
As with the compact MPV, the company was rather slow off the mark in seeing its significance. Life has become a lot less formal.
People want a vehicle which not only makes the whole life-work thing succeed but “says” something about their take on it too (note avoidance of word “lifestyle”).
VW’s larger Touareg (and Porsche Cayenne twin) arrived in 2002. A highly credible 4x4 on/off-road SUV, it soon established itself among the longer standing front runners. Touareg II in 2010 sustained that – ‘Escape’ model at least – with high/low ratio transfer box and a broad range of 4x4 abiilty.