VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Although it will be shown next week in New York, the 2008 Volkswagen Touareg made its North American debut today at the Vancouver Auto Show under the gigantic white garbage bag that covers BC Place Stadium. Dubbed as the Touareg 2, it's actually more along the lines of Touareg 1.5, as it quite clearly is a mid-life refresh of Volkswagen's first sport utility that originally appeared for the 2004 model year. Volkswagen's new trademark chrome grille and curvier headlights have been adopted up front, while darkened tail lamps highlight the changes out back...
The 2008 Touareg will continue to be offered with three engines, however, the base engine has been upgraded from a 3.2-liter VR6 to 3.6-liter FSI unit making an additional 40 horsepower for a more class-competitive 280 hp. The 4.2-liter V8 has also been upgraded by 40 horses, now making 350 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. Both of these engines should now do a better job of motivating the rather hefty Touareg. For maximum motivation, the twin turbodiesel 5.0-liter V10 TDI carries over for 2008 in non-California emissions states. A new diesel V6 utilizing BlueTec clean diesel technology should show up on the Touareg in 2009 or 2010.
Volkswagen also showed its new Jetta SportWagen for the first time in North America (it was shown as the Golf Variant in Geneva). Its sculpted tail is a significant departure from the regular four-door and much more adventurous than the last generation Jetta wagon. For the Canadian market, VW also showed their City Golf and City Jetta, which are stripped versions of the last generation of those vehicles with much lower base prices than their current generation counterparts.
The 2008 Touareg will arrive in showrooms in August, while the Jetta SportWagen will arrive in September. You'll have to move to Canada for a City Golf or City Jetta.
James Riswick - Associate Editor
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