Volkswagen Touareg £61,540

The third generation of this German off-roader in hot-hatch clothing is capable of conquering anything that Ed Coles can throw at it

- Ed Coles

As the sleek VW pulled up, I thought: “This looks like a proper big-boy motor.” We’re taking a look at Volkswagen’s Touareg Black Edition, a three-litre TDI V6, and I’m hopeful this third-generation model will tick a few boxes.

If the 21in Suzuka wheels weren’t a giveaway, the Black Edition is the sporty iteration of the Touareg. In layman’s terms, it’s the R-line version with a few bits painted black, plus a few extra goodies.

The grille, wheels, mirror covers, door, and roof trims have had an added splash of stealthy black paint. The vehicle also comes with a panoramic roof and fancy IQ LED headlights, plus some sexy optional extras that I’ll come back to shortly.

It’s a bit of a wide load, so wouldn’t look out of place on one of those ‘cruises’ to Southend, but it does look rather smart from all angles. The bumpers, contoured bonnet, and grilles have got beefier, while the lights have got smaller, yet intensified in retina-melting abilities.

Under the bonnet lies VW’s three-liter TDI V6 diesel engine, which stables an impressive 286 horses and 600Nm of torque. It’s proper poky, in other words. When engaging a heavy right foot, the Touareg canters to 62mph in 6.1 seconds and rattling through the eight-speed Tiptronic gearbox reaches a top speed of 148mph. There are four settings for the engine — Normal, Sport, Eco and Comfort — all self-explanatory.