New diesel for Touareg

VW's big 4x4 has just been treated to a new diesel engine.

The new 3.0 V6 TDI is available to order now, with more power, better fuel economy and lower emissions.

Refinement should benefit, too, thanks to the new engine's common-rail design. Volkswagen is gradually replacing the old 'Pumpe Duse' diesel engines in all its cars, and the Touareg is third model to get the new design, following the Tiguan and Passat.

So what about the numbers? Well, power output is now 237bhp (up 15bhp), which means the Touareg gets to 62mph in 8.3 sec. There's also 10% more torque, so it should be more flexible to drive.

Unfortunately, the new engine doesn't cut carbon dioxide emissions by much, so the 3.0 V6 TDI is still in tax band 'G' (400 a year) with its output of 262g/km (down from 278g/km).

However, the new engine does meet the latest European emissions criteria and is fitted with a diesel particulate filter (DPF), so particulate emissions should be lower.

Prices have been raised by around 800, so the basic Touareg 3.0 V6 TDI now costs 33,645, rising to 36,865 for the plush Altitude trim.