It may have taken Volkswagen about two years to launch the new Touareg in India from the time of its premiere but its close relatives from the Porsche and Audi stables kept many customers from moving to the BMW X5 and Mercedes M/GL-Class. The new Touareg was shown at the Delhi Auto Expo last month.
Here’s the new Touareg spotted in Delhi by reader Lakshay Mohan Gupta earlier this week.
The new Touareg is nothing new to IAB readers as right from April last year we’ve been talking about it. For some reason Volkswagen chose not to launch it at the Auto Expo. The price of the new model with the V6 diesel engine is expected to start just above 42 lakh rupees.
Our friends at many Volkswagen dealerships tell us that they’ve suggested the company to price the five-seat Touareg attractively as alternatives from other German SUVs have brand power that can’t be matched.
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Overdrive magazine has posted images of the new Volkswagen Touareg caught testing in Pune. The 2011 Touareg is the second generation model unveiled in February last year.
When we asked Volkswagen India why they launched the outgoing model two months before the all-new Touareg (you see here) was premiered, they said if customers were not provided options they would look at a competitor brand for honoring their needs.
This is exactly what VW told Indian Autos Blog last year -
If we waited for one year and then introduced the Touareg in India, the customer will go for X, Y or Z. We want the customer to buy our product and after five or so years when he’s looking to buy his next car, he would come to VW for the replacement.
The RHD (Right Hand Drive) conversion usually takes six months and Volkswagen has takes its time in bringing the new Touareg to the Indian market.
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The 2011 VW Touareg is heading our direction, arrives by Christmas
Reports of the 2011 VW Touareg arriving in India this winter is quickly flooding the internet with news outlets reporting the new model will be introduced in both petrol and diesel avatars.
VW formally announced the outgoing Touareg last December and if the reports are accurate, we could see the debut of the new model exactly a year in India after the emergence of the current model.
IAB feels the new gen Touareg could be assembled in the company Chakan facility. With Audi beginning assembly of the Q5 later this year at Aurangabad and emergence of many new models in its category (BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Land Rover, Volvo to name a few) VW could try gaining the upper hand by offering the new Touareg at a lower cost.
The new model is a whopping 208kg lighter than the outgoing model. It is also 20% more fuel efficient. It looks better and has off-roading capabilities as well thanks to technology like 4Motion all-wheel drive.
Regarding the pricing update and launch date, nothing officially has come from Volkswagen. We’ll wait for an official announcement.
click through to view 2011 VW Touareg Image Slideshow
Two images of a 2011 VW Touareg replica have been leaked online, about 10 weeks ahead of the car’s official unveiling.
The photos have been published on a Dutch website Autoweek.nl and show a rounder and more cohesive vehicle. The design paradigm is aligned closely with many of the VW models of today. You can see a tinge of the Polo in the car’s front-end.
The new Touareg is built on the Porsche Cayenne’s platform. The next generation Audi Q7 will also rely on the Cayenne for its base. Expect a range of TSI and TDI engines on the new vehicle.
A 240-horsepower 3.0-liter diesel, and 290-horsepower 3.0-liter supercharged V6 are expected to be available at launch time.
The next-generation Volkswagen Touareg will most probably be introduced at either the Geneva Motor Show in March, or the New York Auto Show in April. We don’t know if VW will immediately bring the new model to India as they launched the existing Touareg only a few weeks ago.
It may have taken Volkswagen about two years to launch the new Touareg in India from the time of its premiere but its close relatives from the Porsche and Audi stables kept many customers from moving to the BMW X5 and Mercedes M/GL-Class. The new Touareg was shown at the Delhi Auto Expo last month.
