VW Touran facelift (2010) first official pictures

This is the new VW Touran...

Not new as such, more a mid-life facelift with Golf/Polo/Touareg-aping styling. Bar the four doors every external panel is new so there are now oblong headlights for the nose, and the rear light cluster is now split between the body and bootlid. Of course there are new bumpers too, plus aero tweaks that include a revised roof spoiler make the Touran slipperier than before (0.29Cd for the new car, 0.32Cd for the old).

There are eight engines available, and VW is proudest of the pair that produce 104bhp. One is a 1.6-litre TDI available in eco-tweaked Bluemotion guise to achieve 61.4mpg and 121g/km; the other is the new turbocharged 1.2 TSI petrol (with 129lb ft) that’s also found in the Golf and Polo. And if you’re keen on being green you can have it as a Bluemotion variant as well, with stop/start tech and a battery that only recharges under coasting and braking.

The rest of the engines (whether petrol or diesel) range from 89bhp to 168bhp, and all are direct-injected and turbocharged. The Touran is also available with the usual array of tech, with the latest self-parking system, lane keeping assist, a rear view camera and electronic dampers, and the choice of five or seven seats.

VW’s little people-carrying van will be unveiled at the 2010 Leipzig motor show, and UK sales start in August 2010 with prices kicking off around £17k.

By Ben Pulman