(April 21, 2014) BEIJING — The Touareg is one of the world's most successful premium-class SUVs. Within one decade, Volkswagen sold around 720,000 units of the high -class sport utility vehicle; last  year alone over 70,000 drivers  chose a new Touareg, which combines the best of the passenger car and off -road worlds in one concept.

Now, Volkswagen is presenting a world premiere of a further advanced version of the Touareg at Auto China in Beijing.

The 2014 generation can be made out by the new front and  rear designs and by its new colors and wheels. In terms of technology, all V6 TDI versions now come equipped with an automatic post-collision braking system (helping prevent a secondary collision in case of an accident), bi-xenon headlights and a coasting function.



While coasting, the engine is decoupled  from the 8-speed  automatic gearbox to utilize the car's kinetic energy on mountain descents or in driving phases in which acceleration is not needed. Aerodynamic refinements and the introduction of new tires optimized for low rolling resistance also improve fuel economy in everyday operation. The V6 TDI engines of the Touareg  were  converted  so  that  they fulfill the EU-6 emissions standard that takes effect in 2015 in Europe.

The standard steel-spring running gear was optimized; improvements include more agile steering response and a gain in comfort. An air suspension is available as an option for the Touareg; it can be used, for instance, to increase the vehicle's ground clearance by up to 11.8 inches in off-road driving.  At  higher  speeds from 87 mph, the body is automatically lowered by the air suspension. Further developed was ACC adaptive cruise control with Front Assist including City Emergency Braking (now with stop -and- go function).



The interior of the versatile all-round vehicle is marked by new features, including new accents, leather colors, lighting solutions and controls. In conjunction with the RNS 850 radio-navigation system and mobile phone preparation, the Touareg will launch with "mobile online services" starting this autumn in Europe.

The front-end design of the Touareg was completely re-developed. Especially distinctive are the headlights which are now larger; moreover, bi-xenon headlights are now standard on all versions of the Touareg. The trapezoid-shaped lights create a line towards the re-designed radiator grille in the middle of the vehicle. In contrast to the previous model, the grille is trimmed with four transverse chrome fins instead of two ; the two lower fins are visually extended into the headlights.

The all-wheel drive Touareg is available — depending on the sales region — as a model with a turbodiesel (V6 and V8 TDI), gas (V6 and V8 FSI), turbocharged gas (V6 TSI) or Hybrid (V6 TSI & electric motor) drive system. The V6 engines come with an 8-speed automatic gearbox. All engines have a stop-start system as standard; they also utilize regenerative braking to recover kinetic energy.

In the base version, all Touareg vehicles have the 4MOTION all-wheel drive system with Torsen differential lock. In addition, all Touareg versions have an off-road driving program that is operated via a two -stage rotary switch. It configures the ABS, EDS and ASR systems for off-road use and activates hill climb assist and gearshift points of the automatic gearbox.