The Touran is a compact multi-purpose vehicle or MPV that has been available since 2003. It shares its platform with the VW Golf and the Sharan which is its larger counterpart. The MPV's name is a derivative of 'Tour' and 'Sharan'. The vehicle is available in five or seven-seat versions. The Touran was the first Volkswagen in its class to feature electro-mechanical steering; this enables it to vary the weight of the steering depending on the road speed. It also improves the overall efficiency of the car.
The Touran was the first vehicle to use Volkswagen's 2.0 TDI engine. In the later models, VW was introduced following the downsizing trend, a 1.2 with 77 kW and a new 1.6 Common Rail TDI with 66 kW or 77 kW. The 1.6 and 1.9 TDI were replaced by the previous model. The 1.2, 77 kW and 1.6 TDI 77 kW were also available as BlueMotion (VW's low fuel consumption programme).