The V6 has received a much-needed shot of 20 more horsepower for 2005, bringing the total to 240 at 6000 rpm, with 229 pound-feet of torque at 3200. Though smooth and quiet, last year's V6 Touareg took about 9.4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60, slow by anyone's stopwatch, and it felt sluggish at altitude. The 2005 model should be better, but we don't expect a dramatic improvement.

The V8, on the other hand, delivers strong torque around town and the transmission always selects the right gear. So you don't need much throttle pressure to smoothly accelerate to the desired speed. Slam the throttle down and the V8 responds well, but it still does not deliver breathtaking thrust. Granted, we drove the Touareg at 6000 feet where thinner air reduces the V8's 310 horsepower to something less than 250. But at any altitude, a V8 Touareg weighs about 5,300 pounds when empty. That makes Touareg 375 pounds heavier than a BMW X5 4.4i, and 425 pounds heavier than Mercedes-Benz ML500. Still, the V8 Touareg delivers respectable performance. It will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 7.6 seconds, says Volkswagen, which is comparable to the performance of a V8-powered BMW X5.

We haven't tried the new turbo-diesel V10, but we are impressed by its specifications, especially its 553 pound-feet of torque at just 2000 rpm. VW claims the new engine places the Touareg among the best-performing diesel SUV's ever, capable of clocking a 0-60mph time of just 7.5 seconds and a top speed of 130 mph. Twin turbochargers account for its power, while Volkswagen's sophisticated diesel fuel injection accounts for its relatively efficient 17/23 City/Highway mpg. (TDI stands for Turbo Direct Injection.)

The V6 and V8 models are not as fuel efficient, at least partly due to the Touareg's considerable weight. The V6 earns an EPA rating of 15/20 mpg City/Highway, while the V8 returns 14/18 mpg. VW recommends premium gas for maximum performance.

The transmission that comes with all three engines is brilliant, a luxury-grade six-speed automatic used in the new Audi A8 L. Fuzzy logic senses the driver's intentions then smoothly selects the proper gear. Switch from Normal to Sport mode and it selects higher shift points for more aggressive driving. There's also a Tiptronic mode for manual shifting, useful in some situations, but ultimately the transmission will still shift up automatically when redline is reached.

VW says it has recalibrated the 2005 Touareg's suspension for more sport. The ride quality of last year's model was good, though road vibration increased with wheel size, most noticeable with the 19-inch wheels and tires. The V6 model's standard 17-inch wheels offered the best ride quality, smoother and quieter, though the aggressive tread pattern of the tires generated some noise and vibration.

Steering responses are sharper with the 19-inch wheels, and more lethargic and mushier with the 17-inch wheels. The 18-inch wheel and tires seemed like a good compromise between the two. Most of my time with the 18-inch wheels was spent off-road, but the ride seemed quite pleasant during the few, short highway sections that I drove with them. Overall, I preferred the 17- and 18-inch wheels and tires.

Two suspensions are available for Touareg: a standard suspension with regular steel springs and an optional air suspension. The standard suspension works very well and we recommend it highly. It might even be our preference. It offers a nice ride and handles well, as we discovered on some winding mountain roads in Utah. Touareg boasts an impressive 8.3 inches of ground clearance with the standard suspension.

The optional air suspension features adjustable ride height and Continuous Damping Control, which varies shock stiffness according to driving conditions. The driver can select among three damping modes: Comfort, Sport, and Auto. The Sport mode is firmer, and we found it offered better handling on winding roads with less wallowing in corners and less chassis oscillation. The Comfort mode feels softer, and we found it to be more comfortable on bumpy roads. Road vibration can be felt even in the Comfort mode, however, particularly with the 19-inch wheels. And even in the Sport mode, this is a heavy vehicle that reacts more ponderously in corners than a sedan. We found it was often best to select the Auto mode, as the system does a good job of adjusting the damping automatically according to driving conditions.

The air suspension can adjust ride height automatically or manually. In normal operation, the driver need do nothing. The system maintains an 8.7-inch ground clearance in normal driving. At 87 mph, it automatically lowers the ride height to 7.7 inches, dropping the center of gravity and reducing wind resistance. At 118 mph, it lowers the ride height to 7.3 inches. We didn't hit the 118-mph mark, but found the Touareg quite stable at high speeds. By turning a knob, the driver can raise the high ride height to 9.6 inches when heading off the pavement or wading through deep snow. An ultra-high mode is available to ford extreme obstacles, offering an impressive 11.8-inch ground clearance. The extra-high level raises the suspension to the tops of the springs, making the ride uncomfortable, however, so you'll want to switch back to the normal-high setting as soon as you clear the obstacle. Also, it sometimes takes a moment to raise the suspension to the extra-high level. So the technique is to approach the obstacle, raise the suspension to the extra-high level, clamber over, and then lower it to the high level. We tackled Hell's Revenge near Moab without any trouble and easily drove down the Dragon's Tail, only invoking the top level on a few occasions. On the other end of the spectrum, the ultra-low kneeling mode (6.3 inches) is quite useful for getting less-agile passengers in or out or when loading cargo or unloading big dogs. An air hose can be connected to the system (under the passenger's seat) and used to inflate the tires or accessories.

We pushed Touareg to the limits of off-road travel in Moab and came away impressed. With the air suspension, the Touareg boasts an impressive approach angle (33.2 degrees), departure angle (33.6 degrees), and breakover angle (27.2 degrees). Touareg can be driven on a 35-degree offset angle (side inclination), a very uncomfortable situation, we might add.

With the optional rear differential lock, up to 100 percent of the engine's power can be used by any wheel that still has traction. The center differential is controlled automatically when the transfer case is set in the High position. The driver can shift on the fly into low range, and doing so automatically locks the center differential.

Hill Roll-Back Control prevents the Touareg from rolling back on a steep incline by locking the gearbox, which makes accelerating up a steep hill from a standing start easier. Going down a steep hill is easier with Hill Descent Control, which detects it's on a steep hill (greater than 20 percent) and automatically eases you down, applying the brakes to individual wheels as needed. Just take your feet off the pedals and enjoy the ride. The system works extremely well, allowing you to adjust speed with the brake or gas pedal, and will maintain whatever creepy crawly speed you want it to hold. Slower is better in these situations.

On the road, the Touareg feels more substantial than a Lexus RX 330. Granted, the Touareg is heavier than the RX, but the Volkswagen suspension is beefier and more sophisticated than the Lexus suspension, and the VW drive system is more sophisticated. We found the Touareg easier to manage and more pleasant than a BMW X5, which feels taller and jiggles more on bumpy pavement. And the Touareg feels more like a car than the Mercedes M-Class trucks do with their body-on-frame construction.