The new VW Touareg (2018): Interview Karsten Schebsdat

W e try to have a certain DNA in all of our products, regardless of whether it is an Up or a Touareg to integrate. A large vehicle like the Touareg should also generate driving pleasure. To do this, he has to speak to the driver, so to speak, allow himself to be moved intuitively, do exactly what is expected of him.

with pleasure. In order to implement this claim, both agility and linearity must be in the car. If the driver turns the steering wheel five degrees, this results in a certain lateral acceleration. If it turns ten degrees, we want exactly twice the lateral acceleration to be present. That is what a person expects and can best process. This applies to all variables relevant to driving dynamics.

Yes, the Touareg is based on the MLB Evo modular longitudinal platform that Audi introduced with the Q7. There is a large spread between all products based on this, different all-wheel drive systems, mixed tires, high comfort requirements and so on. A high level of suitability for everyday use combined with impressive long-distance comfort is particularly important to us. You can drive very quickly, very relaxed, with high vertical and rolling comfort at the same time.

Exactly. This goes far beyond the obvious, such as the coordination of springs, dampers and stabilizers as well as certain tire sizes. That alone is not enough to create the desired character. For this, the chassis control systems such as the electromechanical roll stabilization, the rear axle steering, but also the front axle steering must be applied accordingly. We not only go deep into the software, but also into the hardware.

Let's take it times the roll stabilization. It works differently than that of the Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne or Bentley Bentayga. In an early development phase, everyone can bring in their wishes as to what the system must do for the respective model. That can be done with hardware and softwarebe taken into account. In addition, there is permanent further development, including in the area of ​​actuators and controller design. Even in sport mode, our car allows a certain roll angle, which colleagues from other brands do not want for their product, in order to make it more dynamic. On the other hand, we want to maintain a certain naturalness, and also optimize comfort.

Well, for example, the system can be used when reciprocating dramatically reduce the build-up movements. This is done by decoupling the wheels, the left and right are not forced to do the same thing when springing. In addition, it is designed in such a way that it optimizes the axle's natural frequency range, i.e. the physically determined resonances.

There we have a stabilizer at the front and rear, we can apply them separately. If, for example, there is a risk of understeer, the front one can become softer, the rear can become harder, so the driving behavior is neutralized. We want this so-called dynamic roll spring rate distribution. During a lane change maneuver, exactly the opposite happens to increase stability. Not every corporate product that has roll stabilization can do this, for example.