The Touran won't win any beauty contests. It’s always been about substance over style, but at least it smartened up in its latest incarnation. The Touran is getting close to retirement, however, with a design and technology shared with the Mk7 Golf that was already replaced some time ago. Some may prefer the extra physical controls of the older infotainment setup, but if you plan on keeping the Touran for a while, it will look seriously dated inside by the time you come to sell.

On the outside, the Touran has adopted more angular lines and a sleeker, sharper look than previous models, with features like LED lights helping to inject some style.

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_eexbs16m3r5fdn1 { display: none !important; }

The colour palette for the Touran is muted, although we’re not about to advocate bright yellow for an MPV. There are some glitzier colours in the mix, such as Caribbean Blue Metallic, but sadly Nutshell Brown metallic and Titanium Beige metallic - yes, beige - are no longer offered.

Pure White and Urano Grey are the solids, the white costing around £420 and Urano being in effect the ‘standard’, solitary no-cost Touran colour. Another silver and another grey, both metallic finishes, join the pearlescent (Deep Black) to give buyers seven options. The five metallic and pearl finishes add about £600.

Although 16-inch ‘Karlstad’ and 17-inch ‘Alexandria’ alloy wheels are the regular fitment on the SE, SE Family and SEL models accordingly, there’s another optional design of 17-inch wheel, while 18-inch alloys that are standard on R-Line can be fitted for a fee on the SE, SE Family and SEL.

Inside the Touran, everything is extremely accessible and laid out logically. The seats are plush and comfy, and lumbar support has been added to the Touran for the first time, which even has a massage function on some models.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

The Touran doesn’t feature VW’s latest infotainment, but even the basic set-up in the SE, is pretty powerful. It features eight speakers in total and has an 80-watt total output, as well as being capable of connecting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That it also throws in Bluetooth, DAB, an SD card reader, a CD player and USB connectivity is all the more impressive. Moving up to SE Family adds Discover Navigation on an 8-inch screen.