“Being a soccer dad in your late teens sure is weird. And I love it.”
Said nobody ever. Except me.
It was about time I brought you guys my ride. Not technically mine, but the family’s. However, I am the one putting the most miles in it at this point in time so it’s practically mine. It’s diesel. It’s Volkswagen. And it’s a minivan.
It’s a VW Touran TDI!
It has some story to it. Why a minivan over a hatchback or sedan? Well, my mother is a pottery artisan and she needed a large trunk to fit a pottery wheel and blocks of clay inside. Lots of clay. She could’ve gone for one of these trendy crossovers instead, but she picked a minivan and I’m actually glad she did. Over the years both my mother and my father needed the car less and less, and I started needing it to go to university every day.
That six speed manual is the stuff dreams are made of.
The car came equipped with the 1.6L TDI engine, turbocharged. It puts out 95hp, pathetic indeed, but hey, the low end focus means it’s a comfy cruiser and saves a ton of fuel. Combine this with a 6 speed manual and you have a boring-fun car. Did I say it is a mile eater? Super comfy in long distance travelling.
Mistakes were made. Won’t happen again.
In retrospect, I grew to love this car. It’s no shitty crossover that handles like a boat, saves fuel, offers some fun with that 6 speed and sure is reliable. So hey, it might be no sports car but I sure love it and I’d actually be sad if the minivan disappeared in favor of the CUV/SUVs. The handling is not that bad either, and driving it in some b roads, while it might seem a waste of time, feels good; the 6 speed makes driving the good ol’ Touran like a dance. I like that.
A minivan can even be attractive to me. No crossover will ever be.
And if you ever hear a diesel engine followed by synthwave blasted from a phone, and see a gray VW Touran, you’ll know that’s me.
