Volkswagen Touran review

All models get a height-adjustable seat, a rake and reach-adjustable steering wheel and a front centre armrest. In addition, all trims from SE and above get standard lumbar adjustment. There’s a broad enough range of movement in the seat and steering wheel to suit most drivers.

The seat is a bit firm but it’s supportive and comfortable enough for long journeys, as long as it has lumbar adjustment. Full electric adjustment is available as a fairly pricey option on all but the entry-level S models.

The pedals are well placed and the dashboard is as good as it gets for ease of use. There are clearly labelled shortcut buttons either side of the standard 8.0in colour touchscreen, the air-con controls are straightforward and the dials are easy to read at a glance. All the controls are where you'd expect to find them and are easy to use.

It’s an excellent view all round in the Touran. The high-set seat gives you a good view up the road, while the fairly upright pillars, along with tall front and rear screens and side windows, mean you’ve got broad swathes of glass all around, giving a clear view at junctions.

The boxy shape of the Touran also makes it easy to judge in a tight spot, although to make things easier still all trims from SE and upwards get front and rear parking sensors, as well as auto lights and wipers, as standard. A reversing camera and an automatic parking system are very affordable options.

Heated, electrically adjustable wing mirrors are standard across the range and, provided you have the affordable Mirror Pack, which brings folding door mirrors, you can also add blindspot warning, albeit at a fairly high price. A heated windscreen is a well-priced option.

All Tourans get an 8.0in colour touchscreen as standard, complete with digital radio, Bluetooth, audio streaming and a USB port.

One affordable option (standard on SE Family, SEL and R-line) is Car-Net App Connect, a feature that combines the functionality of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink. Put simply, it allows you to fully integrate your phone into the car’s system via USB.

Otherwise, the screen is easy to use and fast to respond. It’s about the most user-friendly touchscreen system in the class, despite having the odd small icon that can be hard to hit with precision.

You can upgrade the standard media system to include sat-nav and voice control (standard on SE Family). The largest available screen is the 9.2in version available with Discover Navigation Pro. This includes gesture control, which allows you to scroll through menus and change radio stations or playlists using mid-air hand movements. This gimmick doesn’t work very well, though, and is rather expensive, so we wouldn’t bother.

High interior quality tends to be a hallmark of Volkswagen products, the Touran included. The materials feel dense and there’s a decent mixture of textures. The switches and stalks feel solidly damped and there’s an overall sense of solidity.

Even the way the rear seats move is weighty, smooth and dependable. The interior materials start to take on a slightly more durable feel lower down, as well as farther back, but they don’t detract from the Touran’s generally classy-feeling interior. True, it doesn’t quite match the top-notch feel of the BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer, but the BMW is more expensive and the Touran is easily the best of the rest in this class when it comes to interior quality.