As much as I love my '13 TDI Exec, the slapping-thumping noise from the rear suspension when driving over sharp bumps drives me crazy. I doubt the dealer will ever find the cause except by dumb luck. My '12 TDI Lux did *not* make this noise at all. There's at least one other '13 Exec owner at CT who has the same problem.
It's also dismaying to own a vehicle that I feel a compulsive need to look for a CEL or other fault every minute or so while driving. These things are awesome but they're too damn complicated and I don't trust it. And I don't have much faith in the dealer or VW to fix things that will go wrong sooner or later, warranty or otherwise.
As a reality check I drove a 2014 Grand Cherokee Overland V6 today. Fresh off the truck, 5 miles on the odometer.
The Good: Very smooth and quiet. Adequate power. Intuitive touch display. Nice climate control on a warm summer day. Audio system blows Dynaudio out of the water. Very comfortable seat. And of course it comes with lots more gadgets than Touareg, for less money.
The Not So Good: It had a weird intermittent buzzing sound from the engine compartment which I could also feel through the steering wheel, esp at highway speed. NOT ACCEPTABLE. It handles more truck-like (no big surprise). Steering feels numb. Front suspension made creaking noise going over speed bumps.
The attraction for me for going with a JGC gasser (not diesel) is, honestly, I wouldn't have to think about it as much. No worrying about DPF clogging due to too many short trips. No concern over fuel Lubricity etc. No nagging worry over catastrophic HPFP failure.
The JGC is less "refined" but also less complicated, at least in the area of powertrain issues. I can probably trade straight across for little or no out of pocket cost.
Am I crazy? Or has the VW Koolaid just finally left my system for good?
The smug satisfaction of getting 30+ MPG on the highway is seeming less and less important...
It's also dismaying to own a vehicle that I feel a compulsive need to look for a CEL or other fault every minute or so while driving. These things are awesome but they're too damn complicated and I don't trust it. And I don't have much faith in the dealer or VW to fix things that will go wrong sooner or later, warranty or otherwise.
As a reality check I drove a 2014 Grand Cherokee Overland V6 today. Fresh off the truck, 5 miles on the odometer.
The Good: Very smooth and quiet. Adequate power. Intuitive touch display. Nice climate control on a warm summer day. Audio system blows Dynaudio out of the water. Very comfortable seat. And of course it comes with lots more gadgets than Touareg, for less money.
The Not So Good: It had a weird intermittent buzzing sound from the engine compartment which I could also feel through the steering wheel, esp at highway speed. NOT ACCEPTABLE. It handles more truck-like (no big surprise). Steering feels numb. Front suspension made creaking noise going over speed bumps.
The attraction for me for going with a JGC gasser (not diesel) is, honestly, I wouldn't have to think about it as much. No worrying about DPF clogging due to too many short trips. No concern over fuel Lubricity etc. No nagging worry over catastrophic HPFP failure.
The JGC is less "refined" but also less complicated, at least in the area of powertrain issues. I can probably trade straight across for little or no out of pocket cost.
Am I crazy? Or has the VW Koolaid just finally left my system for good?
The smug satisfaction of getting 30+ MPG on the highway is seeming less and less important...
