The VW R50 Touareg 5 litre V10 twin turbo diesel undoubtedly appeals to a wide audience judging by the looks we got during our week long test. Let's be honest though, the R50 is clearly aimed at those among us looking for another mid-life crisis. It's a seriously fast, seriously luxurious, serious handling boy's toy. It's hard to find any references to "off road" in VW's literature on the R50 and that's because it's not an off roader – well, not with its standard 21" alloys and 295/35 R21 Michelins anyway!
The R50 and I didn’t get off to the best of starts. Immediately after picking the beast up for our week long test I tried to get my phone connected. It took me 10 minutes to workout Bluetooth is an option, which wasn’t fitted – something at this level of automotive excellence that surprised me. As a result, I held a grudge against the R50 for probably the first 100kms but it soon dissolved into a love affair which became more intense as our trip continued. We took the opportunity to head into Victoria's Western District, to the little town of Dunkeld at the southern end of the Grampians, some 250kms west of Melbourne. Our plan was to, not only test drive the R50 but, with another couple along for the ride, test out Dunkeld's renowned Royal Mail Hotel.
Bluetooth aside, the R50 like its lesser stablemates pretty well has it all when it comes to comfortable cruising. The well proportioned Napa leather sports seats (individually heated front & rear) help keep fatigue at bay. Our test car had the optional Dynaudio 600W premium audio system together with Satellite Navigation and Rear View Camera (with Audi-style dynamic guidance lines) all operating through a high resolution, easy to use, touch screen. 4 zone climate control is standard. Both front seats have 12 way electric adjustment, electrically adjustable lumbar support and electrically adjustable seat belt height. These settings can all be saved in each seat's 3 memory settings (which also includes external mirrors and steering wheel position for the driver).
The R50's self-levelling air suspension has 'Continuous Damping Control' which monitors a range of driving conditions and helps minimise body roll and pitch for safer more comfortable driving. You can choose from three available damper settings – Automatic, Sport and Comfort. The ride height is also adjustable. It can be dropped to 140mm for loading, raised to 195mm for normal driving, to 220mm when you head off-road and up to 280mm when you go rock climbing. The suspension automatically rises from loading height once you exceed car park pace and similarly drops 20mm to 175mm when you select 'Sport' mode. Our rear seat passengers commented on the firmness of the ride in this mode so we opted for Auto for most of our trip.
The 5.0 litre V10 twin turbo diesel pumps out 258kW and an awesome 850Nm of torque. According to VW the R50 will hit 100km/h in 6.8 seconds from scratch – not bad when you consider it's toting over 2.5 tonnes. All this energy is controlled by a six speed automatic gearbox employing what Volkswagen call Dynamic Selection Program or DSP to alter the shift points in line with your driving style and the conditions. Sport mode can also be selected, to permanently move those shift points. Manual shifting is available through the Tiptronic lever or through steering column paddles. I kept finding the paddles right where my finger tips expected the wiper/light/indicator stalks to be, but the way this V10 performs there was rarely need to move the selector out of 'D' and the paddles soon became redundant. The R50, like the rest of the Touareg clan, has a transfer gearbox with low range and electrically lockable centre differential. VW's 4XMOTION all wheel drive system splits the power equally front and rear under normal driving but in the extreme can deliver 100% to just one wheel if necessary. Of course, there's also ABSplus with EBD & Brake Assist, Traction Control with ESP (including active rollover protection), Electronic Differential Lock, Anti-Slip Regulation, Engine Braking Control, not to mention Hill Descent and Hill Holding Assistance! On top of that Touareg has a 5 Star Euro NCAP front and side impact rating.
An R50 will set you back around $135,000. Our test car had $12,700 worth of options fitted: Electric Glass Sunroof ($2,300), Sat. Nav. & Rear View Camera ($6,220), Premium Audio ($2,700) and Automatic Tailgate ($1,480).
All this is covered by a 3 year/100,000km warranty including 24/7 roadside assist.
By the way, we thoroughly enjoyed our overnight stay at the Royal Mail Hotel. The accommodation, food and service were first class. Its setting in Dunkeld, with the Grampians as a backdrop is sensational. Next morning we woke to misty rain with low clouds shrouding the nearby Mount Sturgeon. We couldn't wait to fire up the R50 and get back on the road. Getting off the beaten track, we took a different route into Halls Gap via some tiny less travelled roads which enabled us to see what the R50 was all about. The acceleration and pulling power of the R50 is awesome - this four wheel drive on steroids just flattened steep inclines effortlessly. Predictably, the R50 gave us no scary moments at all, even on tight wet roads.
We were able to test the Touareg on a wide variety of roads from freeway to tight mountain tracks and everything in between. Volkswagen quotes a combined city/country fuel consumption figure of 12.6L/100km. We averaged just slightly better than this, no doubt because of a couple of decent stints of highway/freeway driving.
An ideal application for the R50 would be as a tow vehicle for those who love to take their toys away with them. It would come into its own with big caravans, trailers and boats. While it's rated towing capacity (3,500kg braked) is no different to any other Touareg, the R50 could tow just about anything with ease.
If you're looking for a new mid life crisis, we couldn’t think of a more practical one to choose!
Test by Yvonne & David Williams
Vehicle provided by Volkswagen Group Australia Pty Ltd
As featured in Sunraysia Daily Auto Guide 22nd August 2009
