VWs Masterpiece

Recently we reviewed the new Bentley Bentayga. A superb car with incredible ride quality and an amazing interior. However, it comes with a huge backlash. And that is its price tag, with 260'000 CHF after options (190'000.- without) you could also get a lovely apartment with lake view in the Canton of Tessin. Or you could get two fully loaded Volkswagen Touaregs with the 4 litre Diesel V8. The latest VW Touareg is based on the same platform as the Bentayga.

It also shares its air suspension and therefore its amazing ride quality with the Bentayga. In fact the only thing that isn't shared with it, besides all the leather and chrome bits in the interior, is the centre infotainment screen. The one in the Touareg is in fact bigger and comes with a higher resolution. But is the Touareg only half as good as the Bentayga? Definitely not! Its as comfortable as the Bentley but while the Brits were a little bit conservative with re-design of its SUV, VW went all out on the latest tech features. The interior is dominated by a huge 15-inch touchscreen (standard with the R-Line Tech package) which is the largest screen in any ICE powered car right now. The driver gets his own 12-inch screen right in front of him with an additional HUD right above it. Pair this with the interior mood lighting during the night and you get yourself a rolling Broadway.

Speaking of rolling, its one of the smoothest ride experiences on the market right now and definitely the smoothest at this price point. The ACC (active cruise control) adapts itself to the traffic ahead and uses the GPS data to break fully automatic before sharp corners or intersections. Coming to a stop with the Car is almost exciting, especially when the road ahead of you is empty. Because driving off while using all of the 900 NM of torques of the massive V8 feels like take-off in a private jet. You first hear a distant grumble and then you get pressed into the comfortable massaging seats. Fancy taking some sharp corners? Don't worry, the active roll stabilization will keep the whole body as neutral as Switzerland.

So, would I buy it? If I was looking for something that goes like hell, is comfortable for long drives and can tow up to 3.5 tons then definitely yes. The cool thing about this version of the Touareg is that it may look like your normal family SUV, but it feels like the more rational version of a Bentley