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