Volkswagen has revealed the first images of its new Touran compact MPV, ahead of its world public debut at the Paris Motor Show later this month.

With a fresh new appearance and innovative technologies, yet still boasting all the practical features for which the Volkswagen Touran has become renowned, the revised seven-seater people carrier looks set to continue the model’s success.

The new Volkswagen Touran will be the first Volkswagen available with ParkAssist, an optional parking guidance system developed by Volkswagen engineers. ParkAssist enables automatic parking, using front and rear ultrasonic sensors to detect available parking space and a control unit to calculate the ideal manoeuvring path. Acoustic and visual displays guide the driver to the correct parking start position, then once reverse gear is selected the car parks itself in under 15 seconds. All the driver has to do in this time is accelerate and brake – the Touran does all the steering.

In appearance, the revised Volkswagen Touran has a new radiator grille and headlights which are similar to those of the recently launched Eos coupé cabriolet. At the back, new rear lights and a modified bumper distinguish the new generation Touran. Inside, new fabrics and stainless steel trim, plus an MP3-compatible radio/CD player among other items give an upmarket feel and make the cabin a nicer place to be.

In the UK, the Touran line-up of S, SE and Sport remains, while engines will be rationalised to include two petrol and four diesel units. These will be a 1.6-litre 102 PS and 1.4-litre 140 PS TSI; and 1.9-litre 90 and 105 PS TDI plus 2.0-litre 140 and 170 PS, the latter with DPF (diesel particulate filter).

The new Touran will go on sale in the UK early next year; prices will be confirmed closer to launch. The current Touran went on sale in the UK in summer 2003 and has proved very successful with sales of over 32,700 units since launch.