| Hands up who thought 7 Up was a drink? We did too | | | | good fuel efficiency through its high gearing, especially |
| until it took on a completely new meaning, thanks to a | | | | when you're cruising at motorway speeds and its not |
| compact VW people carrier and a willing bunch of | | | | having to work too hard at all. Its combined fuel |
| volunteers... VW's latest version of the Touran arrived | | | | consumption figure is quoted as 38.2mpg. My best |
| in the car park with the obligatory press pack detailing | | | | was an indicated 34.6. Its power output is given at |
| the fact this was the 1.4 litre SE TSI model | | | | 140PS at 5600rpm, and the torque figure of 162lb/ft is |
| (£18,250 on the road). 1.4? Surely not. After all, | | | | there from 1500 to 4000rpm, so it is well able to keep |
| there are seven seats in there. A run down to | | | | up with the flow of traffic. The styling is surprisingly |
| Stansted (with six empty seats) for an early morning | | | | neat given its shape. Square at the back but in a |
| flight served to show what a relaxing car the Touran | | | | stylish way, everything inside is pure Volkswagen, from |
| can be on a motorway trip. No undue road or engine | | | | that classic blue backlighting of the instrumentation to |
| noise, the little 1.4 TSI slipping along effortlessly, belying | | | | the overall fit and finish. I usually prefer to sit low in a |
| its sheer lack of cubic centimetres. Cross country on | | | | car but in something like this it's no hardship to be a bit |
| the way back it didn't let itself down either, having | | | | higher as the view of the instruments can be |
| enough zip to get past the lorries stuck steadfastly at | | | | compromised. And as it's a taller vehicle it helps to give |
| 40mph while others were forced to follow in line | | | | a more commanding view of the road. On which its |
| astern, fingers drumming on the steering wheel in | | | | composure is exemplary. What a deceptively good |
| frustration. But that was in single user mode. What, we | | | | car. I like the neat way the rear seat belts for the sixth |
| wondered, would it be like with the full complement of | | | | and seventh seats, and the centre one in the middle |
| seven seats filled? We picked carefully from the | | | | row, stow up in the roof well out of the way, as well |
| office. Two more petite members of staff for the rear | | | | as the fact it's a really user friendly vehicle. The seats |
| two seats, a couple of lads eager to leave the | | | | are easy to tip when you need access to the rear, |
| computer screen for a five minute break and a couple | | | | and the back pair can be quickly folded flat when you |
| of lardy boys for good measure. And a six foot five | | | | need a bit more carrying capacity. This version of the |
| inch driver for good measure. Did it falter? Not a bit, to | | | | Touran has been on sale since January and like its |
| be fair. It had that fully loaded feel to it, but it pulled | | | | predecessor, offers pretty good value for money |
| capably in all the gears and gave the impression there | | | | through a good level of standard equipment, decent |
| was more there if needed. It's the engine lettering that | | | | engines and a flexible outlook on life. Take your pick |
| gives the game away. TSI means it has an engine | | | | from three variants - S, SE and Sport - all of which |
| driven supercharger as well as an exhaust gas | | | | have alloy wheels, air con, a CD player, and remote |
| turbocharger. The supercharger works at lower engine | | | | centre locking. Touran has always been |
| speeds with the turbo kicking in as engine speed | | | | acknowledged for its safety features and the new |
| increases. The end result is excellent driveability and | | | | model has front, side and head airbags as well as |
| good performance throughout the range. Torque | | | | ABS and ESP. There's also a new counter steering |
| (pulling power) is always good and there's no | | | | feature which improves stability under braking and can |
| discernible turbo lag to impede progress. It means you | | | | actually reduce stopping distances by up to 10 per |
| can have a relatively small engine like this that will give | | | | cent. |