28/06/2008 01:05. IT IS smooth and sophisticated. Fast and poised. Volkswagen's flagship vehicle, the Touareg R50 is also big.

Big in performance with a V10 five-litre diesel; big in weight, 2.53 tonnes, and big in size, 4.75 metres long and 1.98 metres wide. It could well be described as a big vehicle for a big country.

The only thing, of course, is that this particular version of the Touareg will most likely never see Big Red or much of the Big Country. It comes shod with 295/35 x 21 low-profile rubber more likely to be seen on V8 supercars than SUVs, and it has no spare.

As the hot version of the Touareg, VW has clearly steered it unashamedly towards the "Toorak tractor" market, a school taxi for affluent mothers taking their kids to prestigious private schools with the R50 badge adding extra... // Courier Mail