Road tripping

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VERDICT: A good looking and comfortable family car with a range of personalisation options. The clever technology smoothes the driving experience to allow both driver and passengers to enjoy the ride.

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CEO Middle East tries the revamped VW Touareg for size.

The attributes a car can best woo a Middle Eastern driver with are, I imagine, a ferocious air conditioning system and a hearty horn. Although the horn in the VW Touareg is hearty enough, the AC takes impossibly long to kick in.

In a region where temperatures frequently exceed forty degrees, the chill factor should be a primary consideration - it's a major selling point.

The indicator arm is also positioned very low on the steering wheel making it awkward to use but this, I imagine, won't bother some drivers.

I make these my first points because it would be improper to review a car without pulling it up on something. Aside from the AC and indicator arms though, there really is very little to complain about. This comfortable family car makes full use of the space available to comfortably seat all passengers.

The model that we were issued with came with a should-have-been-garish black and red leather interior...but somehow it pulled it off. The harlequin seats looked sporty and bang on trend. The front seats are fitted with a 12-way adjustment system to ensure maximum ergonomic comfort.

Should you ever venture to colder climes in the Touareg, the front seats are heated and the windscreen washer jets are automatically heated. But you'd have to drive a pretty long way to take advantage of this.

The dashboard, centre console and door panels in the V8 come in Burr Walnut as standard, effortlessly adding a touch of class to the funky interior. The computer interface features functional and good-looking programming graphics.

The most commonly used can be controlled from the myriad buttons on the steering wheel or the touch screen (perhaps a safer option for the passenger DJ). If anything there are too many buttons - the dashboard looks a little like a cockpit. In fact, that's what VW have named it in their literature.

But though crowded, a lot of thought has gone into the lay-out of the cockpit to make driving as convenient and comfortable as possible. A foot pedal has been added to control the handbrake function to make space on the central console for more urgent controls.

These include demisting functions, central locking and electric wing-mirror folding (for apparently valuable extra centimetres when parking).

The media system has an integrated CD player and radio with a multi-media socket (for MP3 players etc.) that is hidden in the central armrest to keep restless passengers entertained.

The reversing camera and DVD navigation systems feed through to this screen so everyone has front row seats when the driver narrowly misses that bollard.

Once you've familiarised yourself with the cockpit (allow some time), you can see how she feels on the open road. The acceleration is adequate, even if it lacks a little ‘bite'. A number of technologies have been added to improve the driving experience; in fact, it can't be long before it starts driving itself.

Adaptive Roll Compensation takes over when cornering at speed, controlling each of the shock absorbers separately to improve the handling. In combination with the ‘Fat Boy' alloy wheels that come as standard, you should stay steady on the road.

A personal favourite has to be the ‘Side Scan' system. How often have you checked and double checked your blind spots to make sure that it is safe to emerge into the next lane?

The Touareg comes with sensors in the wing mirrors; if another car is too close for you to safely move, a light flashes on the relevant wing mirror, warning the driver to wait.

Another kooky gadget is the snappily named ‘Automatic distance control ACC and Front Scan area monitoring system'. The name might be cumbersome but the equipment is not.

Scanning the area in front of the car, the computer senses if the leading car brakes or stops and automatically follows suit. Similarly if you drive too close to the car in front (a problem not infrequently witnessed here) the system sounds an alarm and then briefly applies the brakes. Inspired.

It can be taken off road but, with gadgetry like this, it is surely intended to be a roadster. The acceleration is good and, importantly, driver and passengers can feel safe and comfortable whether in traffic or on the open highway.

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