Let me weigh in on this: I have had many LandCruisers, FJ80's,FJZ100 series, no 200 series, but a 2010 Touareg 2 with 3 liter Turbo Diesel and doubled my money on it when VW bought it back in the class action suit. Then six months after I got $30k (on my $15k then driven two years adding 60k miles) I get a check from Bosch for $1500 out of the blue.
Now I used part of that windfall to get a mint Lexus SC430 for perfect sunny days between 65-83 F. And a Mercedes Benz GL350 with Bluetec 3 liter Turbo diesel (POCrap in my 18 month assessment) and a 2019 Hilux Diesel quad cab 4 x 4. So now I am getting the most rare Touareg 2, another 2010 with auto leveling air suspension that raises clearance by 5.5 more inches and two factory lockers. Only about 1-2% of the 2010 models had this on the TDi versions and only in 2010 from what I have seen in North America.
Getting rid of the MB for the Touareg 2 was a no brainer to me, but it sounds like there are those that think I am brain dead to buy a Touareg because of reliability issues and resale values. Well, no car/vehicle is perfect, but you can trust Toyota for electrical for decades at least. It is the Total Package that makes the Treg 2 with TDi an all-time favorite of this car junkie with lots of cars owned over the years. I LOVE to drive. My 100 series was great as long as someone else was paying for the petrol Even then in West Texas I have gone through some serious anxiety to see if we could keep the under-powered beast fed often enough at maybe 14 mpg going downhill with a tailwind of 30 knots.
The Touareg 2 (my 2010 TDi) nearly had the interior cargo capacity of my Suburban, drove on the twisty roads like my best BMW, could haul heavy trailers like by biggest pickup trucks, and got fuel economy well North of 30 mpg when not ********************** or a trailer. Getting 40 mpg's is even possible if you really try. The LC 200 may never see half that economy.
I LOVE my Toyota 4D4 engine in my Hilux, but I do not think it is superior to the VW 1.9 liter TDi in our Sportswagen. Both of these engines are like Toyotas 22R-E, 2JZ-GTE, and last but not least, the incredibly reliable B-series of diesel engines. While not the most powerful engines Toyota ever offered, the 2B and 3B are known to last half a million miles. Found mostly on Land Cruisers, 2B and 3B engines offer surprisingly good fuel economy even by today’s standards. 30 mpg is not unheard of, even in the brick-like LandCruiser.
Every company makes winners and losers. The Touareg 2 and Amarok in the 3.0 liter TDi are way up on my list of winners for VW, while the Supra, FJ62, BJ80 and 100 series are among my favorites in Toyota and the Lexus lineup. The (3UZFE) 4.3 VVT-i engine in the SC430 is velvety smooth. They all have some great ones and some not so great.
To blatantly call people idiots for buying a Touareg is childish and ignorant. I am a LC fanatic and have had many, and someday may get a 200 series, hopefully with a diesel, someday. But for now I have the next best thing, a 2010 VW Touareg 2 with air suspension and two e-lockers, and it is being delivered for $12k with a 48 month, 48,000 mile warranty on the drivetrain. Couldn't get that great a deal on a comparable 100 series, oops, they never made one with these features, not available in the US nor Canada, so there is that.
Thanks for letting me chime in on an interesting discussion.