First look: VW's first off-roader

VOLKSWAGEN has released the first official pictures of its first ever off-roader, the Touareg, which will go on sale in Australia in V6, V8 and range-topping V10 turbo-diesel form around April next year.

Set to make its public debut at September's Paris motor show, Touareg shares its underpinnings with Porsche's first off-roader, the Cayenne, which will also appear in the metal for the first time at Paris.

Volkswagen Group Australia press and public relations general manager Brad Leach confirmed the Down Under flagship will be powered by a neck-snapping, high-tech 5.0-litre twin-turbocharged V10 diesel producing 230kW and a gob-smacking peak torque figure of 750Nm.

The V10 is claimed to be the world's most powerful passenger car diesel engine and is said to propel VW's luxury off-roader to a top speed of more than 250km/h.

"The good news is we're definitely taking the turbo-diesel V10 and I think we're taking the V8 engine as well," Mr Leach said. "The V10 will be the most powerful mainstream turbo-diesel engine in the world, and there'll be a V6 petrol engine as well," he said.

The V8 Touareg will be propelled by a 236kW version of the Volkswagen Audi Group's 4.2-litre bent eight, while a 180kW 3.2-litre V6 will power the entry level Touareg and this will be the only model available here with a (six-speed) manual transmission. A six-speed sequential shift auto will be offered across the range.

While other markets will have a 315kW, 6.0-litre W12 version of Touareg,and 2.5-litre V5 turbo-diesel is also likely to be fitted within 12 months, neither is likely to be sold here.

Asked if he was confident Australian SUV buyers would take to the turbo-diesel performance leader, Mr Leach said: "If it was a prestige passenger sedan you'd probably question it, but in an SUV it fits the bill quite well.

"Volkswagen leads the world in diesel technology. Unfortunately Australia doesn't lead the world in refinement of diesel fuel, but that's changing." Mr Leach said the high-tech V10 oil-burner would have been sold in Australia regardless of the new national diesel fuel standard that comes into effect from next year.

"The turbo-diesel is a standout engine and will certainly help us market the car, so there was never a question it would come here," he said.

VGA says pricing has not yet been decided but that Australia's three-model Touareg line-up will be highly competitive with luxury SUV rivals like Cayenne, the Mercedes-Benz M-class, BMW's X5, Range Rover, Audi allroad and forthcoming Volvo XC90.

"I'll just say that we'll be very price competitive but we're keeping the exact details up our sleeve because we are talking about a car that's not on sale until next year," said Mr Leach. "It's just too early to tell at this stage. We haven't actually signed off on it, but our intention is to have all three engines at launch with pricing to be decided before the end of the year." Mr Leach indicated the range-topping V10 Touareg would compete with the likes of the performance leading ML55 AMG and X5 4.6is, which both sell in the $140,000-$150,000 bracket. The V8-powered Porsche Cayenne S is likely to be similarly priced, leaving the $200,000-odd Cayenne Turbo in a league of its own.

The V8 Touareg should be significantly lower priced - possibly around the $100,000 mark with the likes of allroad, ML500 and X5 4.4i - while the volume selling V6 should undercut the popular ML320 and X5 3.0i in the $80,000 region, especially in manual guise. That should be somewhat less than the similarly powered entry level V6 Cayenne, which will follow the V8 Porsche off-roaders by 12 months.

While local sales volume potential will not be divulged until pricing is set, the Volkswagen group hopes to sell some 80,000 globally per annumm, with around half of Touareg's production going to the US.

Volkswagen has also revealed some of Touareg's vital statistics, which show it will be slightly larger than Cayenne, which itself is significantly larger than X5. Touareg is 4.75 metres long, 1.93 metres wide, 1.72 metres tall and has a wheelbase of 2.86 metres - the only dimension it shares with the individually styled Cayenne.

Like Cayenne, Touareg will offer a permanent, electronically controlled four-wheel drive system in combination with double wishbone air suspension and continuous electronic shock absorber control (for top-end models).

A clever electronic drivetrain will be standard. Power is transferred to the driven wheels via a transfer box, which has off-road gear ratio reduction fitted as standard, and three locking differentials.

A multi-plate clutch is automatically controlled by electronics: depending on conditions, up to 100 per cent of the traction force can be transferred to either of the two axles, however, it's believed the static torque split will be biased more heavily to the front than in the Cayenne.

A rotary control switch in the cockpit can be used to activate the differential lock manually. The four-wheel electronic differential lock, fitted as standard, determines exactly in which ratios the power is distributed to the wheels.

An electronically controlled rear axle differential lock with multi-plate clutch, a front axle lock and variable anti-roll bars will also be offered for heavy off-road driving. Short overhangs, 300mm of ground clearance and a wading depth of 585mm also indicate a high degree of off-road suitability.

Described as the third phase of Volkswagen's luxury segment campaign (following the sporting Passat W8 and large Phaeton sedan), Touareg is named after a people in the Sahara desert, also known as the knights of the desert.

"Technically, the car's just fantastic and now that the photo's out you can see it's a good looking little jigger," said Mr Leach.

"It's clearly in that luxury top-end of the SUV market with an interior that's very reminiscent of VW's big luxury sedan, the Phaeton, and because it's a VW it's got inherent quality aspects so you can tick that box too - along with lots of good safety features. It's going to be an exciting car," he said.