SUVs have seen a huge surge in popularity, but for many families the humble MPV could be a better fit. Take the Volkswagen Touran: it might not be particularly stylish, or offer off-road antics; but it is perfectly equipped to carry up to seven people in comfort.

The driver shouldn’t feel too sorry for themselves either, thanks of its Golf underpinnings ensuring the Touran is pleasant enough to drive, as well as comfortable.

Performance

Sitting near the middle of the range, the updated 2.0-litre diesel with 148bhp has enough poke to feel like six passengers and their luggage won’t halt progress up a steep hillside. This is the bread-and-butter engine in the Touran line-up and we can see why; keeping up with traffic never becomes a chore and there’s enough power to overtake, or tow a large trailer.

An even sweeter combination is this engine mated with VW’s excellent DSG automatic gearbox. While I’m a big fan of manual gears in sports cars and hot hatches, an MPV is far better suited to an auto, and this is a good one. There’s a tiny hesitation between gears, but once up to speed it’s hardly noticeable and progress is smooth and relaxing. You’ll also benefit from ‘coasting’, where the gearbox disengages as you lift off the throttle to save fuel – something the manual can’t do.

Ride and Handling

Less body roll than you might expect and strong grip

Bumble around in the Touran and you’re sure to be satisfied by the impressive comfort levels it serves up, with thoroughly saloon car-like refinement and potholes dispatched with nothing more than a distant thud. Shuffle the steering wheel a bit more excitedly and the chassis responds too, with less body roll than you might expect and strong grip. It’s not quite as engaging as the Ford Grand C-MAX or BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer, but it feels less prone to slippage than a Sumo wrestler’s underpants.

Interior and Equipment

The Touran has a five-star EuroNCAP crash safety score, achieving 88 per cent in the adult occupant safety category.

If you’ve sat in a Golf recently, a lot will be familiar here. Most of the switches, gauges, infotainment system and even the steering wheels are carried over wholesale and that’s no bad thing; the Golf has one of our favourite interiors. The SE Family trim we tested was trimmed with a brushed metal swathe across the dashboard which looked particularly neat, while a large panoramic sunroof bathed the cabin in light. In fact, visibility is excellent, thanks to deep windows all around the cabin, but a reversing camera and parking sensors don’t come as standard. A 6.5-inch touch-screen infotainment system is standard, along with DAB digital radio and Bluetooth and they are simple to use. We weren’t quite as bowled over with the App Connect option, however, which brings Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity but seemed tricky to get working with my Sony Android smartphone. No such worries with the flexible rear seating or huge tailgate, capable of swallowing five adults, two kids and a fair bit of luggage with ease. We say “a fair bit” because the boot size is significantly reduced with all seven seats in place, but in five-seat mode it’s generous and with just the driver’s seat (you can even fold down the front passenger seat back) you can do some heavy duty hauling. One of our favourite features: the middle row seats which easily tilt forwards and slide for easy access to the third row of seats.

Cost

We were blown away by its economy

While the Touran was admittedly driven solo for most of our test, we were blown away by its economy, which hovered in the mid-50s and even touched 60mpg on a few mainly motorway journeys. Once you get used to it, it’s pretty satisfying to exploit the ‘coasting’ feature, which also makes for a relaxing drive as it urges you to resist sharp acceleration and braking. Emissions of 125g/km are also highly competitive. The Touran isn’t a cheap choice, however, with some equipment like sat-nav and a reversing camera costing extra while coming as standard on rivals.

Our Verdict

If you need the versatility of a seven-seat MPV, but find a larger model like the Sharan or Galaxy simply too massive or expensive, the Touran is an excellent compromise. The third row of seats might not be quite large enough for adults, but that’s the only real compromise. In other respects the Touran is versatile and hugely practical, without sacrificing all its driving smarts or elevating running costs into the stratosphere.