Anyone using a VW Touareg

[fnjeep314]

I have one and was curious to see if anyone else was using one. I know its not the usual rig to use, but my Touareg had air suspension with gives a 3in lift and a factory rear locker, so it has that going for it! So far on my Touareg I have stock 255/55/18 Nitto Terra Grapplers. Its also a 4.2 V8, so its got some grunt behind it, but it sucks in the MPG department. Now here are some pics of a concept rig built by VW.

 

[lstzephyr]

Nice, but I cringe at the thought of taking something that expensive and beating on it.

Anything can go anywhere, if you like it, go for it! I'm sure you will enjoy it.

 

[Metcalf]

Didn't they come with a twin turbo aluminum V10 diesel at one point

Have anymore info on the winch mount on in the pictures, that looks slick.

I would think your biggest challenge would be under-body armor and a full size spare tire.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Didn't they come with a twin turbo aluminum V10 diesel at one point

I'm not sure of any details other than the fact it was diesel, but yes, they put one in the Touareg.
I was at an offroad park in Michigan and there was an engineer "field" testing one of the newest ones, and he ran it through a VERY deep mudhole adn swamped the engine. He was towed away from the park on a flatbed.
There goes a nice $10,000+ diesel engine! :Wow1:

 

[fnjeep314]

Yes, they did make a V10 TDi, but they are still pretty pricey, but they do get pretty decent gas mileage. I really like the winch mount too! Very smooth and integrated! The full size spare can be put on the back via a hitch mount, and someone does make full underbody aluminum skids, and they are pricey too.

I agree, I am having a hard time digesting the idea of taking something that expensive out too, but I am not going to be doing anything major at all. Mostly exploring and wheeling on the lighter side, but putting a dent in the side or something would put a dent in my pocket book, and I would be pretty mad. I will just have to be really careful!

 

[mrbishi]

We had a v6 Toureg in most recent trip we did out to a station in outback Western Australia. Was pretty impressive did most stuff with some careful driving but only turned back to camp when things got pretty scratchy. Very capable machines!

 

[stonehenge]

I bought a V8 with the air ride suspension for my wife and she loves it. we live in a rural area with lots of dirt roads and it rides and handles great. I just installed twin K&N filters and a brace of Magnaflows in the back to get rid of the suitcase muffler that was back there. what a huge difference, i will be looking to build a winch mount for it to hide it behind the grill so as i get more in depth i'll post photos of the construction.

 

[Rockcrawler]

They are now offering a V6 TDI in place of the V10. It only gets 25 mpg on the highway though. I'm interested in the 2011 models that are coming out... the Diesel is supposed to get 30 mpg on the highway. I will believe it when I see it, but it sounds promising.

 

[stonehenge]

They are now offering a V6 TDI in place of the V10. It only gets 25 mpg on the highway though. I'm interested in the 2011 models that are coming out... the Diesel is supposed to get 30 mpg on the highway. I will believe it when I see it, but it sounds promising.

The new ones arent going to have the low range feature thats standard if i read the press release correctly that was posted on truck trends website.

http://www.trucktrend.com/features/news/2009/163_0909_2011_volkswagen_touareg/index.html

"The Touareg has always had immense off-road capability, outfitted with a dual-range transfer case, locking differentials and huge wheel articulation. That stuff is heavy and expensive, and many customers never use it. So VW is taking a lesson from the sister Audi Q7 and ditching much of the hardcore hardware, and moving some of it to the options list."

 

[redthies]

In Europe the R5 2.5 liter TDI has been around for years now. I don't know about power or fuel economy though. My wife got a Tiguan recently and I can tell that the baby Tuareg is a rocket! And it gets 35 mpg on the highway. The only drawback is no low range. I parked it next to a Tuareg the other day and while it is smaller, it isn't a ton smaller. I love what IPD did on the Volvo a few years back!

 

[mhiscox]

Thanks very much for posting up and showing the concept pictures. Many's the time I've been tempted by the air-suspended V-8 version, and I'm pleased to see someone might actually do something where I only "thought about it."

As always in these discussions, the highly-computerized nature of the Touareg (along with some reliability isues) works against you. If there's some computer failure or other electronic glitch in a place where the tow truck can't get you, it's a significant problem. But as you could say the same thing about any recent Tacoma or Wrangler, I'm not sure that you don't just prepare the best you can and then rent the satellite phone. Pretty much any US-legal vehicle of the last fifteen years or so can fail in ways that can't be field repaired.

 

[fnjeep314]

Well in doing some more research, the pics are not of a concept rig built by VW, but actually a limited edition model called (fittingly) the Expedition Edition. Its a V6 built to the spec seen in the pics. So I am wondering if it would be possible to get some of the body parts, ie rear bumper and tire carrier, front winch mount, roof rack w/ the tent, here in the US? I am sure there would be a PRETTY price for it all!

 

[Nomad_K]

Great thread and info - as I am looking at a Touareg at the end of the summer.

I have gone back and forth between this, the ML320 CDI (haven't been able to find ANYTHING to raise the newer W164) or a 2008 Grand Cherokee for some light duty off road and long trips where I would rather have a diesel's range & mileage. Does anyone produce a few semi-reasonable aftermarket parts to raise the VW, or does the air suspension get you 'high enough' ?

 

[stonehenge]

Well in doing some more research, the pics are not of a concept rig built by VW, but actually a limited edition model called (fittingly) the Expedition Edition. Its a V6 built to the spec seen in the pics. So I am wondering if it would be possible to get some of the body parts, ie rear bumper and tire carrier, front winch mount, roof rack w/ the tent, here in the US? I am sure there would be a PRETTY price for it all!

The tire carrier is available and was as an option at the time of purchase. I found a few on VWVortex. the carrier is about 1800 but then you also need a new rear bumper fascia, metal rear bumper replacement and possibly a different rear hatch.

As soon as i can mine up on our lift i am going to look at what it would take to build an external tire swing.

 

[stonehenge]

Great thread and info - as I am looking at a Touareg at the end of the summer.

I have gone back and forth between this, the ML320 CDI (haven't been able to find ANYTHING to raise the newer W164) or a 2008 Grand Cherokee for some light duty off road and long trips where I would rather have a diesel's range & mileage. Does anyone produce a few semi-reasonable aftermarket parts to raise the VW, or does the air suspension get you 'high enough' ?

I have the air ride and in its highest setting its pretty high. compared to a grand cherokee it would look like a 4 inch lift. hope that helps