What's all this about?
This is our first glimpse of the Volkswagen Touareg Mk3. It arrives on the scene after generations one (2002-2010) and two (2010-present day) have put in sterling shifts of eight years apiece. Volkswagen has shifted around one million Touaregs in 16 years on sale, which makes it a crucially important car to the German brand - so the new one has to be good, especially as it competes in a very tough class and the outgoing model already felt outpaced by key rivals as much as three years ago.
OK, so what has Volkswagen promised us?
Not a huge amount, at the moment, as this is really to get a look at design chief Klaus Bichoff and co's styling, which looks... nice. We do know that Volkswagen classifies it as the company's flagship, somewhat putting the Arteon's big-grilled nose out of joint. VW syas the Touareg Mk3 'shows all of the brand's power with its expressive design, innovative technologies and dynamic handling properties'.
Right, but you must have some details to go on, surely?
There are a few nuggets. First up, the all-new Touareg is not going to make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in early March, as you might expect, but is instead going to be unveiled on March 23 in Beijing - as China has a large SUV market that is expected to double in volume between now and 2023.
I'm OK with that, to be honest. What about the onboard technology and stuff?
Volkswagen says the big machine will be fitted with a 'phalanx' of innovative safety assistance systems and something called the 'Innovision Cockpit', most likely to include the gorgeous 12.3-inch Active Info Display instrument cluster and probably some form of twin digital touchscreens that we're seeing in the newest Audis, like the A7 Sportback. Options will include air suspension, rear-wheel steering and active roll stabilisation - using the 48-volt electrical system already employed in the Audi SQ7 and Bentley Bentayga. Oh, and the A7, too.
Matt Robinson - 9 Feb 2018
