Diesel pumps Touareg R50 to the max

Tag : twisting satin

Driving the R50 is akin to being projected down the freeway in amissile with a small polished aluminium and leather lounge roominside.
Diesels may be flavour of the month for saving the planet, but youwouldn't want to make a big deal about the R50's environmentalcredentials. It churns out CO2 at the rate of 333g per kilometre,out-warming the BMW X5 4.8 petrol V8 at 299g/km and Land Rover'sbig diesel, the 3.6-litre TDV8, at 294g/km. At least the R50 has aslightly green-ish tinge next to a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, at358g/km.
When the twisting arrow road warning signs appear, the R50 doesn'texactly insinuate itself with the corners, it bludgeons them intosubmission. While there is not the finesse of a Lotus here, thereis a fair amount of grip from the massive tyres and a chassis thatwill let you play even if the steering doesn't have the response ofan X5 or Cayenne.
As with its competitors, though, you wouldn't really want to findthe R50's limit of adhesion; it'd be like juggling paperweights.This is a 2.5-tonne vehicle and even with the adaptive dampers setto Sport mode, as you bury your right foot the front lifts and rearsquats for some heavy hauling.
The interior is the same refined place that the Touareg's cabin hasalways been -- although to some eyes the long dash and bulging doorpanels might not look as fresh as they did five years ago -- andit's not very space-efficient if you're family minded. Thealuminium inlays around the cabin, unique to the R50, are alove-it-or-leave-it proposition. To me it's as sporty as the tinselhanging out of a child's bicycle handlebars.
If you hunger for a luxury SUV with a performance edge, then theTouareg R50 is a standout. It has plenty of get-up-and-go at acompetitive price but it comes in a hefty, ageing body that noamount of glitter can hide.