soonish, but UK deliveries might not start until September. Hopefully they’ll also make one with tracks…

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Comments

Nishant Dash

Big screen+big grille+suv
Seems like the current norm for well selling vehicles lol!

03/23/2018 - 09:10 |
40 | 22
Anonymous

They should let Uber take a look at that night vision option, maybe the coloring depending on the level of risk might help

03/23/2018 - 09:16 |
0 | 0
Ali Mahfooz

How to buy a VAG SUV based on status:

Normie soccer mom school bus - VW Toureg
CEO soccer mom school bus - Audi Q7
Kardashian soccer mom school bus - Bentley Bentayga

03/23/2018 - 09:20 |
66 | 6

Ahahaha

03/23/2018 - 09:24 |
2 | 2

All come with the special movie screen option

03/23/2018 - 10:12 |
0 | 0

Soccer mom with a kid who is obsessed about his rusty MX-5: Skoda Kodiak

03/23/2018 - 11:48 |
30 | 0

Soccer player soccer mom wife - Lamborghini Urus

03/23/2018 - 13:18 |
14 | 0

Yeah and dont forget the poor soccer moms that buys the Skoda Kodiaq :)

03/23/2018 - 13:23 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Is having the navigation active on both screens really necessary though?

03/23/2018 - 09:21 |
170 | 0
Nishant Dash

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

People with a lack of sense of direction will love it 😂😂

03/23/2018 - 09:23 |
72 | 10
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I hope there is also hud navigation available…

03/23/2018 - 10:11 |
0 | 0
TheDriver 1

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Best point made of the week!

03/23/2018 - 10:15 |
0 | 2
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Imagine driving at night abd having those on

03/23/2018 - 11:19 |
0 | 0
ModernChaos

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

For when you work for Uber and Lyft at the same time

03/23/2018 - 11:37 |
30 | 0
DL🏁

For an SUV, I think it’s a really good car, but there are two details that look like they belong on a B6 Passat…

One is the headlights. They look outdated compared to complex matrix lights used in Mercs, BMWs, Audis and even Seats, and also a bit too big

Two is the steering wheel. Surely they could have changed it a bit more since the Mk5 Golf was released…

03/23/2018 - 09:21 |
12 | 0

That design was introduced in the MK7 Golf.

03/23/2018 - 09:34 |
0 | 0

Plus, it feels like the interior is the poor man’s new Peugeot 508. That, to me, pulls off the suave angular look far better than this does. Heck, I even think the new DS 7 pulls it off better. If you’re going to go nouveau riche you may as well go French.

03/23/2018 - 09:38 |
2 | 0

Even my bois at Opel offer Matrix LED and that in the compact segment

03/23/2018 - 10:38 |
4 | 0
EliteBGN

I NEED IT NOW, I ABSOLUTELY MUST TOUCH EVERYTHING ON IT aaahh

03/23/2018 - 09:45 |
0 | 0

every Chinese kid ever.

03/23/2018 - 10:50 |
0 | 2
Anonymous

But does it come with a v10 TDI?

03/23/2018 - 10:44 |
6 | 2
CasualG

Why tf do people need screens like that, utterly useless for driving

03/23/2018 - 10:52 |
4 | 0
Martin Burns

In reply to by CasualG

…. and dangerous!!!! What on Earth?!?!

Why are there screens at all? We ought to be moving away from that no? It is either a car or it is a living-room, not both, that’s just… inexorably going to lead to trouble.

03/23/2018 - 14:20 |
4 | 0
Freddie Skeates

Not even on sale yet and it’s probably already depreciating

03/23/2018 - 11:13 |
0 | 2
Jeremy S.

good i can now stare at two screens instead of looking at the road

03/23/2018 - 11:15 |
0 | 0