A true SUV that doesn't look the part; both engines and both suspensions reviewed
Written: Oct 14 '03 (Updated Jun 22 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: V8 performance, off-road capability, on-road ride (especially air suspension), handling (among SUVs with low range)
Cons: No third row, V6 performance, fuel economy, handling not as good with air suspension, styling
The Bottom Line: A very good choice for those without an aesthetic sense who desire on-road comfort, decent handling, and off-road capability. Others will be happier elsewhere.
Back in World War II VW built a Jeep-like vehicle for the German army, and later sold a similar vehicle as the Thing in the U.S. (As a kid I loved those.) Yet the company took its sweet time getting a modern SUV to the American market, finally introducing the awfully named Touareg a few months ago as an early 2004 model. This SUV enters a very crowded field. Why should anyone buy it? To find out I drove a pair, a V6 with the optional air suspension and a V8 with the standard suspension.
Volkswagen Touareg Reliability
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Styling
This is an oddly styled SUV, with minivan-like curves, odd proportions, and very car-like front and rear ends. About the last: horizontal tail lamps simply do not belong on minivans and SUVs. Frankly, I find it quite ugly, especially the rear end. If VW wanted to do a curvy SUV they ought at least have made the overall impression one of brawn as Infiniti did with its FX. Instead we have a large amorphous blob, an odd result from a company lately known for design.
Inside the Toureg is more successful, with attractive, well-designed controls that look and feel high in quality. Much use is made of large, chrome-ringed knobs, which are very welcome in this age of multi-functional touch screens and iDrive. The overall interior theme is conservative yet flush with interesting details and classy.
The firm, hard leather on the two vehicles I drove, though thankfully not the slick stuff found in the Acura MDX and many American vehicles, did not look or feel much more luxurious than the leatherette that adorned a third in the showroom. Admittedly the leatherette is a far more convincing imitation of leather than the vinyls of yore. But other premium SUVs are outfitted with softer, richer leather. I suspect this can be fixed with the upgraded leather that is part of the $7,300 "Premium Plus" package available only on the V8.
Accommodations
The seats are firm. The front seats I nevertheless found comfortable. Lateral support is minimal, but this is typical of SUVs. Also typical of SUVs, the view forward is expansive. I had little trouble finding a good driving position. Getting in was another matter. I’m not tall, but even with the driver’s seat set in its lowest position I found I had to duck my head much more than normal to avoid hitting the header.
Rear seat legroom is on the tight side. Most adults will fit, but comfort is average. More comfortable rear seats can be found in many car-based SUVs and crossovers. That in the Infiniti FX comes to mind as especially comfortable. Notably the rear seat in the BMW X5 is also tight; was this VW’s benchmark?
There is no third-row seat; apparently VW didn’t use its delay to incorporate all of the latest trends in the vehicle class. The Touareg is nearly as long as Acura's MDX and Volvo's XC90, so keeping the vehicle's length down was not the cause. Nor was obtaining a sweeping roofline, as the VW does not have one.
Cargo room is strictly average for the class, better than the Infiniti’s and BMW’s but not up to the Acura MDX’s or Volvo XC90’s. Interior storage compartments are decently sized.
On the Road
Two engines are offered: a 220-horsepower, 3.2-liter V6 and a 310-horsepower, 4.2-liter Audi-sourced V8. Even with the benefit of six forward speeds in the slushbox the former is simply not up to moving the Toureg’s 5000-plus pounds. (Most competitors weigh at least a quarter ton less.) Though the V6 is generally adequate in normal driving, a vehicle this pricey requires a bit of excitement, and this is not to be had with the six. The V8 fares far better. It feels far more energetic and produces an appropriate roar when pushed, lending the Touareg some needed spirit. Adjusted for equipment the eight is $3,600 more, but without it the Touareg is simply blah. The larger engine consumes just a bit more gas, with EPA ratings of 14/18 vs. 15/20.
Unlike that in the new crossover vehicles, the Touareg’s driving position is as high as the typical truck-based SUV’s. To me, used to driving a car, it feels too high, imparting a tippy sensation. I drove the six first. Compared to nose-heavy SUVs based on front-wheel-drive vehicles such as the Acura and Lexus the VW has a more balanced feel through turns, with less understeer when pushed. That said, I initially found body lean excessive and responses to steering inputs overly soft. After a couple passes along a curvy road the Touareg felt better. I assumed I was just getting acclimated to the vehicle, but then learned that the salesman had surreptitiously changed the air suspension’s setting from “automatic” to “sport” after my initial negative comments. So the settings do make a difference. I did not check out the “comfort” setting, but even in sport the ride was very good for an SUV, and in “automatic” the ride was excellent.
I initially had thought that the air suspension, which allows the vehicle’s height off the ground as well as firmness to be adjusted, might be the ticket for those seeking a sporty-handling SUV. However, my test drive of the V8 without this $2,300 option found that the base suspension handles more sharply than even the air suspension set to “sport.” It also provides a much greater sense of connection to the road. Not all of this extra feedback is positive. Ride quality with the standad suspension, though still good, is significantly worse than with the air suspension. Bumps that the air suspension fluidly absorbed produced minor jolts with the standad suspension. Overall I felt the base suspension made the Touareg much more appealing. With either suspension the steering is too light for my tastes, but it also felt better with the base suspension. Those interested in the best possible handling will still strongly prefer the significantly lower to the ground, rougher riding Infiniti, but the VW truck holds its own against other tallish SUVs like the Acura MDX and generally offers a very good ride-handling compromise.
Off the Road
I didn’t take the Touareg off the road, but did note that it is designed to be more capable there than competitors like the FX, MDX, RX 330, XC90, X5 and so on. Unlike these others, the VW offers low-range gearing—as a standard feature no less. (No two-wheel-drive poser version here.) There’s also the trick air suspension, which can significantly increase ground clearance. However, I doubt such an expensive, otherwise car-like vehicle will often venture off-road. For those that stick to the pavement the additional weight and cost of the Touareg's more capable all-wheel-drive system seem unwarranted.
Pricing
For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.
The following is from when the review was originally written:
The Touareg is pricey. It starts at just over $35,000, and fully loaded exceeds $52,000. The V6 I drove with the premium package (leather, power seats), air suspension, xenon lamps, and upgraded stereo listed for $41,265. Cut the air suspension and the Touareg V6 is priced much like the Acura and Infiniti car-based competition. However, for performance to be competitive with the V6 MDX and FX you must spring for the V8, giving the Japanese a roughly three to four thousand dollor advantage. The V8 I drove with heated rear seats, xenon lamps, and uprated stereo listed for $43,165. Edmunds suggests that Touaregs sell at sticker, but I suspect there’s just not enough data yet. The Cadillac SRX and BMW X5 are substantially more expensive than the VW, but their on-road performance is superior and their brands command a higher premium.
For more detailed price comparisons among many vehicles in this class, see my review of the 2004 Murano (link following this review).
Last Words
Ultimately, the Touareg seems best suited for a buyer I suspect is rare: one who wants a comfortable, car-like SUV with true off-road capabilities. Among SUVs with low range gearing, a mark of a true SUV as opposed to a car designed to look like an SUV, the VW has the best ride and handling I've experienced. (The related Porsche Cayenne is supposed to be better still in the handling department, but is also far more expensive.) But buyers should ask themselves how much the Touareg's additional off-road capability is worth to them. I cannot imagine it is critical for many SUV buyers. For those who will rarely if ever venture off the pavement, an Acura MDX, Toyota RX 300, Infiniti FX, or Cadillac SRX will be a better option depending on the priority they grant ride quality, handling, a third-row seat, and affordability.
A final puzzle: why give the Touareg both a two-speed transfer case and curvy, minivan-like styling? The two don’t belong in the same vehicle. This suggests that even after VW finally committed itself to building an SUV it couldn’t quite get into the whole truck thing.
Ultimately, my rating and recommendation is highly qualified. For those who want their SUV to have substantial off-road capabilities, this is a very good choice, easily worthy of four and perhaps five stars. For others, there are better choices.
To learn more about my reliability research and sign up to participate in it, or to perform thorough new car price comparisons, visit www.truedelta.com.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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