Onto a winner with the VW Touran

SOME cars are very stylish and some are practical.

I believe the Volkswagen Touran, which I drove recently, definitely fits in the latter category.

It probably won’t win any prizes for its looks, but it does the job it was made do, that is ferry children and adults around. And if you leave down back row of seats you get ample space to transport very bulky items.

Some designer in Volkswagen must have had a liking for the letter

‘t.’

We have the large Tiguan, smaller Touareg and the compact Touran, which comes as a seven or five-seater. The Touran is probably the least known vehicle in the VW range and it has been around since 2003. Essentially it’s a people-carrier based on the best-selling Golf.

The weather wasn’t great the week I picked up the Touran and the model I got was grey, which seemed to match the weather. Then when I sat in the interior was also grey; if the mother-in-law was still alive I don’t know I would be rushing to give her a lift home, like the chap used to do in the ad for the VW Bora many years ago.

But of course there are other brighter colours available in the Touran range and it won’t always be raining in Ireland or will it? The revamped Touran is a reliable people carrier which will do anything you ask of it. And knowing it’s a VW it won’t let you down and you are guaranteed to get a good trade in deal when you decide to upgrade.

There have been slight changes to this new model, but nothing too dramatic. The front end has been modified and you now get stop-start technology, which is becoming common in many new models.

Externally two roof rails add to the people carrier look. The driving position is high and you get a good view of the road. I drove a 1.6 diesel version and I didn’t need many pits stop for a top up. The seats were very cosy and I didn’t have any complaints from my front or back seat passengers. And talking of passengers the Touran would be

ideal if you were thinking of getting into the taxi business. But

judging by the long queues I see of taxis everywhere it’s not a job I would like unless I was really stuck for a few bob.

As it’s a Volkswagen there are plenty examples of German efficiency in the interior. All the controls on the dash are well laid out and very easy to use. You get a decent sized button to scroll up and down the wavelengths, which was important for me. I drove a five-seater version and there was plenty of leg and head room for three back seat passengers. The boot was massive and underneath there is still room for a full size spare wheel. The only improvement I would like to see would be a sliding door, which some people carriers now have.

Prices for the five-seater Touran start at

?¬25,245 and with extras the price of the car tested rose to

?¬29,258. You won’t turn many heads when you drop off the children at their local GAA or Soccer pitch, but you know that reliability-wise you are on a winner with the VW Touran.