Now, about the ride height: With its standard coil springs, the Touareg has 8.3 inches of ground clearance. Not bad. With the air suspension, standard ride height is 8.7 inches, and the bags can be pumped up to provide 9.4 inches of clearance (the standard off-road level) or 11.8 inches (using the "X'tra" setting). At full extension, though, the bags are so full of air that ride quality suffers somewhat. The German engineers with us for the testdrive recommended using the tallest setting only to clear certain obstacles, and then lowering the springs back to the off-road setting to soften the ride.
Conversely, the air suspension also drops the Touareg's ride height at freeway speeds-down to 7.5 inches-for ground-hugging stability and to reduce its drag. The air suspension option isn't cheap at $2,300, but its adjustability and overall better ride quality compared to the standard coil springs makes it worth the investment.
Ironically, the Touareg's good 'wheeling gear will probably be lost on most of its buyers. Volkswagen is billing the Touareg as a "premium" SUV and has outfitted it with high-end appointments that include leather upholstery, heated seats, dual-zone climate control, a premium CD stereo, and all the power gizmos you can imagine, including folding outside mirrors. Add the air suspension and navigation system and the V-8 Touareg is suddenly a $50,000 vehicle or close to it. There aren't many who would risk that kind of investment on the Moab slickrock or any other terrain tougher than a graded or freshly plowed road.
Then again, the Touareg shares quite a bit of its mechanical makeup-especially chassis, suspension, and driveline components-with the Porsche Cayenne, which costs nearly double what VW is asking for the Touareg. In that light, maybe it's a bargain after all.
What's With the Name, Anyway?The Touareg is named after a Saharan tribe of desert dwellers "known for their self-reliance and ability to overcome harsh conditions," explained Frank Maguire, VW's vice president of sales and marketing.
"There's a reason we did the name funny," he said. "The real goal was to make sure people knew this vehicle was different. I think the name accomplishes that." Yeah. And "Nomad" was already taken.