volkswagen is selling the touareg to try and keep those former and current volkswagen owners "within the family..... before it became available,research was saying vw was loosing customers to the competition because they did not offer a sport ute comparable vehicle..... no comment here as to the reason people purchase this type vehicle but the hundreds of thousands purchased each year in usa were not able to even consider a vw vehicle prior to introduction. as the oldest of 7 children in my family,we never owned anything bigger than a 4 door sedan....without a/c or seat belts! always took a seat directly behind the driver's seat for limited access to hand slap across the filled back seat!
regards