Volkswagen Motor Company

Review Notes: Volkswagen Touareg V8 Personality Luxury SUV with elegant looks and sports-car blood and user-interface issues Unusual features Height and shock absorber adjustments, tech-boosted off-roading Above Average: Smooth, quiet, powerful engine and great handling Needs Work In: Gas mileage, controls EPA gas mileage 14 city, 18 highway (V8; diesel 17/23, V6 15/20) Price Base, $43,000; as tested, $53,355 The …

It’s named after a nomadic, hearty Saharan tribe with the unusual-sounding name, TOUR-egg. Literally translated, the word means “free folk.” So what better way to test drive the Touareg — the first SUV offered by Volkswagen — than during an open-road, 400-mile round-trip journey to the famed Monterey Peninsula? Certainly, my chosen route south on Interstate 5 has long stretches …