Volkswagen Touran review

There’s nothing in here especially new or noteworthy, but what strikes you is just how well everything works together. There are seven seats and the rearmost five fold completely flat with little to no effort. With everything stowed, there’s 1,857 litres of space (remember, the wheelbase is 113mm longer than the old car’s). A fair way behind the 2,300 litres of the bigger, more expensive Sharan, but somewhere in between a Ford C-Max and S-Max, so not to be sniffed at, and it’s all easily accessible and eminently usable. And while any adult sat in the third row of either of the Fords would start to seize up after about 10 minutes, if you’re in the Touran, you’ll fare better for longer. 

It certainly looks as though the dashboard and all the switchgear is a straight lift from the Golf, which is fine by us because it’s brilliantly tactile. Classy, but doesn’t half make the interior a bit dull. The Golf somehow manages to pull it off, so it must be the bigger expanses of grey plastic that nobble the Touran.