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Volkswagen’s Touareg 4WD wagon has been named as the most
theft-proof vehicle in its class by the British Research and Technology Centre
Thatcham.
This latest award for Touareg - Volkswagen’s first full-size 4WD wagon - is
in addition to its ‘4WD Of the Year’ from Overlander magazine Australia and SUV
Of the Year awards from leading American magazines Motor Trend and Car &
Driver.
The British award is especially significant for Touareg owners as anti-theft
protection and perimeter security are the main priority of the independent
examination, which determines insurance ratings of new vehicles in Great
Britain.
Thatcham’s test procedure examines the perimeter security and theft
protection of a vehicle based on the NVSA (New Vehicle Security Assessment).
In addition, the tests take into account further rating criteria used by
insurers such as the recommended retail price of the vehicle, repair time, cost
of parts and vehicle performance.
The NVSA was created by Thatcham in collaboration with the Association of
British Insurers (ABI), the Automobile Association (AA) and the British
Transport Ministry.
Collectively since 1998, over 5000 vehicles in 11 categories have been
examined by Thatcham thus covering nearly all vehicles available in Great
Britain.
In this latest round of testing, as well as the Touareg’s first place, other
Volkswagen vehicles also placed in the top three in their respective categories
– Golf (second in the compact category); Phaeton V6 and W12 (second in the
luxury category); Caravelle/Multivan (second in the large MPV category); Touran
(third in the compact MPV category).
According to Volkswagen Group Australia’s Managing Director, Mr Peter Nochar,
the Thatcham testing provides a significant incentive for Touareg customers.
“Luxury 4WD customers look at many different aspects when considering a
purchase,” Mr Nochar explained. “The process goes beyond on-road/off-road
performance and colour of the paint; thesedays car security and anti-theft
protection are major factors and this award from Thatcham in Great Britain is
further proof of the tremendous work done by Volkswagen’s engineers in
developing our first full-size 4WD wagon.”
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