Volkswagen Touran SE 1.9 TDI Review

Good Points
Economy, size, functionality.

Bad Points
Poor quality materials.

General Comments
The Volkswagen Tourant does what it says on the tin. It isn't beautiful, luxurious or fast. But it is highly functional, stylish and very economical. On summer holls with roof box fitted we can easily top 45 mpg.



7 seats works a dream and although it's a bit tight, we have had 7 adults in it and nobody lost feeling in their feet. We have three small(ish) kids and the permutations of seating which at first seems like a gimmick works well to balance who gets on with who, who needs a pushchair, how many friends can we bring home etc..



Very easy to drive - dare I say a little on the dull side - but if it's excitement you want don't have three kids and don't buy an MPV!



And ignore the advertising blurb that tells you there are 39 useful cubby holes in which to store your stuff. There are numerous places to loose things but why spend millions developing a car that is lighter and more economic only to give owners the opportunity to weigh it down with 39 piles of toot.



Our only gripe has been the poor quality of plastics used for the dash, door molding and boot areas. They mark very easily and ought to have been chosen with normal pattern of family life in mind.



Also, there's a reason why the only thing under the bonnet that's bright orange is the dipstick .... you're supposed to check it regularly and lots of short trips and hard acceleration from traffic lights to get past the other school-run-mums will have you chomping through oil at a hefty rate. When I checked, our local VW dealer thought it not unusual to need topping up every 2,000 miles.



Overall we have been very pleased with the car. Won't be chopping it out for quite some time.