When word surfaced that Volkswagen would create a sports utility vehicle, the cognoscenti were cynical. Then when Touareg appeared the environment was full of the sound of humble pie being eaten.

In a nutshell, the machine jumped right to the top of the list seeing off all rivals – the only real machine that may give a serious run because of its money is the Volvo XC-90, handling, performance, quality of ride, design and execution of the Touareg are beyond criticism – and also the V10 diesel may even take the fight to Porsche’s Cayenne.

Having a power output about the high side of 313PS and sufficient torque to haul a freight train, the V10 machine’s performance needs to be experienced to become believed -yet still returns wonderful gas mileage, and can potter along in traffic without a lot as a hiccough. Even the entry-level R5 TDi is a superb performer, balancing performance and economy that few SUVs can match.

Co-developed with Seat with Ford (who each sell their very own variants) the Sharan has become looking decidedly old-fashioned along with a decision on replacing it’s yet to be taken. But exceed the appearance, and also you find a five seater multi-purpose machine that delivers good dynamics, a higher build quality, along with a broad selection of engine and trim packages.

Handling is preferable to might be expected of this type of tall vehicle, and also the 2.5V6-engined variant, with 200PS, is a seriously good high-speed hauler. With the Touran overlapping the underside end of the Sharan’s market place, and interest in seven seat multipurpose vehicles increasing, any replacement must be appreciably different in execution to the current car.

And success is determined by being able to get partner companies to agree with a new format when the machine will be viable.

Firm favourite amongst a buyer group as diverse as students and once-a-week-to-the-shops silver-haired grannies, Polo emerges with engines that offer anything from 55PS to 100PS, in four trim options in the basic to the Sport (this provides uprated suspension) as well as in three and five-door body shells.

So there’s something for everybody. Coming for 2005 may be the Dune, a curious little 4×4 variant that is aimed at the leisure market Of the existing models the very best fun may be the 1.9 diesel Sport, a clear , crisp handler which seems to retain the excellent quality of ride common to all Polos.

Volkswagen has were able to keep the Polo looking and feeling contemporary, and also the creation of the Dune shows that there might be further derivatives still in the future – rumours exist of the coupe-convertible version being developed, to compete from the Peugeot 206CC and the new Tigra.

This can be a stunning machine – the large question is who’ll buy one. A lavish, lavishly-equipped car by having an excellent chassis along with a wonderful selection of engines (including an incredible W12 6.0 litre with 4Q0PS) the Phaeton’s only problem area is its badge; to h a Volkswagen.

Acceptable driving dynamics, an excellent ability to cross continents having to break into a sweat, along with a truly cosseting ride still is probably not sufficient to determine off such rivals since the Mercedes SL600 or even the Audi A8 – both have the distinct benefit of not appearing like a bloated Passat.

Ask the normal image-sensitive German executive which he’d prefer of the three and also the Volkswagen probably won’t top the list. Phaeton has been said to be the vanity project of the Volkswagen senior executive, so you shouldn’t be surprised when the car expires its life, not to be replaced- especially since Volkswagen Group owns the Bentley nameplate.

Euro-bland looks conceal an extremely impressive mechanical package in Volkswagen’s main fleet market contender. Buyer loyalties towards the model would be the envy of their rivals; drivers appreciate the clean handling, excellent ride, efficient ergonomics, and sturdy (if slightly austere) interior that still looks good despite a couple of years of hard use.

Engine choices are ideally suitable for the market – the business’s experience at building quiet and efficient diesel engines (including an excellent 2.5 litre V6TDi, available with 4-Motion 4×4) never been shown off more effectively compared to the Passat.

Just like many Volkswagen products exactly the same package can be obtained with other nameplates, and latterly the Passat has been confirmed up just a little by the Skoda Superb, that provides better rear seat space at discounted points. The next generation Passat will probably remedy that anomaly.

Coming for the end of its working life, Lupo is VOLKSWAGEN’s city car. Cute looking – if now starting to look like the automotive same as a spotty teenager – and may be had having a modest 1.0 litre that provides prodigious economy, and many other engine options up to and including sharp 1600 GTI that delivers 125PS.

That latter package is really a real little pocket rocket, which handles like ft includes a magnet strapped beneath its floor. The downside is a hard ride, but when you want a softer small car than go for the less adventurous variants like the 1.4E.

The city car sector is essential to the continued success of Volkswagen, however the relatively low unit profit returns give little scope to recuperate high development costs, previously Volkswagen has been in a position to offset costs by sharing the woking platform with other brands inside the group; the large question is whether this can happen again once the Lupo is due for replacement.

You can easily write this off as a Golf having a boot – however for some reason the sum is more than the number of parts. The Bora handles really cleanly, the quality of ride is excellent, as well as the entry-level 1.6S is quick enough to place a smile about the face.

Putting the 180PS 1.8 Turbo engine to the nose of the car is really a recipe for raw excitement. Accommodation are few things to shout about – it’s still a Golf cabin – but a minimum of there is lots of luggage space, and also the car also looks neat and smooth.

Despite reservations by critics that small saloons don’t have any real purpose in everyday life, the Bora includes a substantial group of followers amongst those who do not want a hatch, but simultaneously don’t want to progress a size towards the Passat. That the car provides a heightened sense of mechanical integrity is most likely key to its success.

Obtainable in both hard top and convertible body shells, the ‘New Beetle’ isn’t so new anymore, but nonetheless sells in good numbers; the great drive train (borrowed wholesale in the Golf) and styling that’s sufficiently such as the original Beetle to attract nostalgia is pretty much an ideal combination.

The entry-level 1.4 is flat as a pancake in performance terms, and also the top-end 2.5 V5, with its 170PS output, a tad too drastic an event for all however the most confident of drivers.

The perfect package may be the lively but predictable-handling 1.8T; tremendous fun and appears the part too.

Now in the fifth generation, the largest criticism being levelled in the car is the fact that it doesn’t look sufficiently new; Volkswagen Design’s procedure for evolution is really deeply entrenched it looks like another facelift model, as opposed to the entirely new car that it’s.

Leave that aside and also the car is very good. Offered initially in 3-door and 5-door variants (an estate will follow) with a range of petrol engines from the modest 1.4 petrol up to and including 150PS 2.0 litre, along with a pair of diesels with either 105PS or 140PS, the vehicle has the expected degree of performance and handling that Golf buyers have started to take for granted.

Larger than previous Golfs, the primary benefit is increased interior space and heightened safety levels.

Volkswagen is incorporated in the unusual position to be up against competition from not only the usual suspects – Ford, Vauxhall-Opel, Toyota – but additionally from within its organisation. The policy of sharing components (or even complete sections) of cars is biting back, as Audi, Seat and Skoda all build equivalent cars towards the mainstream VOLKSWAGEN models, with either extra style or cheaper.

For instance the possibility buyer of the Golf can move just a little further upwards on the market place and purchase an A3, or improve value from shopping within the Seat Leon range. Likewise the Passat is located in competition using the A4 or Skoda’s Superb. Not too it seems to bother the management of Volkswagen.

You will find, after all, some cars that don’t have competition within the Group, like the Beetle, the Phaeton and also the Touareg. The big real question is whether the new Golf is sufficiently good to consider the fight towards the competition, both in and outside of the Group.

GM Europe’s major contender within the rapidly-growing mid-size multipurpose vehicle marketplace is great fun, more so than buyers often expect.

Neat tricks within the packaging department make for any very flexible interior able to seating seven, along with a good selection of engine choices (in the entry-level 1.6 through to a clear , crisp 2.2 litre petrol, and also the excellent 2.0 litre turbo diesel) suit both the vehicle and the market ideally.

The GSi corners faster with greater precision than you may dare expect, and may give hot hatches difficulty. The mufti purpose vehicle marketplace is rapidly becoming saturated, but Zafira comes with an advantage over its rivals by seating seven, although not looking as if it has been extended of proportion to do this, and by not compromising enhanced comfort of the primary five occupants.

Built by Lotus using that company’s unrivalled understanding of composites of carbon fibre and aluminium, VX220 is really a grown-up sport car that delivers driver satisfaction through the bucketful. The lower-powered of the two engine options is smooth and torque-rich, whilst the turbocharged variant is merely stunningly quick.

Handling is slightly softer than its looks suggest, but nevertheless it can be designed to corner similar to it was on rails around each bend. Tremendous fun, along with a great way of running a niche car with big company back-up.

The vehicle is intended as a weekend warrior, for flying off the cobwebs following a hard week, but there’s a healthy proportion of their owner base that think about the mid-engined machine sufficiently practical for everyday use.