VW Touareg

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l5foye

Active Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2003
Messages
926
Location
N.Ireland
Car
ML 300CDI
Has anyone experience of a VW Touareg? My ML is getting a bit long in the tooth and it being my second one ,I fancy a change. Another reason for looking at the VW is cost . A 2yr old with still 1yr's manufacturer's warranty is coming in at well under £30K.
 
Never owned one myself but my sister in law had a 2013 Touareg. She liked it for the space and practicality but my brother in law felt it was a bit bland. They've since replaced with with an SQ5+ which he loves, but she just can't gel with. So depending upon what you're looking for then it could be perfect or terrible, sorry if that doesn't help much!
 
My mate has one but struggled to find a petrol version. I'm assuming everyone wants petrol these days due to the media-stirred hysteria, but from his experince, a LOT of potential buyers are going to be disappointed.

It's just under 2 years old and a very pleasant place to spend time. Quiet, comfortable and really quite quick.

The head unit/Nav system has a display which is much too small, and the neighbours have put in for a Council Tax refund for "lack of visual amenity"....another way of saying that it's Pig-Ugly.

So, why pull the ugly girl with the wonky eye, when you've already had her pretty sister?
 
They are bland middle of the road vehicles (especially early year models) but they get the job done, almost utilitarian you could say. Nothing wrong with the way they drive or way they go but indeed you will struggle to find a decent petrol one, everyone wants the diesels and there is usually a decent variety to choose from out of cheap tatty 04-plate ones up to final year facelift examples. If you want to go the full hog, then get the V10 TDI. I test drove a few Toerags and decided the Phaeton was for me instead, specifically the V10 TDI which is the rarest beast of them all. I had the thing remapped and Mother of God, the torque and meaty grunt was incredible, a bit like a diesel freight train setting off or the turbines of a huge yacht spooling up. The whole car was over engineered too but in a good way, from the air vents and controls to the beautiful aluminium boot struts and hinges.

I sold it after buying an A8 - the Phaeton's better looking and better-known cousin but if I looked at Toerags again, it would have to be the V10 TDI and nothing less!

PS. they sold a W12 petrol Toerag in the US :cool:
 
Never owned one myself but my sister in law had a 2013 Touareg. She liked it for the space and practicality but my brother in law felt it was a bit bland. They've since replaced with with an SQ5+ which he loves, but she just can't gel with. So depending upon what you're looking for then it could be perfect or terrible, sorry if that doesn't help much!
I mentioned this thread when I saw my BIL and SIL yesterday. She said she loved it. He said he hated it. I walked away when they started arguing about it!
 
After a very extended test drive, I am 95% towards a purchase of the Touareg R-Line. I found it as comfortable as the ML and with a lot more features eg panoramic roof, powered tailgate, optical and audible paking sensors, large screen for sat nav etc etc. The £300 saving on road tax is a bonus. Yet when all is said and done, I will be quite sad to part with the ML. It will not be with a sense of relief like I had when I got rid of the SL.
 
I have a basic 204PS SE which I've had for 2 years after returning my 640d. It was bought at just under a year old so is about to face it's first MOT within a couple of months.

When I came to my final choice it was between a ML and a Touareg. I thought both were similar slightly old fashioned SUVS (old fashioned as compared with X5 or XC60 which to me feel modern). The ML would have been a 4 pot for the same money as the 6 pot in the VW.

My thoughts after two years. I'm very satisfied with it. Not quite MB quality feel - and the 8 speed Aisin transmission isn't quite as smooth IMHO as the MB 9 or the ZF 6 and 8 - but that's a quibble. If they had a slightly softer suspension option I would have taken it - but the steel springs are a decent compromise in terms of open road manners. Unlike the BMWs it has 'proper' poer steering.

Mine is a Euro 5 with no Ad-Blue tank - probably one of the very last. These allegedly get better economy than the current revision.

The RNS-850 satnav gets a bit of stick - it's a bit olde worlde. I despise car satnavs so this doesn't really bother me - but that sad SMWMB managed to use it within minutes of us picking up the car whereas she wouldn't touch the poxy iDrive BMW satnav on my sixer - so in my view that was a HUGE advantage of the RNS-850 over the supposedly flashier stuff that people say is better.

R-Line is stiffer lower suspension and probably sillier alloys. Your choice! I test drove one and thought it was OK. Sunroof makes the rear in particular a lot brighter - but beware of issues with it.

204ps engine is OK - car is actually brisker than it feels. 262PS version is livelier and market favourite. I'm happy with my slow version. Engine is a diesel .... OK cruising .... actually OK idling (better than BMW 6 pot diesel IMO) .... but a bit buzzy under acceleration. My 640d had it's 'tractor zone' at about 1400 revs and would persistently hit it in urban driving - my Toureg has similar coarse rev band but the transmission-engine mapping means it stays out of it most of the time - it feels a lot more refined ariound town. Where it does hit the tractor zone is if you decelerate gently in 8th to around high 40s and it decides to stick in 8th rather than go to 7th - and if the engine is doing a bit of work then it grumbles - doesn't happen often but it's repeatable on one of the routes I take.

Mine came with a collapsible space saver spare tyre. I believe VW played with this and sometimes they came with sealant and compressor kits.

Rear sit splits and moves forward. The move forward is only someything like 4 inches and I thought 'gimmick'. It's been useful. So somebody obviously thought about it.

Irritation on my car is that it needs a specific USB adapter cable to connect to the RNS850 and it didn't come with the car. (Though only a few £ on ebay). Stupid that they didn't just stick in a proper USB port. That may have changed in newer models if they have any sense.

If you want to ask questions go to the mytreg.co.uk forums. A lot quieter than around here but civilised and helpful.
 
I forgot to add. Touareg cruise control is on a stalk I prefer it to the likes of BMW and Ford. But VW still don't do it as well as MB. (up / down on stalk only bumps in 5mph - you have to use the button or pull the lever forward to bump by 1mph). MB setup is better.

On my car the auto-hold for the breaks (activate and car applies brake when stopped so you lift your foot off) is a joke feature. Why? If engine Start/stop is enabled - yes default - then with the auto-hold active you stop car - engine goes off - lift your foot off brake and car holds but ........... WTF were they thinking ........ engine starts. With auto-hold on engine should start when you touch accelerator IMO. That's what BMW do. The stop/start enable button is in a stupid place and you can't see whether it is on or off in bright daylight.
 
Many thanks Dryce for the reply-very informative. I live in a country area and stop/start drives me crazy. I am hoping there is a feature to permanently disable it. This will be my first vehicle which takes Adblue-I hope there is a guage or something which tells you when it needs topped up. I am told if you run out of Adblue, the car stops (at least MBs do)
 
The V10 Touareg is the biggest pile $hite I have ever worked upon!
Who in heaven's name drives the A/C compressor off a rubber cush drive driven off of back of the engine forward.
It's a 22 hour job to replace it!
Talk about a redheaded ba$tard child!
Trade talk tells us the vehicle in its V10 form is so front end heavy that if you release the power pack with the vehicle the rack/hoist it will vault backwards and land on its ar$e on vertical like on the shop floor!
Being so front end heavy can't be good for driving abilities and balance.
I won't go into the power/voltage drops in the fuse boxes and the one that open to the weather aft of the hood/bonnet and other electrical shortcomings.
Steer clear unless you want big service bills.
Tuercas viejas
 
The V10 Touareg is the biggest pile $hite I have ever worked upon!
Who in heaven's name drives the A/C compressor off a rubber cush drive driven off of back of the engine forward.
It's a 22 hour job to replace it!
Talk about a redheaded ba$tard child!
Trade talk tells us the vehicle in its V10 form is so front end heavy that if you release the power pack with the vehicle the rack/hoist it will vault backwards and land on its ar$e on vertical like on the shop floor!
Being so front end heavy can't be good for driving abilities and balance.
I won't go into the power/voltage drops in the fuse boxes and the one that open to the weather aft of the hood/bonnet and other electrical shortcomings.
Steer clear unless you want big service bills.
Tuercas viejas

Well here we go again V10 Phaeton unfounded scare stories. My V10 has now been in my ownership for just over three years now and along with many people who actually own them from the VW Vortex owners forum have only had a power steering pipe to two go in that time.
Many, many owners have done starship mileages without issues in fact the main issue is finding something to replace it that comes up to your expectations in my case a CL65.
OK you buy theses cars with sufficient funds in reserve just in case, it's only people who buy them expecting to run them on a shoestring that generally cry and make a fuss when they go wrong.
 
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I would also have a look at the Porsche Cayenne as a comparison as I know the ride in the Cayenne Turbo S I tried had a real magic carpet ride compared the the VW
 
The OP asked about a 2 year car.

In the UK the only engine option at that age is the 3.0 diesel - either 204ps or 262ps.

The V10 has not been available since the 2010 revision.

Then count your blessings!
What an ill conceived car!
Sign of dracula needed here as an emoji!
And we sneered at some of B/L's renditions!:eek:
Tuercas Viejas
 
I would also have a look at the Porsche Cayenne as a comparison as I know the ride in the Cayenne Turbo S I tried had a real magic carpet ride compared the the VW

Is that with air suspension? Cayenne is basically a reskinned Touareg.

I suspect the Cayenne will be in a different price category. When I acquired my Touareg it was well below the cost of anything equivalent. It's a sensible if rather dull package that is often overlooked.
 
Is that with air suspension? Cayenne is basically a reskinned Touareg.

I suspect the Cayenne will be in a different price category. When I acquired my Touareg it was well below the cost of anything equivalent. It's a sensible if rather dull package that is often overlooked.

Yes that's right the Turbo S had a completely different ride due to the suspension system.
 
Well here we go again V10 Phaeton unfounded scare stories. My V10 has now been in my ownership for just over three years now and along with many people who actually own them from the VW Vortex owners forum have only had a power steering pipe to two go in that time.
Hear hear! I loved my V10 Phaeton. Weighs a fair bit more than an A8 because it's not aluminium but if I ever had to replace my V10, I would have another Phaeton in a flash.
 

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