Re: VW Touareg
 

go toyota... 4Runner or Landcruiser (not the new FJ plastic one)indestructible vehicles. For amusement watch Clarkeson beat the crap out of an old Hilux p/u - you can find it online somewhere.

I used to have a LR Disco (D1) but got rid of it. LR are great in the snow and off road where they come into their element and full capabilities. With LR you either will swear by them or at them... I ended up swearing at mine... they cost an arm to fix e.g. clutch master cylinder & slave cylinder was $700 pts&lbr :scared: Not impressed with the LR3 - jury is still out since Ford own LR :( and the influence over time is obvious e.g indy suspension vs single axle.

Scubarus are great handling esp in the snow. Subaru's handling and suspension stems from their Rally r&d and thats why WRX's are road huggers.
If I were to get another SUV I will be really considering a Toyota because of their track history.

I wonder what the Audi Q5 or 6 is like....or next years Q7

Re: VW Touareg
 

The Q7 is out right now - I drove one a couple of months ago in Nashville.

I personally think its the best option out of the MB ML, BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne and Toureg

Not sure I would go off roading in it though...

Re: VW Touareg
 

The Touareg was listed in Forbes Magazine's "Least Reliable Luxury Cars" for 2006, based upon survey data from Consumer Reports: http://www.forbes.com/vehicles/2006/...1reliable.html

VW reliability is an issue with the German-made cars as well. If you want a luxury SUV that will be reliable and maintain its resale value, I'd shop Lexus, Infiniti and Acura.

Re: VW Touareg
 

German ones seem to have very specific reliability issues whereas Mexican ones seem to be very generally unreliable. Check the VIN: first digit '3' - Mexican; first digit 'W' - Germany. I like VWs, but wouldn't buy one after seeeing a lot of problems first hand. Even had bits fall of a Jetta on a test drive at the dealer... :rolleyes:

Re: VW Touareg
 

i remember reading something about the vw that it was suprisingly one of the worst offenders for fuel economy and/or emissions..
http://www.greenercars.com/pr12.html
apparently it was on some list here as being an especially bad offender..
I remember when I first heard about it when it was first released in europe they were suprised that a company as 'green' as vw would produce something worse environmentally than most rivals

Re: VW Touareg
 

Hello, i own a VW TOUAREG 3.0TDI SPORT, its the best suv around , knocks spots of X5,RR etc.

I get around 25mpg,it costs me £80 (depending on price at time) i get 600miles to a full tank.

If you look on www.mytouareg.com theres loads of adivce about this suv.
Just make sure you told em lee1973 sent yeah..good luck :beer:

Re: VW Touareg
 

Don't walk, run away from this. Here's my experience:-

I bought a first model year (yes I know now!) 2004 V8 fully loaded, air suspension, nav, locking rear diff. etc. etc. I paid $48k for it and kept it 6 months before I persuaded VW to buy it back from me. It was in the shop for repairs, recalls or just general inept trouble shooting for 5 weeks in that first 6 months. I had a hose come off and dump coolant all over the freeway, 3 recalls for safety belts, tire pressure monitors, electrical wire chafing etc, it needed a new stepper motor (steer by wire) as it managed to get through $1000 of tires in 18K miles due to mis-alignment, it had constant problems with the tire pressure monitoring system, the A/C would gradually stop working on long trips and when it did work it would constantly fog the front windshield as you cannot turn off air to the the defrost vents (not an issue in humid Texas).

The final straw was when I drove faster than about 70 MPH, I had an increasing whine from the front drivers side. It took them 2 weeks to find the problem, and then told me they would need the car for another 2 weeks whilst they dropped the engine and transmission out in order to change the gearbox and transfer case. I went ballistic and got onto VW who eventually agreed to buy the car back, but not before I had to threaten them with legal action to have the car lemoned (and I had am absolutely solid lemon case).

Bottom line is the car as a concept is OK but it is too complicated and heavy, did I mention gas mileage in the 11's on my commute? It has 42 separate CPU's in the car, and that is too many. An out of warranty Touareg is a money pit just waiting to be mined. Finally VW service is the worst I have ever experienced. They do not have a policy of loaner cars, even for warranty/recall work (at least my VW dealer didn't), they are not setup to deal with luxury brand customer expectations. Did I mention the time I got the car back from one of its many visits, only to find oil stains all over the leather and car mats?

Do not buy this car, you will regret it.....

- Tim

Head on over to http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeroforum?id=39 to see what other owners think....

My suggestion would be an Infiniti FX35/FX45 with tech package, Nissan Murano with 4x4 (both are softroaders at best) or an older LR Disco or Range Rover (not the newer bling bling RR's). The only problem with all these cars is that they are really too nice to really go offroading in.

Re: VW Touareg
 

Just get another F150 ..or Dodge Ram .....

Re: VW Touareg
 

I'm in a similar position now - can't decide what the heck to go for.

I've got the 'luxury' car thing out of my system now and am ready for something a bit more modest and less likely to disappoint. My current car has a list price (including options) of £43k. It's an Audi A6 and I've had it for just over a year (Avant 3.0Tdi S-Line) and have been very disappointed in the build quality. I had an A4 for three years previously that was solid as a rock - the quality at VAG has taken a real dive with the latest crop of models. The only good things about the car are the ergonomics, styling and the engine. The trim is rattly, it's been back to the dealer about 6 times to get things fitted properly or replaced, so I'm glad to be able to palm it off when I move to the USA. The engine is great though - exactly the same as the 3.0 Tdi in the Touareg and it would be great for towing. On the whole though, I'd steer clear.

I had my eye on a Nissan Navara Aventura, but they have different model structure in the USA so the top Navara equivalent (the Frontier) doesn't have navigation etc. which is reserved for the Titan. The whole USA truck thing is hilarious though. The Nissan website states "Full size engineering in a mid-sized truck" for the Frontier. *sigh*

Neil.

p.s. I am bloody useless about making my mind up about cars - it took be four whole months to eventually decide on the A6 after ruling out the competition and even then I wasn't 100%. :o

Re: VW Touareg
 

then get your own gps unit :D

but frontier ain't bad...though rather like the Pathfinder, if nothing else, it's a fun drive, reliable, not to bad on petrol...my mate loved his till it died...v a moose, so hardly the motor's fault...handled well.

Re: VW Touareg
 

Good point, but I don't like the sucker on the windsceen ones (too easy to steal, have to take it off and hide it every time you get out of the car) and probably can't modify the head unit as I'm thinking of leasing. :p

You're right - the Frontier is basically a Pathfinder with a pickup arse end. I'll be on the lookout for moose! (to avoid them of course... :eek: )

Re: VW Touareg
 

True, but there are some bases that sit on the dash usually sold as extra, which arent' bad, especially the tomtom ones :)

Re: VW Touareg
 

Go for a Chevvy Silvarado Crew Cab.

Jim.

Re: VW Touareg
 

Believe it or not, I actually had access to one of these for a while a few years ago here in the UK. I have the dubious distinction of being the first person in my old company to get caught speeding in a company vehicle (the Silverado). I'm scarred by the experience. The Finance Director came right through the office with the photographic evidence, demanding I own up and pay the fine. We also had one drive itself off the chocks and embed itself and the ton weight it had in the back into the corner of a semi-anechoic dyno, but that's another story. Didn't think much of the Silverado's dynamics, although that's not going to matter much in Detroit.

Yes, had a play with one or two, but you've still got to hide them somewhere when you're not in the vehicle, although to be fair, most pickups have plenty of storage space to chuck stuff in. If I fall for the Frontier, that's probably my best bet. Or read a map. :D

Re: VW Touareg
 

Thanks for the info, I have been reading on a couple diff VW sites (including the one you listed) and notice a lot of the 2004 and 2005 Touaregs have several problems, topped off with sh*t dealers.

The FX45 looks ok, but there is something that puts me off looking at it, the other half has a Nissan Murano. Not too keen on either the Discovery or the Range Rover either........... and whilst I don't need huge off road capability, I do need it.

Just out of interest what do you drive now? I think I am similar to BrewMonkey in that I have no real idea what I want and am very picky about what I do want.

Tempted to go with Ray's suggestion of another F-150 or just keep this one and run it into the ground.