Has anyone seen or driven Volkswagen's V-10 Turbo Diesel Touareg? My wife and I have been looking at diesel Excursions for the past 6 weeks or so. She drives a Isuzu Trooper and likes it's size and maneuverability but also loves my F250 PSD. We don't really need two pickups in the family. She is dead set on owning a turbo diesel.....so the Excursion has been our only other choice, until now. I tow a 35' fifth wheel....she tows a 17' ski boat. Someday we may get a larger boat so we'd like something with a little extra towing power. Obviously the Excursion is more than capable of throwing our boat around...but maybe the VW would be a nice mini version of the Excursion? I read the VW V-10 puts out 553 ft/lbs of torque! Plus it gets 28 mpg. Sounds very interesting.

Any thoughts?

 

A friend of mine works a t a Toyota-VW dealership. They just took a Touareg back in trade that a customer had for TWO MONTHS. VW actually bought it back because of all the problems; the customer threatened to go public with all that went wrong. He wound up getting a 4Runner. My point: be VERY careful of any new VW product- they tend to be nightmares for the first couple of years.

 

Oohhh, that doesn't sound good. Thanks, that's good info to know. I've never owned or driven a VW before. The Turbo Diesel engine is what interested me. From what I understand, most consumer vehicles in Europe are diesel powered, so I figured they must have worked out the bugs already. But your point is well taken. Thanks.

 

MarkII doesn't give VW enough credit....

VW's can be trouble new or not. Their technology is great, definitely, but you must note that these are mainly Euros putting these rides together. Euros take many more weeks of vacation than we do and I doubt they have the most workmanlike culture out there today. Daimler products, Chrylser excluded, aren't exactly known for reliability either.

IIRC, VW parts are pretty much stealership-only parts. Lube yourself accordingly. With something like a Toureg that has a 6-speed slushobox and the v-10 TDI.....we might have to help you lube up!

 

Could be true, but lets not DARE call VW a problematic diesel until its been a round a bit more. I mean the 6.0 ford has been the most problematic diesel of ANY manufacturer I feel, Yet there are still thousands of them on the road and trouble free.
I would drive on, and If you like it, get it. After all, all the horrible bad press ford has gotten over the 6.0 and all the buy backs etc.. and your still considering/bought an Diesel Excursion. (unless your looking at 7.3's, which have been pretty bulletproof in recent years.)

Ron
00 Excursion Limited 4x4 V-10

 

ktmguy 70-

I wasn't knocking the VW diesel- what little I know about them, they've been quite good engines. My point was to avoid the Touareg in general because it's such a new model, and new VWs DO tend to be nightmares. Look at all the problems they initially had with the New Beetle. Once the bugs are worked out, I think VWs and Audis are among the finest cars you can buy today, especially for the money. Their track record as a truck/ SUV manufacturer in this country remains to be seen, however.

 

Ahhh Sorry I mis Understood! Yea In those terms, for any vehicle, I agree.. !

Ron

00 Excursion Limted 4x4 V-10

 

From what I was reading...it sounded like the diesel Touareg has been around since the model inception, but only in Europe. Even so, what would that be, 1 or 2 years tops? The demand is so great for those engines that VW couldn't make it available in the US until late 2004 or maybe even 2005. So, I guess I'll have to wait to see one. The rumor mill is talking about a possible diesel in Jeep's future as well. Has anyone else heard anything about this?

We haven't bought an Excursion yet....we are looking for a 7.3 model. My uncle is a tech for Ford, he has steered me clear of the 6 liters until further notice. She wants something that will keep up with our F250 towing a 11,000 lb fifth wheel while she is towing a 2100 lb boat/trailer. We've looked at the new F150, the Titan and even the Isuzu's Ascender V8 (built from GM's Trailblazer/Envoy model). But if it doesn't have a diesel, she isn't interested. She even told the Isuzu salesperson...."steal back one of your Duramax engines from Chevrolet and put it in the Ascender and you've got yourself a deal." It's safe to say that she is a 'tad' picky. (I have to be diplomatic in case she reads this post). She won't drive a Dodge. The local Chevy dealerships pissed her off. Ford only sells the 6.0 liter now. So, I guess we are stuck until we find an older 7.3 Excursion or Super Duty, or wait until the 6.0 is good and ready. Didn't I hear that Ford will be discontinuing the Excursions soon anyway?

 

I'm a 4H leader and everyone in my club, save one dodge, drives Ford Superduties and Excurision, 75% of them with diesels. We had 3 trucks with the 6.0 bought back by ford in the last year, but talking to the service manager at our favorite dealer and one of the dads who owns a large construction business, any 6.0 manufactured after May of last year is supposed to be ok. Three families have bought new 6.0's in the last two months and have had no problems what so ever. So I think that the 6.0 is finally fixed.

 

I doubt a Vw has a V10 the comercial said v6 gasser

 

That's correct, they have a V6, but they also offer a V8 gas engine and a V10 twin turbo diesel. Go see one at your local VW dealership. These things are impressive, but they are proud of them as well. The diesel lists for $56,000.00 but with all the options it would be closer to $60,000.00.

Honestly, they are a little bit too fancy for me. The Touareg is more like a Mercedes or BMW. It has things like automatic headlight leveling systems, tire pressure monitoring devices in each tire, on board air compressor, navigation system, climate control for each passenger, excellent sound system, totally keyless entry....all you have to do is have the key in your pocket and the vehicle will unlock when you touch the door handle! The air ride height system is top notch. I've seen air leveling systems before, this beats them all, it's responsive and precise. Plus the damn things are pretty fast.

I'm not going to get one. They are too expensive for how I want to use it. I'm sure the insurance is going to be at a premium as well. I'll keep my eye open for a good deal on a 7.3 Excursion or just wait until someone else makes a diesel tow vehicle that will carry more than 6 people.