@ Spie

The_Dark_Side · 13 Apr 2006 at 22:49

what do you make of the Toureg?
from a non-owner point of view (ie mine), i think they're a fantastic vehicle but as you own one i'd like to hear your thoughts on the subject.do you feel it suffers the same problem, although to a lesser degree, as the Phaeton in that the only thing "wrong" with it is the VW badge?as you almost certainly considered a Land Cruiser/Range Rover et al do you regret your choice or is the car the giant slayer it appears to be?
thnx.

PS of course anyone else that's owned/driven/rented a Toureg is more than welcome to voice their thoughts.

Gibbo · 13 Apr 2006 at 23:01

The_Dark_Side said:
what do you make of the Toureg?
from a non-owner point of view (ie mine), i think they're a fantastic vehicle but as you own one i'd like to hear your thoughts on the subject.do you feel it suffers the same problem, although to a lesser degree, as the Phaeton in that the only thing "wrong" with it is the VW badge?as you almost certainly considered a Land Cruiser/Range Rover et al do you regret your choice or is the car the giant slayer it appears to be?
thnx.

PS of course anyone else that's owned/driven/rented a Toureg is more than welcome to voice their thoughts.

Well not Spie but one of my m8's has the V6 diesel variant and were offroading a couple of weeks back along with a couple of land rovers and a range rover. When it come to going up a very steep rocky claim the Toureg went up it first time wheras all the others had more than one attempt. So it can off-road.

I know Spie had the V10 and loved it but I am sure when he see's this thread he can add his comments.

Oracle · 13 Apr 2006 at 23:07

Driven a V10 on quite a few occasions. It can leave some serious 'sporty' cars in a cloud of smoke.

I love the remoteness you feel from the outside world. Hell, you even have to buy the optional megafone just so the front passenger can hear you speak!!

Excellent Vehicles and great for taking the kids to school in!

The_Dark_Side · 13 Apr 2006 at 23:10

Gibbo said:
Well not Spie but one of my m8's has the V6 diesel variant and were offroading a couple of weeks back along with a couple of land rovers and a range rover. When it come to going up a very steep rocky claim the Toureg went up it first time wheras all the others had more than one attempt. So it can off-road.

I know Spie had the V10 and loved it but I am sure when he see's this thread he can add his comments.

he doesn't own it anymore?
didn't know that....anyhoo the VW V10 engine is something i haven't been fortunate enough to sample as yet although views on the car as a whole are of interest to me in this case.

The_Dark_Side · 13 Apr 2006 at 23:13

Oracle said:
Driven a V10 on quite a few occasions. It can leave some serious 'sporty' cars in a cloud of smoke.

I love the remoteness you feel from the outside world. Hell, you even have to buy the optional megafone just so the front passenger can hear you speak!!

Excellent Vehicles and great for taking the kids to school in!

the interior looks excellent IMHO, build quality seems to be top notch too.
how did the handling compare to other cars in it's class.
road and drivetrain noise?
equiptment levels?

Oracle · 13 Apr 2006 at 23:31

The_Dark_Side said:
the interior looks excellent IMHO, build quality seems to be top notch too.
how did the handling compare to other cars in it's class.
road and drivetrain noise?
equiptment levels?

Build Quality is truely at the Audi end of VAG (this car should have the Audi badge on it).

Handling is superb for the size of the car and road noise.........well there is none. Gearbox was good too. Equipment levels...........I cant think of anything that this car didnt have..............

The_Dark_Side · 13 Apr 2006 at 23:37

Oracle said:
Build Quality is truely at the Audi end of VAG (this car should have the Audi badge on it).

Handling is superb for the size of the car and road noise.........well there is none. Gearbox was good too. Equipment levels...........I cant think of anything that this car didnt have..............

an offroad Phaeton then?
i must admit that's the impression i had.

Akira · 14 Apr 2006 at 02:32

You would expect the handling and performance to be quite adequate, seeing as it's basically a Porsche Cayenne. In my opinion, a much better looking car than the Cayenne, but probably not as depreciation-proof due to the scarcity of the badge in that market sector.

Mr_Sukebe · 14 Apr 2006 at 07:07

I remember Spie putting up a very thoughtful and detailed description of why he chose the Toureg in preference to a host of very interesting motors, including his old E39 M5.
Prior to that, I've always written off any big 4x4s as stupid and pointless.
Have to say that his post made me think again.

The_Dark_Side · 14 Apr 2006 at 09:15

Akira said:
You would expect the handling and performance to be quite adequate, seeing as it's basically a Porsche Cayenne. In my opinion, a much better looking car than the Cayenne, but probably not as depreciation-proof due to the scarcity of the badge in that market sector.

the Toureg is based on the Cayenne platform?
really?
i did not know that :eek:

The_Dark_Side · 14 Apr 2006 at 09:16

Mr_Sukebe said:
I remember Spie putting up a very thoughtful and detailed description of why he chose the Toureg in preference to a host of very interesting motors, including his old E39 M5.
Prior to that, I've always written off any big 4x4s as stupid and pointless.
Have to say that his post made me think again.

i don't remember seeing a post as you describe, it must've been before "my time" unfortunately.

Oracle · 14 Apr 2006 at 12:17

The_Dark_Side said:
the Toureg is based on the Cayenne platform?
really?
i did not know that

Yes, IIRC, its doors, windows and roof are all the same as the Cayenne (as well as chassis). In addition, a lot of hidden elements of the structure are shared which dictate their proportion. Both cars are extremely similar.

VAG and Porsche have Always had strong links since WW2!

All the engines are unique to the brands tho, BUT, it is possible to swap lumps around if you had too much money on your hands. Although seeing as though they are the same car and weigh the same (+/- a few kgs) swapping lumps would be stupid IMHO.

The largest engine in the Touareg is the W12 as found in the Phaeton. This can be supercharged and will absolutely wet all over the Cayenne Turbo V8.

They are still classed in the same league as the X5 and Volvo XC so bear that in mind.

Unless you can afford a complete top of the range Touareg, believe it or not, the X5 value for money is a far more attractive option..the Volvo, even more so.

Edit: BTW, its Touareg not Toureg

Little things that impressed me were things like. providing 100% torque to any one wheel that had no grip (electronics), Air suspension was able to offer 12" of clearance and still elliminate body roll, manually lockable centre diff. Also, IIRC each door is tripple sealed so you can basically drive through any Ford or River (upto 580mm deep) without a care in the world. Range Rover and X5 could not do this.

Automatic Decent control was handy, it will stop you on any decent when you lift your foot of the accelerator.

The_Dark_Side · 14 Apr 2006 at 16:26

Oracle said:
Unless you can afford a complete top of the range Touareg, believe it or not, the X5 value for money is a far more attractive option..the Volvo, even more so.

i hear what you're saying, but i just couldn't convince myself to buy an X5.
you just look like such a merchant banker getting out of one if you're under 40.

[TW]Fox · 14 Apr 2006 at 16:30

Problem with the X5 is that... off road it's nowhere near as good as a Touareg or a Range Rover, and on road its nowhere near as good as the 5 Series on which its loosely based, so why bother?

I mean simply check the used prices of each..

2002 X5 3.0d Sport: £25k
2002 530d Sport: £15k

Is the X5 £10k better? Infact, for everything other than... errr, ability to mount mild bumps, it's worse...

Pre 2003 ones even look older/cheaper than the 5's as they don't have the facelift angel eyes front.

F355 · 14 Apr 2006 at 17:14

[TW]Fox said:
Problem with the X5 is that... off road it's nowhere near as good as a Touareg or a Range Rover, and on road its nowhere near as good as the 5 Series on which its loosely based, so why bother?

I mean simply check the used prices of each..

2002 X5 3.0d Sport: £25k
2002 530d Sport: £15k

Is the X5 £10k better? Infact, for everything other than... errr, ability to mount mild bumps, it's worse...

Pre 2003 ones even look older/cheaper than the 5's as they don't have the facelift angel eyes front.

...but Fox you can't possibly take the kids to school/do the weekly shop in a 5 series. Its much to small and won't protect you and your little darlings in the event of a collision (mainly during reversing into bollards or cutting people up). I thought you would have realised this

Matt82 · 14 Apr 2006 at 19:43

my sister told me about a time she was following a v10 toureg on the motorway at about 100mph. in front of the toureg there was a pickup holding everyone up, the toureg followed patiently and ended up having to flash its lights to get the pickup out the way.

when the pickup moved out the way the toureg went. by went it was more like "astonishing how something the size of a bus, already doing 100mph, powered by a diesel and more that likely an auto" really buggered off down the motorway

The_Dark_Side · 14 Apr 2006 at 19:54

Matt82 said:
my sister told me about a time she was following a v10 toureg on the motorway at about 100mph. in front of the toureg there was a pickup holding everyone up, the toureg followed patiently and ended up having to flash its lights to get the pickup out the way.

when the pickup moved out the way the toureg went. by went it was more like "astonishing how something the size of a bus, already doing 100mph, powered by a diesel and more that likely an auto" really buggered off down the motorway

something silly like 550 pounds of torque.
this is an engine i REALLY want to drive in either the jeep or the saloon variant.....although it's worth noting it's slightly more powerful in the Phaeton.

Matt82 · 14 Apr 2006 at 20:58

there is something oddly satisfying with powerful diesels. i had some bloke in a focus st170 tailgating me badly when i was in the merc today(e320cdi)

we were on a set of short dual carriageways, punctuated by medium sized roundabouts.

i moved over to let him past and he started to buzz all over the rear of the next car ahead. when we finally got passed all the roundabouts onto the open motorway, the traffic cleared and he went for it.

i followed him to see what would happen. i followed him upto 110 (kmh) when his seemed to stop going, i then opened mine up the rest of the way and realised mine hadnt even kicked-down, and just grumbled its way past 120(kmh again).

the effortless urge, lack of undue noise, sheer cheek of something so barge-like belting along like Mr William Bunter heading to the tuck shop. i like it lol.

its up for sale tho, i want something thats fun more of the time

TomO · 14 Apr 2006 at 22:28

120kph is breaking the national speed limit :eek:

Matt82 · 14 Apr 2006 at 22:43

it is only just over the national speed limit and it was only temporary and the roads were clear etc.

isnt it about 72mph?

@ Spie

Man of Honour