YOU would have thought there were more than enough all-wheel drive vehicles on the road ... and there lies the nub of the argument because most are owned by people who never leave the tarmac.

At one time four-wheel drive vehicles were just muddy workhorses, box-like things used by folk who just liked to bump along tracks or plough across muddy fields.

Today, there are at least a dozen different makes, most of them great lumpy things with big fat tyres, with sparkling coats of paint and lots of glittering chrome, and all taking up premium road and parking space as well as frightening drivers of ordinary road cars into cowering submission.

This month another joins the part: Volkswagen's Touareg. The what? The Touareg. You know, the same name as those desert chaps who are so often pictured on their camels with their faces shielded from the biting desert winds. Incidentally, it is pronounced Twah-regg.

It is the German manufacturer's first venture into the luxury all-wheel market, and prices start at around £28,000, rising to £50,440 for the flagship 5.0-litre V10.

First impressions are that it is a very bulky vehicle, but it is by no means as forbidding as some, mainly because the high shoulder line is matched with a reasonably low roof.

It is roomy, not just for passengers, but also for luggage. The interior trim materials, fit, finish and equipment all seem to match Volkswagen's ambitions to become a major player in the profitable luxury 4x4 market.

The Touareg is designed to deliver class-leading performance both on and off the road, and features permanent four-wheel drive, low and high gear ratios, electronic traction control, hill start and descent assist and short front and rear overhangs for those who might just take the bull by the horns and venture off-road.

At the press launch only the entry-level 3.2-litre V6 petrol version and the top-of-the-range V10 turbo diesel were available for driving exercise.

Volkswagen is quite adamant that the Touareg should not be seen as one of the growing fleet of so-called "soft roaders" - 4x4s which have strictly limited off-road ambitions.

No, their vehicle, they insist, has been designed to deliver class-leading off-road ability and, to underline that point, they stress that Touareg was benchmarked against two of the top luxury off-tarmac performers, the Range Rover and Chrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee.

So, does Touareg deliver the goods? An hour-long course on a West Sussex estate which VW selected for the off-roading was pretty straightforward, and really did not test the car. There was some water about but not the 580mm or so that the car is capable of tackling (according to VW). But even if the conditions were pretty tame, the Touareg will face a more testing time when it takes over from this year's Tarek as Volkswagen's Dakar competition car.

However, there is no doubt that the Touareg is a very civilised vehicle, and if it does seem over-engineered for the kind of tasks most owners will put it to, it is better than having the situation the other way round. The Touareg is technically much more complicated than the average owner is likely to appreciate. "It is the sort of vehicle that the more you learn about it, the less you really know about it," mused a company spokesman, adding "There are features that will be hidden, even to an owner."

Many of the on-board systems are extremely sophisticated. There is the 4XMotion four-wheel drive system which delivers its power to the front and rear axles depending on the road conditions, and automatically feeds more power, up to 100 per cent of torque, to the axles or any wheel that needs it, especially when losing grip in conditions such as aquaplaning, and also keeps the wheels turning in slushy, muddy off-road surfaces. Operating the Touareg's 4XMotion system is easy. It is by a spring-loaded, pop-up rotary switch, by the driver's left hand on the console.

The hill starting assistant also swings into action automatically to avoid roll- back when the Touareg, with engine running, is stopped on an incline with the parking brake on, and also whether in first or reverse with the clutch pedal pressed. Those models with an automatic transmission also have the hill-starting helpmate. On very steep downward slopes, more off-road than on, an automatic downhill assist stops any out-of-control speed. There are two distinctly different suspension systems available, one conventional double wishbone style on the "basic" models, while the higher-priced V10 is fitted with what is called a Continuous Damping Control, but in more simple terms an air suspension, which can raise or lower the vehicle depending on the speed of the car.

The Touareg has four different engines, and standard six-speed transmissions, whether they are manual or tiptronic. Prices start at £29,335 for the 217bhp 3.2-litre V6 petrol model, which is available with manual or automatic transmissions and normal or Sport specification. There is also a 305bhp V8, a 171bhp 2.5-litre TDI, and one of the most astonishing engines on the European market, the 308bhp five-litre V10 pump injector turbo diesel with a massive 553lb/ft of torque.

This £50,440 model has amazing acceleration for a car of its size and engine type, as well as an impressive ride quality and surprisingly nimble handling.

Updated: 14:17 Friday, May 02, 2003