2019 Volkswagen Touareg: A Relatively Clean Design

An impression I get is that the most overly-decorated cars these days are made by Japanese companies.  Germany's Volkswagen, on the other hand, has tended to keep its designs cleaner.  I recently saw a new VW Touareg SUV on a freeway, and it inspired this post.

Actually, the Touareg does have a lot more sculpting and ornamentation than previous VWs, but a disciplined design theme was imposed to yield a calmer appearance.

Let's take a look.

Gallery

Setting the stage is this 2017 Honda Civic hatchback.  Side sculpting is angular with triangular spots.  The rear end has a large collection of angled shapes that don't relate well to one another.  Such over-detailing and confusion has become all too common in recent years.

This 2019 VW Touareg  carries some angled detailing, but not nearly as much as on that Honda.  Note the horizontal bars in the grille area and on the (possibly) fake air vents in front of the front wheels.  This horizontal theme ties the design together and lessens the visual confusion of the kind seen in the first photo.

Side view.  Yes, there is the side sculpting that's de rigueur these days.  But note that the main character creases are horizontal, continuing the theme developed at the front.  The shoulder-level crease is more modulated, subtly softening the horizontal parts.  I like the side window profile.

The Touareg's rear again emphasizes the horizontal, adding to the clean-yet-detailed styling solution. The angles on the tail light assembly are modest and integrated with adjoining sculpting, though a hint of styling cliché remains.