Third-generation Volkswagen Touran announced

Volkswagen has announced a new Touran – historically one of its most important cars. The manufacturer says that every part of the improved design hinges on efficiency. It shares a chassis with the Volkswagen Golf and is longer, larger and more spacious inside than the old Touran, but also 62kg lighter and about a fifth more fuel-efficient.

Some details have yet to be announced, but UK buyers will get to choose between five engines – two petrols and three diesels. The petrols are a 108bhp 1.2-litre and a 148bhp 1.4-litre. The diesel range consists of a 108bhp 1.6-litre, a 148bhp 2.0-litre and a 187bhp 2.0-litre.

Inside the car, there'll be generous equipment and across the range. Three trim levels (S, SE and SE-L) provide typical Volkswagen comfort and safety, with air-conditioning and ISOFIX child-seat mounts as standard. The SE trim level adds safety features such as emergency city braking as well as a sophisticated infotainment system, while the SE-L trim comes with three-zone climate control and ambient interior lighting.

The new Touran can be equipped with up to nine airbags, automatic post-collision braking and other features such as driver fatigue alert. Maneuvering assistance, including parking assistance, will make driving this MPV easy.

Practicality was a major selling point of the old Touran for 12 years, so it's no surprise that this latest version has class-leading passenger and luggage space. Even with five adults in the car, there's 1,040 litres of carrying capacity. Flat-folding seats expand this enormously to make a very versatile family vehicle.

All the engines are designed with efficiency in mind, with the most economical petrol and diesel returning 52.3mpg and 68.9mpg respectively. Stop-start technology and regenerative braking are fitted as standard to all Touran models.

Prices are likely to start at around £20,000 and top out at around £30,000. More details will be released when the car is officially revealed at the Geneva Motor Show next month.