After checking out the competition I purchased a 2011 Touareg TDI Sport in April of 2011. With the odometer now at 14,000+ miles I thought it would be a good time to post a review.
1 Problems: zero problems, not a squeak, rattle or dash light.
2 Build quality: Outstanding. 11/2010 build date.
3 Interior: I really like the black perforated VTEX seats, they breath! On the hottest days last summer my back didn't sweat, this hasn't been the case with past vehicles with leather or vinyl interior. I chose black because it is so easy to keep clean. The cabin filter and rubber seals do a great job of keeping dust out of the cabin. VTEX appears to be as tough as nails.
4 Ride comfort: Very quiet at all speeds, has a vault like feeling going down the road. I did reduce the air pressure in the tires to soften the ride a bit.
5 Fuel economy: Total average hand calculated = 25.1 mpg Best tank = 33.2 mpg during 465 miles. Worst tank = 22.6 during 399 miles. My wife drives during the week without much effort for good mpg. We live about 5 miles out of town up a very steep, twisty mountain road that brings the average way down.
The 2011+ TDI is very capable of achieving very impressive mpg numbers, especially on the interstate at speeds around 60 mph. There is a dash display (mfd) that shows current mpg, this is very useful in learning how to feather the throttle for maximum mpg. There are also readings for current tank mpg, current trip mpg and long term mpg.
I have posted all of my fill ups at fuelly.com under TDI Sport. I have included all of the mfd readings for each tank. The mfd # is always higher that actual by a couple of mpg.
6 Engine and transmission performance: To me this is the most impressive attribute of the vehicle. The shift programing of the Aisin 8 speed in conjunction with the low torque curve of the TDI is BY FAR the best combination in any vehicle I have ever driven.
7 OEM tires: My personal opinion is that the oem Pirelli Scorpion tires suck! They will need replacing by 20k miles. They are like racing slicks on heavy, wet snow.
8 Torsen center differential. In a previous post I complained about the vehicles poor performance in the snow, in part I blamed the Torsen center differential because it doesn't lock. In hindsight it was the tires. I have since tested the Torsen by safely lifting one wheel off the ground.With traction control turned off that one wheel will spin all day. With traction control on the vehicle will pull itself free.
Off road experience has so far been limited to very steep areas on my property. Considering the tires the Torsen does a good job compared to an open diff. Will have more off road reports in the future.
It would be nice if VW would offer a locking rear and center differential as an option. The UK Escape package includes these features at a very little cost to weight or mpg.
9 DEF: sips def, adding it is about as difficult as adding washer fluid. See #1 above.
10 Navigation/electronics: I don't really use these features much. I do like to crack the window and listen to the turbo though.
In closing I must admit that I didn't purchase the Touareg because it is a VW, I did so because it is a diesel. All things considered it is the most impressive vehicle that I have owned, a 5000 lb SUV capable of towing 7700 lbs. that gets about the same fuel economy as a Honda Accord.
1 Problems: zero problems, not a squeak, rattle or dash light.
2 Build quality: Outstanding. 11/2010 build date.
3 Interior: I really like the black perforated VTEX seats, they breath! On the hottest days last summer my back didn't sweat, this hasn't been the case with past vehicles with leather or vinyl interior. I chose black because it is so easy to keep clean. The cabin filter and rubber seals do a great job of keeping dust out of the cabin. VTEX appears to be as tough as nails.
4 Ride comfort: Very quiet at all speeds, has a vault like feeling going down the road. I did reduce the air pressure in the tires to soften the ride a bit.
5 Fuel economy: Total average hand calculated = 25.1 mpg Best tank = 33.2 mpg during 465 miles. Worst tank = 22.6 during 399 miles. My wife drives during the week without much effort for good mpg. We live about 5 miles out of town up a very steep, twisty mountain road that brings the average way down.
The 2011+ TDI is very capable of achieving very impressive mpg numbers, especially on the interstate at speeds around 60 mph. There is a dash display (mfd) that shows current mpg, this is very useful in learning how to feather the throttle for maximum mpg. There are also readings for current tank mpg, current trip mpg and long term mpg.
I have posted all of my fill ups at fuelly.com under TDI Sport. I have included all of the mfd readings for each tank. The mfd # is always higher that actual by a couple of mpg.
6 Engine and transmission performance: To me this is the most impressive attribute of the vehicle. The shift programing of the Aisin 8 speed in conjunction with the low torque curve of the TDI is BY FAR the best combination in any vehicle I have ever driven.
7 OEM tires: My personal opinion is that the oem Pirelli Scorpion tires suck! They will need replacing by 20k miles. They are like racing slicks on heavy, wet snow.
8 Torsen center differential. In a previous post I complained about the vehicles poor performance in the snow, in part I blamed the Torsen center differential because it doesn't lock. In hindsight it was the tires. I have since tested the Torsen by safely lifting one wheel off the ground.With traction control turned off that one wheel will spin all day. With traction control on the vehicle will pull itself free.
Off road experience has so far been limited to very steep areas on my property. Considering the tires the Torsen does a good job compared to an open diff. Will have more off road reports in the future.
It would be nice if VW would offer a locking rear and center differential as an option. The UK Escape package includes these features at a very little cost to weight or mpg.
9 DEF: sips def, adding it is about as difficult as adding washer fluid. See #1 above.
10 Navigation/electronics: I don't really use these features much. I do like to crack the window and listen to the turbo though.
In closing I must admit that I didn't purchase the Touareg because it is a VW, I did so because it is a diesel. All things considered it is the most impressive vehicle that I have owned, a 5000 lb SUV capable of towing 7700 lbs. that gets about the same fuel economy as a Honda Accord.
