That's all the pictures for now. I just wanted to share my thoughts. This vehicle in completely re-engineered and our German Engineers hav done an exceptional job!

Keep it UP VW. We're headed in the right direction!

 

Nice! Love my 2006 V8 with Air / Satnav / Rear Cam but have 2011 interior envy.

 

Wow -- nice! Enjoy it! If you take more pics, try to snap one of how the rear seat folds. I heard its like the Tiguan. Also is there a "deflated" spare tire in the back with an air compressor?

 

Wow -- nice! Enjoy it! If you take more pics, try to snap one of how the rear seat folds. I heard its like the Tiguan. Also is there a "deflated" spare tire in the back with an air compressor?

Yes, the spare is defalted with an air compressor. I haven't actually baught it, not yet

 

Where are we supposed to carry that key!?!

 

The key is the same size as the older one but weighs less

 

I really look forward to driving it...I hope VWs move to make the Jetta and new passat lower end vehicles won't tarnish the Treg. Also wish that they would have brought air suspension back for the new model...I just find the "offroad" / "onroad" switch where the diff lock functions used to be looks totally tacky. At least if the air suspension knob was there (like on euro models) at least it wouldn't look as bad.

 

...I hope VWs move to make the Jetta and new passat lower end vehicles won't tarnish the Treg.

It looks like VWoA is trying to address this with a 10 year 100,000 mile power train warranty and increased customer care paid for by VWoA. This from the introduction memo sent to the dealers:

"We want dealerships to provide these premium market customers with the level of service experience to which they are accustomed from other competitive models they may have owned. To support you with those efforts, Volkswagen has put in place the following policies for the all-new Touareg customers for the first 3 years / 36 months of ownership:
 Pay for the use of a customer Service Loan vehicle for ALL repair and / or maintenance visits
 Compensate dealerships for the pick-up and delivery of customer vehicles for all repair and / or maintenance visits
 Provide a dedicated Customer Care line for Touareg customers
 Customer Care follow-up for every repair to ensure their complete satisfaction"

 

Nice pics! Now that you've driven it, any initial thoughts on:

1. The responsiveness of the V6 with the reduced weight and new 4XMotion system?

2. The behavior/quality of the new 8-speed tranny

 

I would love to know how the new Treg is doing off road without the low range transfer case.... Is the new 8-speed tranny up to the job? I have felt it in a Cayenne Tdi V6 and the car rocked on road, but off road...?

 

Well that sucks the touareg is officially a soccer mom car in my eyes with no low range!

 

sat in the V6 2011 toady

First off, I was picking up my 2010 TDI after the water pump cracked.....16000 miles.....dealership was pretty good. Towed my vehicle 35miles and offered a rental...I was shocked coming from VW...anyway, my second car is the RS4 so I declined the rental..

Just my opinion, but a complete pussification of the Touareg on looks. yes, its looks have not changed much since launch, but the 2011 is a much smaller appearing vehicle.....I really love the previous Touaregs, and it was one of the reasons for my purchase vs the X5 and Q7.....I would not buy this generation over the X5...On the exterior it looks small and Toyotaish......

The interior has been nicely upgraded...Still not as nice as the Q5 my wife drives, but finally upgraded...my 2010 looks identical to he 2004s.....the biggest improvement being the steering wheel. If I can get the 2011 wheel I'll be losing my schoolbus wheel in the 2010.......

I did a little reading, and not surprised to see it weighs 500lbs less.....should see some increased performance and mpg at the cost of off-road performance....

It definitely is a soccer mom's vehicle for sure, but at 50k for that I'd dump another 10 on the Q7 and get the third row....Personally I hate the looks of the Q7, but for the wife it'd be just fine.....

 

Just my opinion, but a complete pussification of the Touareg on looks. yes, its looks have not changed much since launch, but the 2011 is a much smaller appearing vehicle.....I really love the previous Touaregs, and it was one of the reasons for my purchase vs the X5 and Q7.....I would not buy this generation over the X5...

Agreed, 100%, we are getting an exceptional amount of rain, here, in Jakarta, this year and last week I was driving, our 09 V6 TDI, along a very busy and overbuilt road with little or no drainage but man expatriate style businesses there for shipping, eating ect ect and the water was getting along at 25 to 30cm deep.

There standing on the side of the road looking for his car and driver or a taxi or some form on transport was an Aussie who made millions here. I have known the guy since 1990, when I moved here but since he massive relocation to Bali I had not seen him in 5 or 6 years. When I stopped to offer a ride he got in and he said he could not beleive his luck, a modern tank was stopping to give him a lift, he loved the interior, the ride and the quietness fo the Touareg, he came on around to the house and we had a few beers, his driver called to ask where to pick him up and he asked me if I could give him a ride to where he was staying and then told his driver to go back home and he was riding home in tank tonight.

The 2011 does look a litle more like Momma's car and that is why I will try and keep my Touareg until the wheels fall off.

 

I love the newer steering wheels on all the newer VAG products including the 2011 Touareg. In fact, I'd say the one and only thing I was never too keen on the T1 and t2, and ditto for the Phaeton, was their steering wheel design. It's comfy, but it looks slightly off.

If there was a way to retrofit the newer one into my T1, I think that in my world, stylistically, I'd be good to go for a few more years. My world that is.

I love the convex designed body panels of the T1 and T2, and not too keen on the concave shape of the new one. I also love the fat and sophisticated looking center console with associated night lighting on the T1/T2. Tons of compliments by almost all, at how 747'ish our cockpits look at night

I'm curious as to how the new 2011 dash lighting effects looks like compared to ours?

I'm going to say it, but it seems to me that the gone and past era of Dr.Piech(B5.5 Passat W8, Touareg, Phaeton, etc)is immediately showing. I HOPE that the interior plastics of the new Touareg, won't feel anything as downgraded, literally to the touch, as the new Jetta that just came out.

 

I love the newer steering wheels on all the newer VAG products including the 2011 Touareg. In fact, I'd say the one and only thing I was never too keen on the T1 and t2, and ditto for the Phaeton, was their steering wheel design. It's comfy, but it looks slightly off.

If there was a way to retrofit the newer one into my T1, I think that in my world, stylistically, I'd be good to go for a few more years. My world that is.

This is exactly what I am thinking. I have to ask my friend if they changed the steering wheel components. I hope we can retrofit it.

Alex

 

Piech is/was an automotive genius, the W8, Touareg, Phaeton, all aluminum A8, Veyron, modern Bentley and modern Lamborghini all came from his genius/madness (whatever your take might be).

I dunno what the Touareg will look like in the flesh, but the 5 or so new Cayenne's I've seen so far look smaller, look low end, and certainly don't have the street presence that the outgoing model does. I'm not kidding when I say the new Cayenne looks like a Nissan Rogue when you see it on the road.

 

I"m sure you guys knows this already but in dimensions the Touareg is actually a bit bigger, and I know you can't really tell in pictures, but this is definteily noticable in person. It gives the vehicle even more presence. And honestly that steering wheel on the T1 and T2 is what's stopped me from buying the v6 tdi when it first came out a little over a year ago. It's probably one of the most hidious of all time steering wheels. The new one is a huge improvement.

 

Hey, who you calling hidious, I am beautiful, especially with my matching grab handles...

 

It doesn't have to be a neutered Touareg, in fact it's not. Just the American version. In Europe, they have a plethora of options including 4XMotion, locking diffs, and a new diesel V8 with more power than the old V10. And it does 0-60 in 5.5. My fiancee is German, I plan on living there for a few years and I will probably replace my '04 with a new model, but only if I can bring it back to the US with me.

Oh, and my favorite exterior design is still the T1, followed by the T2. I do like the new interior somewhat, not sure if it's better, just different. Love the new wheel, and I plan on putting one in my T1 if it's possible.

 

It appears to have moved towards "car" on the truck-car spectrum. So long Sahara, hello Rodeo Dr. But, good job VW for what it is.

 

Steering wheels aside, I just can't wait to sit in one, and pass my fingers over the dash plastics. I get chills down my spine, like when you scratch a chalk board with your finger nails, when I sit in the newest of cars out there from other makes, but also including the 2011 Jetta. I hope this won't apply to the new Touareg, because I'll be keeping mine for a long long time if it does.

Something tells me it won't disappoint, as many overseas who own the new Touareg are very happy with the interior, so lets see how this one pans out.

 

Steering wheels aside, I just can't wait to sit in one, and pass my fingers over the dash plastics. I get chills down my spine, like when you scratch a chalk board with your finger nails, when I sit in the newest of cars out there from other makes, but also including the 2011 Jetta. I hope this won't apply to the new Touareg, because I'll be keeping mine for a long long time if it does.

Something tells me it won't disappoint, as many overseas who own the new Touareg are very happy with the interior, so lets see how this one pans out.

Nothing like the jetta! First class all the way!

 

might be a repost, but some comparison pics and more....

Auto Rivals | 2011 Volkswagen Touareg vs 2010 Volkswagen Touareg


I think the interior was much in need of an upgrade and I like it, esp the wheel, but from the exterior, I thought it was a Tiguaun at first......

Iif I wanted a momma mobile at this price point I would probably opt for the Q7 or X5.......

 

I am trading my 2004 V8 touareg in on a 2 year lease of a V6 TDI Lux. I will get it tomorrow or wednesday. I can not wait to get this. It has a silver exterior and black leather gutted. I just leased my wife a 2011 VW Tiguan front wheel drive with the big roof, nav, and 18's. I also have a murdered out 2004 Audi S4 and a 2000 VW Golf GLS hand shaker red in color. I like my little stable of rides!

 

Maybe its just me, but aside from the steering wheel i find the current interior niceer (in photos) than the new interior...the passenger side dash vents and dash wood paneling just look a little too GMC Denali for me. And I still can't stand looking at that single stand along ultra dorky "onroad/offroad" switch. Just fill that panel with more wood for crying out loud, it looks idiotic the way it is.

 

I had the chance to sit in one this morning at my local dealer while my passat wagon was being serviced. Black on black TDI priced at around 53K, I think the only options it had were mats and tow hitch. (?)

But the reason I am posting is the look the cockpit had, since that is how it appeared/felt to me. Hard to describe I guess. Oh and the panoramic roof gets a thumbs up.

 

....Oh and the panoramic roof gets a thumbs up.

I had panorama on ex car, I have panorama on current car and it is POS!

Cutting that size slice off from the steel roof makes the body flex more and both our car's had weird creeking and clinking sounds when panels move every time when car goes over the bump or uneven surface.

Panorama is so huge that there is no solid cover anymore, it is just perforated fabric that rolls to roller located just above rear seat passenger heads and that perforated mesh doesn't block the heat like does the hard cover.

Without tinting the panorama we couldn't keep the car outside during 100F days. Had to blast the fan and A/C.

With 20% tint on roof we barely saw out, sure it blocks little bit heat so it is not as bad as without tint. Fan and A/C on high.

That wasn't enough so back to tint shop, tint off and new 5% darkest tint on.

Now blocks the heat but can't see through so what the heck is point of whole thing. Sure don't need to blast the fan nor A/C.


So after two cars with panorama I will make sure next car is with solid roof no matter it would be special order.

 

I had panorama on ex car, I have panorama on current car and it is POS!

x2. We had one car with PR and the only good thing about it was a sun blind. I have a sun roof in my T2 and the blind is closed pretty much all the time.

 

Kleinbus, Thanks for the explanation. I saw an earlier post of yours where you were adamantly against the Panoramic & I couldn't figure why anybody would be. We drove our Forester Turbo across the country & back twice, including lots of backroad exploring in the Southwest & always loved the extra light & skyscape that the panoramic gave. Almost wasn't able to talk the wife into a 2010 because the sun/moon roof so small, but got beige interior to lighten things up.
But, of course, the Treg is bigger & heavier & I can understand the problem of flex with the beast.

 

Not a fan of some of the new changes to exterior/ interior design. I like the new nav and the the cluster but overall i think they made it look more like a city bound car. Its lost its off road persona. I'd be hesitant to take it out cause they took off the plastic at tire level that protects against rocks and scratches.

 

And that's why I think VW will offer an off-road option package in the next year or so.

 

My local dealer had one (an '11) in the showroom... No test drive (yet) just sat in it, gotta say, I'm still pretty fond of my '06. IMO if the new version of a car, especially one that's supposed to luxurious/technology-laiden, and expensive doesn't immediately make an owner of the previous version want to upgrade... Something is wrong. And to me that's where the new touareg is at, at this point there is no way I would trade my '06, even if it were an even swap on a new one...

 

WOW! I can't believe the four pages of replys. Here is my thoughts on this new Touareg.

The overall design and stance from the exterior give this vehicle a much meaner and aggressive look than the predecessor model. The lesser weight gives the Touareg more get up and gp and much better handling. The old Tregs suspensions was way too soft. If a driver hit the brakes too hard and sped up too fast, it would make passengers motion sick. That's not the case with the new model, much better and tighter suspension.

The fact that the low range is gone is a dissapointment for me and most Treg enthusiasts but lets face it, 70% of Treg owners don't even know what low range is or does. If offroad is your thing, stick with the T1 and T2 models. This model is hightening interest from Audi, BMW and Lexus customers (from all the phone calls and lead we have recieved) and that's exactly what VW is aiming for. The T3 is in the upscale luxury market.

The interior is an upgrade. NO CHEAP PLASTIC!!! The wood inserts in the dash is real. The chrome trimming a superb finish. Makes you feel like you are in a Bentley (not quite, but you get the picture).

THIS IS NOT A SOCCER MOM VEHICLE. It's aggresive and the new headlights are a great design (same as Audi).

My favorites: Better handling, nicer interior, wider stance, better mpg, much more aggresive look.
My dislikes: NO LOW RANGE, that's it!

The T1 and T2 models look puny next to this vehicle (no disrespect to the T1 and T2 in any way, it is what it is).

I agree about the interor lighting of the T1 and T2. When I had my 07 Treg, I always said (and everyone agreed), the inside looks like an airplane cockpit at night, it was great. Not sure about the new one because I haven't sat inside of it at night.

The TDI gets 28 mpg on the highway according to EPA with an MSRP of $53,000. The MSRP fo the Sport is $45,505. The old Treg was $49 with the same equipment. Good job n the price cut. I just put some numbers together and it's leasing for $0 out of pocket and $545 per month plus tax, that's a good dam deal if you ask me. I'ld buy one but then what would I do with my Jeep and Jetta lol.

Bottom line, the new Treg is a great drive and luxury you'ld expect from a German vehicle. Wish there was an option for low range though. Also, not really sure what the offroad/onroad button does unless I get to try it out for myself. I did not make it to the Treg Training at VW academy. My co-worker went and he explained to me that the onroad/offroad switch turns the 8-speed into a 6-speed and it changes the gear ratios for low gear performance. However, I can;t really answer that question until I attend the training on the new engineering.

Regardless, I still and always will love the T1 model (preferrebly 2007 with the silver roof rails and no chrome front grill or redesigned headlights, just my two cents).

Happy Trailing!

-Bash

 

..... The old Tregs suspensions was way too soft. If a driver hit the brakes too hard and sped up too fast, it would make passengers motion sick. That's not the case with the new model, much better and tighter suspension.

My favorites: Better handling, nicer interior, wider stance, better mpg, much more aggresive look.
My dislikes: NO LOW RANGE, that's it!......

Mr.Bash, what you wrote in your post#39 was quite refreshing to read compared to else I read here. You must be quite good at your job . But are you not forgetting the air suspension equipped T1/T2 ? Your T3 versus T1/T2 comparison seems to suggest the steel suspension. In "sport mode" on my T1, it's stiff enough that I have to consciously always think about disengaging it, before I hit any rougher roads up ahead. Even in "auto mode" there isn't a hint of motion sickness. Far from it in fact. I've actually shied away from installing Cayenne sway bars, because it is stiff enough.

That all said, will the new 2011 Touareg even offer the air suspension as an option in USA and/or Canada?

 

Offroad switch=Hill decent control and more aggressive traction control/abs/esp sensitivity.

 

The Tiguan has a "track and Field" variant. Not available here in Australia to the best of my knowledge. Pity really as it was mentioned it would come. I just don't feel VW view the Treg as a 4WD. I see T3 becoming a big Tig. IMO, Tregs 1 and 2 will be 4x4 Tregs and that may be the last of it. I'm not suggesting 2011 won't be capable, but it won't be as capable as it T1 and T2. That's how the specs read and 4motion is not 4xmotion, no matter which way you view it. It smacks of being an X5 competitor. For most buyers, T3 looks to be just fine and will probably sell well. Maybe better than T1 and T2.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Mcg7DpCf4