REVIEW | Why the VW Touareg will appeal to those who value substance over status

Just more than two decades ago, Volkswagen created a tour de force dubbed the Phaeton. It was among the highlights of the brand's era under Ferdinand Piech, known to be ruthless in his pursuit of perfection, as described in various documentaries.

The large Phaeton was designed to ruffle feathers in the battlefield of high-end flagship sedans, intended to show the likes of Mercedes-Benz a thing or two about what over-engineering really meant.

While it was lauded for its refinement, build quality and painstaking attention to detail, the Phaeton was a commercial failure — and the reason for that seemed to have a lot to do with the badge. No matter how advanced and well-appointed it was, at the end of the day, it wore the humble Volkswagen badge.

Still, the Volkswagen Group monetised the platform, deploying the Phaeton's architecture to underpin the Bentley Continental of the day. The Phaeton was not designed to be an outright moneymaker but a statement, attesting to what the brand could achieve.

It was about this time that the Touareg also made its debut. Never before had the brand sold a sizeable 4x4 in this vein, competing with products such as the BMW X5 and the Mercedes-Benz ML-Class, now known as the GLE. You might also recall that the Touareg had (and still has) kinship with the Porsche Cayenne.

The Touareg's architecture is also shared with the Audi Q7 and Bentley Bentayga.

If you are the sort of buyer who cares less for flaunting, then the Touareg would be the most enticing of the family — it is also the most attainable. Pricing ranges from R1,491,300 for the Elegance grade and R1,799,200 for the R-Line.

The model is now in its third generation and last year it was treated to a facelift. Volkswagen sent one over for testing. The specifications of the vehicle seemed at odds with the conservative character usually associated with the Touareg.

Sporting matte black paint and equally spiffy black alloys, it resembled a car you would expect to be seen driven by a character on the series Top Boy.

The colour scheme, amplified by the more assertive R-Line styling package, lends the Touareg a gangster-type swagger that appeared to turn heads.

Not much has changed in comparison to the vehicle launched in 2018. Subtle styling tweaks here and there, while the cabin gets more in the way of digitisation. Which means less in the way of physical buttons and dials.

A good and bad thing, depending on how you look at it. The interface is not as user-friendly as systems in other options in the category.

Quality is of the typical Volkswagen standard, which is to say, very good. Our tester boasted nice-to-haves such as massaging seats, heated and ventilated, as well as a heated steering wheel.

Diesel fans will rejoice that the marque's lauded 3.0l turbocharged-diesel unit, lives on. This V6 (190kW/600Nm) has proven to be an absolute peach of a unit, with mountains of torque, while returning consumption figures in the 6.5l/100km region on the open road.

Over the years six-cylinder TDI has enlivened many a Volkswagen Group product, from the Audi A4 to the Amarok double cab — the ubiquity it once enjoyed fell away in the post-Dieselgate world.

In a product such as the Touareg it still makes a strong case for itself and it is the only engine choice you have in the model.

To drive, the updated Touareg is much of the same as before. Again, not a bad thing. Adjustable air suspension means cushy progress for the most part, but there were occasions where the car seemed caught out by more severe pocks and ripples, ostensibly due to the low profile rubber coating those large alloys.

The diesel motor is remarkably hushed and sitting at 120km/h (while getting your back kneaded), it is a vehicle that would make light work of a jaunt from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

Volkswagen's flagship SUV may not appeal to the image-conscious buyer. For about similar money you can have products such as the BMW X5 or the Range Rover Sport.

But it will appeal to those who prefer substance over style — those low-key types who want a high-end SUV and associated goodness but without wanting to draw unnecessary attention from the receiver of revenue. Maybe that is why Volkswagen gave it the option of stealth paint.