Category: Compact MPV 
Price Range: £16,225 to £17,945
Easy to drive, loads of safety kit, solid build, excellent suspension and handling, great for towing.
No character, no single 'must-have' or distinguishing feature, van-like looks.
The Touran is immensely competent, but not particularly thrilling; not a car to inspire passion, devotion, or even family fondness.
The Touran is exceedingly user-friendly, with a commanding driving position, multi-adjustable driver's seat, well laid-out controls and cabin structure, no obtrusive front windscreen pillars and excellent vision all round.
The electro-mechanical steering can be a little disconcerting at first, as it weights up according to speed, camber of the road and other exterior input, but after a while, it makes perfect sense.
It may have an accomplished suspension system and beautifully engineered chassis, but plenty of other models that share the same underpinnings offer a more inspiring drive. The Touran is set up to be responsive, obedient and utterly predictable, but it won't set anyone alight, despite its agility.
New for 2007 is a ParkAssist function which will perform all the steering required to parallel park the Touran behind one, or between two cars. It's not an infallible system, and needs a space at least 1.4m longer than the Touran to be able to work properly - and if you need help in parking in a space that big, then maybe you should wonder about driving at all...
The entry level 89bhp 1.9-litre diesel has to work pretty hard; it is slow on the getaway and runs out of puff all too quickly. The 104bhp version is a little better although the best performers are the 2.0-litre versions - the 168bhp is particularly swift.
The 1.6-litre FSI has been dropped from the range for 2007 in favour of Volkswagen's unique turbocharged and supercharged 1.4-litre TSI technology, offered in 138 and 168bhp forms. They have instant pick-up, and strong performance throughout the rev range, while also returning pretty respectable economy for such punchy engines.
A 101bhp 1.6-litre petrol is also offered, but isn't really worth choosing over the lower-powered diesels as they offer more in the way of torque which helps when overtaking or when towing a trailer - something the Touran is particularly suited to.
