By John Oxley Not only is the Rotorua region renowned for its bubbling hot mud and steaming geysers – not to mention, in places, an all-pervading stink of “bad eggs” – but it’s surrounded by a plethora of lakes, big and small, 12 in total. We decided to take Volkswagen’s latest Touareg to check some of them out. EMD, importers of Volkswagen in New Zealand, has realigned the local Touareg range, bringing in the 3-litre TDI as its lowest priced model, and dropping the R5 5-cylinder 2.5 litre diesel version. However, the least-expensive petrol model in the lineup is the 3.6 FSI. It has the same trim and features as the R5 – and in fact as the new V6 TDI “base” model – but it’s fitted with a new direct injection motor which cranks out a whopping 206 kW of power, plus 360 Nm of torque. This transforms the way it performs, as well as giving it fuel economy more in line with its diesel siblings. Although we have tested the rip-snorting 4.2 V8 FSI, this is the first time we’ve got our hands on the 3.6 FSI, which was introduced last year. And that’s why we decided to do something special with it. Most Kiwis know about Lake Rotorua, as well as the “blue” and “green” lakes, Tikitapu and Rotokakahi. But there are lots of others in the area, and one in particular, Lake Rerewhakaaitu, which is the southernmost of the Rotorua lakes. Our intrepid adventurer Ashley Lucas has fond memories of visiting Rerewhakaaitu many years ago, and wanted to see if he could repeat a trip he did then, when he successfully circumnavigated the lake by hugging its shoreline – although at times you are forced to travel in the lake itself. Although not arduous in terms of the road surface, which is mainly pumice ground, you need low range to be able to safely get in and out of the lake when the need arises. There are also a couple of places where rocks and deep muddy ruts could catch out someone without decent ground clearance and a low ratio gearbox. Variable height air suspension is standard on more expensive versions of the Touareg – starting with the 3.0 TDI Lux and the 4.2 FSI, as well as the 5.0 TDI and the range-topping soon-to-be released R50 – but the 3.6 FSI comes with ordinary steel suspension. However even that gives a more than adequate 237 mm of ground clearance coupled with a 500 mm wading depth. And it’s got VW’s patented 4Motion 4WD system. Most of the time it runs in rear-wheel drive, but the electronically controlled centre differential with its infinitely variable multiple-disc clutch pushes torque to wherever it’s needed if wheel slip is sensed, and if required, up to 100 percent of the drive power can be transmitted to one of the two axles. Several times while in the early parts of our drive around the lake I could feel the front wheels kick in from time to time as we encountered slippery bits. And the system was very quick to act. However you can also select to lock the centre diff., at which point power is split 50: 50 between the two axles, and the auto mode is disconnected. Or select low ratio and the stability programme is switched off, although the brake traction control remains. However this system was changed at the same time as the Touareg was upgraded and face lifted last year and now features the new ABSplus system which was developed and patented by Volkswagen and fitted as standard to all new generation Touaregs. One of the problems in the past with ABS on loose surfaces – especially on gravel roads and in snow – has been its inability to allow the tyres to build up a wedge in front to assist braking. ABSplus does allow this, and as a result can shorten the braking distance on loose surfaces, especially in off-road duty, by up to 20 percent! By the way, changing from auto to high to low requires no more than a turn of a rotary control on the centre console, close to the driver’s left hand. Selection must be done when the gear lever is in neutral, and when stationary for the change to low ratio. Hill descent control is available for use on very steep downhill inclines (greater than 20 percent). It activates itself automatically if the vehicle’s speed is first reduced to below 20 km/h and ESP is not deactivated; the Touareg then coasts at a constant speed for as long as a gear is engaged but the accelerator pedal is not pressed. If you want to go faster, you can select second gear at which point the HDC system selects a higher speed for the descent. Furthermore, performance in hilly areas is rounded off perfectly by hill ascent control. Our run from our base on the North Shore took us first over the bridge, past Auckland, and to the Bombay Hills, where I met up with Ashley. After a cuppa and a chat we set off along SH1 as far as the Coromandel turnoff, and then carried on along SH2 until we hit the R27, headed for Matamata. Our intention at this stage was to put km under our belts and get to our destination as soon as possible, so there was no messing around. I noticed when I left Auckland the computer was showing average fuel consumption of 13.4 litres/100 km, not bad for a big petrol 4WD weighing over 2.2 tons. And our tar seal cruise gave me a chance to look around the cabin. Basically this hasn’t changed much since the Touareg was first launched back in 2003. However the latest versions get a new instrument cluster with a large multifunctional multi-colour display. This is situated between the revcounter and the speedo, which are large black-faced dials with bright trim rings, and above the smaller dials for engine temperature and speed. There are additional dials at the outside of the panel for oil temperature and battery condition. The display includes time, fuel consumption, range, and outside temperature. The rest of the interior is pretty much as before, with leather upholstery, heated front seats with manual adjustment, electric mirrors and windows, and climate controlled aircon/heating which can be tailored to suit driver and front passenger separately. The four-spoke steering wheel is leather covered, and includes buttons for the cruise control and the multi-function display, as well as the on-board phone where fitted, and for the sound system. The cruise control is very easy and intuitive to use, making it possible to adjust your speed manually without having to reset as you drive in traffic. The front seats are manually adjusted and extremely comfortable, and with height and tilt adjustment of the steering wheel it’s easy to get a comfy driving position, and one which enables you to pretty much see all round. The Touareg is quite spacious, with lots of room back and front for five adults. Thankfully VW has eschewed the temptation to try and cram in a third row of seats. This means it has space for a decent amount of luggage without folding the 60:40 split seats down. And there’s a “ski hatch” for longer objects. Claimed luggage space is 555 litres with the seats up, 1,570 litres folded, and there’s a big luggage cover. When you’re putting on distance you don’t want to stop for drinks, and the Touareg helps by having a cooling facility in the glovebox. This kept my bottle of water comfortably cold, though nowhere near icy. There’s a robust bottle holder in the between seats console and no fewer than three 12 volt sockets – one in the centre console, one in the rear, and one in the luggage compartment, so you can keep all your electrical accessories fully charged or have a fridge keeping the beers COLD. The gearlever is set between the seats, where it belongs, and has both full automatic and Tiptronic functionality, plus a sport setting, but the parking brake is electronic, and under the dash – not much use for anything else, but, well, parking… You pull it when you park, and it releases automatically when you move off. Parking is assisted by sensors front and rear, but they have a very wide spread and a noisy alarm. We switched them off as soon as we went off-road as even branches far from us set the buzzer going. Ride comfort on-road was excellent, and handling much the same; the Touareg is extremely safe and controllable with great cornering stability, outstanding even when the road is wet. At Matamata we kept a close eye out for Hobbits, but they must have been hiding so we carried along the SH27 to Tirau, where we rejoined SH1. It was a great way to cut out the growing metropolis of Hamilton and the slow streets of Cambridge. We carried on straight along SH1, and instead of taking the SH5 which would have shot us straight to Rotorua, opted to go through Pataruru and Tokoroa before turning left on SH30, skirting the neck of Lake Atiamuri and heading towards Rotorua. Just before the city we came to the T-junction intersection with SH5, and turned right, passing the small lake Rotokakahi on our left and heading towards Rainbow Mountain. As the mountain loomed large in front of us we turned left onto SH38 until we hit the turnoff to Lake Rerewhakaaitu. It’s not very well signposted, but you enter into Brett Road. Situated in the Guy Roe reserve, and immediately south of the active volcano Mount Tarawera, the lake is popular with anglers and boat owners, with a shallow bottom and lots of reed where the fish can hide. There’s a nice clean campsite for $6 per site a night (with an honesty box) and pretty good facilities. We stopped for a cuppa and our packed lunch, then set off to find Ashley’s track around the lake. However, I was a bit worried as the water level was very high – almost up to the roads in the campsite, so I didn’t know how far we would be able to go. As it happened, it wasn’t the water level which finally put an end to our round trip attempt, but brambles, overgrown bushes and toitoi which stopped us going through. We had cut back brambles from the track to get us about a quarter of the distance, and had to follow the edge of the lake and into the water in places – road signs were partly submerged, which shows how full the lake is – but eventually it all got too much. Some vehicles had been through, but judging by their tyre tracks and damage that had been done to sections of ground off the track - by both 4WDs and motorbikes – these were probably hooning locals rather than serious 4Wheelers. We retraced our tracks and managed to get along the lake in a few other places. We did in fact go all the way around, but not always on the lakeside track. The Touareg behaved impeccably, and we must have been close to the wading limit a couple of times, but there was no water ingress through the double seals – although one big bow wave loosened the number plate, and we decided to take it off before we lost it. By now the day was getting on, so we headed back to Rotorua, hoping to take in Mt Tarawera on the way. Disappointingly access is no longer allowed up the mountain except by “guided 4WD tour”. We phoned the number shown on a large billboard, but there was no reply. So off we headed to our self-contained cabin at Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park. Clean, well equipped, and great value at just $90 for both of us. The next day dawned bright but cool, and after an excellent breakfast at La Bonne Bakery on the Tarawera Rd, set off to visit the giant redwoods in Tokorangi Forest, which is part of the 5,667 hectare Whakarewarewa Forest. The forest starts further along the Tarawera Rd – you take the Long Mile turnoff about 5 km from the city centre. The California redwoods were planted in 1901 and in 1947 were dedicated to those who had worked in State forestry but had been killed in the two world wars. They are massive – towering to the sky and metres across – but ironically their wood isn’t worth much as the New Zealand climate has resulted in their growing too quickly, making the wood soft and pulpy. The good news was that the redwoods were beautiful, as always, and a walk among their peaceful magnificence both comforting and energising. But there’s no private 4WD access into the forest at the moment as they’re busy thinning the Douglas firs adjoining the blue and green lakes in the north-east segment. There’s some controversy about this, and security guards were on duty to prevent activists interfering. But from what we saw the process can only improve matters – it’s five trees in every 33, which hardly decimates the hillsides, as claimed by the tree huggers, and will give the remaining trees a bit of air to develop. We carried on along the Tarawera road and came to Lake Tikitapu, the “blue” lake. This is a collapsed volcanic crater, and is the water sports centre for the region, boating, water skiing and is also treasured for its rainbow and brook trout. Legend has it that it is also the home of the Taniwha (lake monster). It’s called the blue lake because from the air the water is a rich turquoise blue due to reflection of the sky off its white bottom. You get to it by turning off the main road. There’s a great café, ample parking, and good boat launching facilities. From there we skirted the green lake, Rotokakahi, but there’s no direct access allowed as it’s sacred to Maori, and we could only photograph it from the main road. It’s larger but shallower than Lake Tikitapu, which gives it its emerald green colour from the air. Further along the Tarawera road is the Buried Village. This is another treasure worth visiting, and catalogues the events of June 10, 1886, when New Zealand’s greatest natural disaster occurred, with Mount Tarawera cascading rocks, ash and mud onto the village of Te Wairoa, ending 150 lives and destroying the eighth wonder of the world, the magnificent Pink and White Terraces. Well worth a visit, it contains excavated archeological sites, both Maori and settler, and has magnificent scenic walks. We paid a short visit to the edge of Lake Tarawera and then went on to Lake Okareka, situated off to the right of the Tarawera road. This totally contrasts to the other lakes in the region. It is much smaller and is partly abutted by many homes. You can get part of the way along it, and we came across an interesting long boat club. It’s also the home of the palatial $6,000 a night Lake Okareka lodge, a luxury 5-star hotel. As to be expected, very beautiful. We wanted to get back to Auckland before dark, so it was time to head back. But before we finally hit the main drag back there was one more sight to see. We had been told about a “World 1st” in Rotorua, the New Zealand Caterpillar Experience. Our intention was just to pop in for a few minutes, but this is one place you can’t rush through, and it was so interesting we’re going to do a special feature on it in the August issue. Briefly, it has 30 refurbished Caterpillar machines from early days, plus lots of other artifacts, all laid out in a beautiful natural indoor setting. It’s situated off SH5 in Fairy Springs Road, on the right just before the NZ Farm Show. Our return home was uneventful. As we left Rotorua the computer was showing an overall average of 15.4 litres/100 km, courtesy of our off-roading and slow crawling along the lakes. However by the time we hit Auckland a few hours later it had reduced to 11.1 litres/100 km thanks to our 100 km/h cruising. I was hoping to crack the 11 litres/100 km barrier, but the Auckland traffic put a stop to that and by the time we took the Touareg back the overall average had climbed to 12.4 litres/100 km. Summing up, the Touareg proved to be a great vehicle, and the 3.6 FSI motor gives it excellent performance without drinking vast quantities of 95 unleaded. Torque isn’t as high as the TDI’s, but more than enough to endow the Touareg with a 45 degree climbing ability. Gearing is great, with a first gear ratio of 4.15 to 1 coupled with a transfer ratio of 2.66 to 1 and a final drive ratio of 4.3 to 1, yet the 6-speed Tiptronic allows two overdriven gears for economical cruising. If you want to get to really out-of-the-way places, there’s an optional locking rear axle, and the optional air suspension package can include dislocating antiroll bars to improve articulation even further. TO AID ITS REPUTATION FOR TOUGHNESS AND RELIABILITY THE TOUAREG HAS A 3-YEAR UNLIMITED KM WARRANTY, 12-YEAR ANTI CORROSION WARRANTY AND 3 YEARS VOLKSWAGEN ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. IT GAINED FIVE Stars in the tough Euro NCAP crash tests.*