VW Touareg: ‘A heady mix of brains and brawn’ | Martin Love

Smooth and swanky, VW's luxurious new Touareg is an old-school charmer

Volkswagen Touareg
Price 46,916
0-62mph 6.2 seconds
Top speed 146mph
MPG 42.8
CO2 173g/km

Fortunately I've been to few funerals, but I can't imagine many will match the rollicking jollity of a service last month to celebrate the life of my friend's father, Bob Bairamian. The funeral was held in a pretty village in Kent and There was standing room only in the church. He'd been a charismatic and roguish headmaster and ex-pupils, now in their 60s, queued to sing his praises and relive his mischievous escapades. My friend spoke movingly, then a barrister reminisced, followed by a filmmaker from Sydney and then, rather incredibly, a personal message was read out from Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, president of Ghana. Bob always had a surprise up his sleeve. None more so than when we stepped out of the church to toast his memory at a favourite pub to find it had gone up in flames during the service. We looked to the heavens as if somehow Bob must have been behind this final ruse"