New Touareg is a terrific off-road ride

The Touareg, Volkswagen's midsize SUV, was redesigned slightly just last year and renamed the Touareg 2.

For 2009, though, the big news is the addition of a much less expensive diesel version to the Touareg lineup. The new Touareg 2 TDI model, with a six-cylinder engine, starts at $42,800 (plus $750 freight) and replaces the 10-cylinder diesel model that began at just more than $68,000.

The new TDI model comes with a V-6 diesel engine rated at 221 horsepower and 407 foot-pounds of torque.

What's even better is the fuel economy: It's EPA rated at 17 miles per gallon city/25 highway, so with a full tank of fuel, it has a highway range of about 650 miles — something that came in handy during a recent long trip in this vehicle.

On a 1,000-mile one-way jaunt, I had to refuel just once, then had enough left to drive around a while at my destination before refueling to begin the trip home.

For 2009, the base V-6 Touareg begins at $39,300, and the top model, with a V-8 engine, lists for $48,900, although not many consumers opt for V-8 engines these days — particularly in the Touareg, at that price.

In last year's redo, Volkswagen said content was added to push the Touareg more upscale, part of a long-standing but mostly unsuccessful effort by the German automaker to market itself as a premium brand in the U.S. market.

Overall, the company's efforts to persuade Americans to pay Mercedes-like prices for Volkswagen vehicles has not been real successful; in fact, the $60,000-plus Volkswagen Phaeton sedan came and went in less than two years.

The V-8 powered Passat, a midsize sedan priced about the same as some Mercedes and BMW models of the same size (lower $40,000s), didn't sell much better and also was discontinued.

But the Touareg seems to be a vehicle that warrants its current prices, especially when compared to others in its class, which cost about the same even if they don't have premium brand names.

You also should consider that the Touareg's architecture is virtually the same as that of the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 models, which can cost much more.

Still, because of its premium pricing, which has been in effect since the vehicle's 2004 launch, the Touareg has yet to become more than a niche product. Americans seem to want a premium brand for a premium price, believing that a BMW or Mercedes just commands much more respect in the driveway than a Volkswagen.

The diesel model is the way to go, especially now that diesel fuel prices are about the same as those of regular unleaded gasoline, and in some areas are actually lower. A year ago, diesel fuel was about a dollar a gallon higher than gasoline.

I'm also glad VW ditched the outrageously expensive V-10 diesel model. It had lots of power, for sure — 310 horsepower and 553 foot-pounds of torque — but the price and fuel economy were problems.

EPA ratings for that model are 15 mpg city/20 highway, which was just slightly better than the 14/20 of the V-6 model and marginally better than the 13/18 of the V-8.

The V-6 engine is rated at 280 horsepower and 265 foot-pounds of torque, while the V-8 has 350 horsepower and 324 foot-pounds of torque.

Even with the high prices, I'm a big fan of the Touareg because of its phenomenal off-road performance.

All models come with four-wheel drive, and the system has a two-speed transfer case for low-range gearing in extreme off-road conditions.

Out of the box, this is one of the best off-road vehicles I've ever driven, especially with the optional air suspension that raises it to a maximum of 12 inches above the ground.

With last year's remake, the Touareg got a restyled front end, new side mirrors and new organically shaped headlight housings. The styling changes, which were not dramatic, did make the new Touareg look more like a Volkswagen. That's mostly because of the new grille, which shares its design with other VW models.

The rest of the exterior is much like before, but there is a new spoiler at the rear of the roof. The taillights were changed a bit, as well as the tailpipes.

Inside the Touareg 2 is a redesigned instrument panel with a larger display screen, along with enhanced luxury seats with a standard 12-way power adjuster for the driver. A power liftgate is standard, along with Sirius satellite radio.