Touran was first released in the early 2000s, under VW’s plan to invest in new segments. This time also introduced cars such as Lupo, Eos and Phaeton. While those suffered with the company’s lack of experience, the minivan had much better reception, both for focusing in more rational buyers and for being a little sister to the well-established Sharan. The thing is, this background could only guarantee a good start. Over the years, the only way this minivan could remain competitive was to become cost-oriented, which meant avoiding expensive changes. The powertrain was kept up-to-date, in order to benefit from scale production, but the structure stayed largely unchanged. And two major design language changes were followed using nothing but small facelifts.
As cheap as it was in the beginning, this solution has reached a saturation point. Touran became one of the oldest in its category, and the “friendly fire” was getting serious: the second Sharan became too far from it, while the smaller Golf Sportsvan became too close. The solution to this situation was presented during the latest Geneva Auto Show, and couldn’t be more predictable: a whole new generation completely based on the ubiquitous MQB platform. Yes, the very same which already underpins vehicles as different as Audi TT and… well, this one. Therefore, if you had already read about at least one of those, you’ll already know some of the news that apply here as well: less weight, consumption and emissions, and more power, room, and structural resistance.
What concerns Touran in an exclusive way starts with its design. The front fascia adopted VW’s current language in the more conservative way which was introduced by Passat last year. In other words, the upper grille is taller than what you see in Golf, for instance, and connects the sleek headlights through their similar shape and details like that chrome line ending in L-shaped LED strips. The sides show similar contours for doors, windows and the silhouette, but adding that very strong crease aids to a more imponent result. At the rear, there are full-width windshield, sleek lights entirely made of LEDs, big room for the license plate, and a lower section as discreet as the front one. This is definitely far from breathtaking, but still a very interesting opposition to the likes of Ford C-Max.
Regarding the cabin, the highlights start with the wheelbase and the overall length, which were stretched by 113 and 130 mm. Besides getting larger, it was packed with more than 45 storage areas in various sizes and shapes. When it comes to the biggest of these, the five-seater sibling carries up to 800 liters and the seven-seater 1,040; in the latter, this volume is achieved by loading it to the roof and folding all the seats. Speaking of this task, the Fold Flat system is intended to make it much easier. The “fold” part regards the possibility of operating each seat individually, while the “flat” one refers to how Touran’s floor gets when only the driver’s seat is left up. But since Touran is receiving a twelve-year younger project, there are much more new stuff to check out.
Following Volkswagen’s latest trends, once again, there are five options of infotainment system, differing mostly in size and resolution of the touchscreen and the list of functions. The best option, therefore, delivers eight inches and the automaker’s App Connect platform: it bundles Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Mirror Link, which means this is one of the best minivans to buy at the moment if you enjoy this level of connectivity. Other additions are adaptive chassis control, full-LED lighting, automatic operation of the tailgate, and the typical safety package: the electronic systems which appear here include adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitor, emergency braking, post-collision braking (to avoid subsequent ones) and even trailer assistant.
Despite Touran’s engine lineup was pretty much carried over, those new technologies brought by the MQB platform and the 62-kg weight reduction they brought, Volkswagen claims the minivan is up to 19% more efficient. There are six options equally divided between the TSI and the TDI families: the gasoline-burner range delivers 110, 150 and 180 hp, while switching to diesel offers you 110, 150 and 190 hp. All options bring both start/stop and regenerative braking systems, but frugal customers should take the weakest TDI: its 1.6-liter makes 24.4 kpl. Using world-class quality and becoming much more efficient in many ways, Touran is more prepared than ever to fight models such as Citroën C4 Picasso, Peugeot 5008 and Renault Scénic. It’ll go on sale in Europe in September.