by "Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
Published 06/19/2017 at 12:17
by "Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
Published 06/19/2017 at 12:17
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STARS: 1
How does Oppo feel about these? I’d likely opt for one with the V6. As it seems they can be had for somewhere between $15 to 20k. I’ve just slowly been starting my hunt for a car to eventually replace my girlfriends car. My requirements for such a vehicle would be: can tow. Her requirements are Crossover/SUV/black or white/nice/backup camera. The Touareg seems to fit that bill nicely with it being an SUV available in black or white, it’s nice and has backup camera. As for my requirements, it is rated to tow over 7k pounds.
This is an example of one with ~50k miles for $17k.
"random001" (random001)
06/19/2017 at 12:20, STARS: 0
Careful with those. They don’t actually tow what they’re rated to. The town hitch has software that drops the capacity once you’ve gone about 20 miles and your trailer just falls right the hell off.
....too soon?
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 12:22, STARS: 0
Have I had my head in the sand? I’m not getting the reference.
"random001" (random001)
06/19/2017 at 12:24, STARS: 0
It’s not diesel, so no dieselgate cheating. So towinggate? I know, it’s a stretch...
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
06/19/2017 at 12:27, STARS: 2
It
’
s rated to 7k lbs, but with a shortish wheelbase, that sounds sketchy to me. I
’
m a broken record, but a Durango Limited would be pretty nice. The interior is about 90% as good as a Touareg and the best (IMO) in the class. Typical Dodge depreciation, too. Drives like a big car, has good storage and a flip
-
up third row, etc. It
’
s just a stretched Grand Cherokee, which is a direct competitor for the Toe Rag.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 12:36, STARS: 0
Which M/Y’s would you recommend looking at for the Durango?
As for the 7k lbs w/ short wheelbase. I wouldn’t necessarily be pushing it to that limit. I most likely wouldn’t exceed 4k lbs. If I truly wanted to two 7k, I think I’d be looking at trucks or large SUV’s.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
06/19/2017 at 12:39, STARS: 0
I was just thinking for the size range, fuel economy and general performance, aim for double your intended tow rating if you can. My towing friends swear by this.
Durango, most of the 2011+, but in your price range you can probably get a 2013+ midrange with leather, big 9" touchscreen, things like that. It’s a narrow truck, so it doesn’t have that big/fat feel that so many SUVs have. Apart from the really long hood, it doesn’t feel like a truck much at all. Unibody (like the Touareg) and RWD.
"BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo" (bluemazda2)
06/19/2017 at 12:44, STARS: 0
These are my guilty pleasure. I’ve wanted a TDI or V6 FSI in Toffee Brown Metallic with black or brown leather since it came out in 2010.
Gib pls.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/19/2017 at 12:51, STARS: 0
Tell us more about this towing requirement. I feel like your gf’s needs would easily be met by a more car-ish crossover that is more efficient, and also not a VW and thus more reliable.
If you absolutely must have this be a tow vehicle then look at the Lexus GX. You’d have to go older than 2010 to be in the $15-20k range but you could still find a nice one. It’s basically a taller 4Runner V8 so plenty of towing capacity but without the stupid compromised visibility and seating position of the 4Runner.
"Vicente Esteve" (vicente-esteve)
06/19/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 0
V6's are the most solid powertrain for these since its a very prover V6. The issue is it isn’t the best one for towing.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 12:58, STARS: 0
I would just want to be able to tow an open utility trailer and somewhere down the line an open-bow boat (20 to 24ft).
Yes, her needs would be met with a car-ish crossover, but I drive a ‘10 SHO, so I would like to add some towing ability between the two of us.
I’ll take a look at the GX, although I assume that would be another step down in efficiency.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 12:59, STARS: 1
The shape/styling of these has always been very pleasing to my eye.
"Jack Does Cars" (jackdoescars)
06/19/2017 at 12:59, STARS: 1
My dad almost bought one of these in 2012, but didn’t because my stepmother didn’t like how it looked like, “a big Golf.” I don’t really know what she was on about because I think it looks great, and it drove rather nicely as well. I haven’t heard horror stories about the second gen Touareg’s compared to its predecessor.
If the Touareg doesn’t fit your bill, take a look at a 2012-2014 Volvo XC90.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 13:00, STARS: 0
“isn’t the best one for towing”
I imagine you mean I’d have to opt for the TDI or hybrid?
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 13:02, STARS: 0
Thanks, I’ll look into those!
I did just check out wheelbases.
Touareg: 112.4" (it was slightly increased for 2010+)
Durango: 119.8"
Will an extra 7.4" really be a huge factor in towing-prowess?
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 13:07, STARS: 0
Haha, the XC90 was already shot down by the girlfriend. :(
And I agree, I think these look fantastic, handsome, understated.
"ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)" (adabofoppo)
06/19/2017 at 13:19, STARS: 2
Do you want to be on first name basis with your local VW Service manager?
Because one of those will ensure you do just that.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 13:21, STARS: 0
Hmm, I’m hearing mixed opinions on this. The drivetrain, as far as the V6 goes has been referred to as solid. Are there other things very wrong with it?
"Vicente Esteve" (vicente-esteve)
06/19/2017 at 13:24, STARS: 0
Yes.
Sadly, the 4.2 V8 that they offer in Mexico was never for sale in the US.
"ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)" (adabofoppo)
06/19/2017 at 13:59, STARS: 0
I was making the obligatory VW reliability sucks joke.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 14:18, STARS: 0
It was in the years prior to ‘10 :(
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 14:19, STARS: 1
Makes sense. I owned a ‘97 Jetta, you’d think I’d never want a VW again.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 14:25, STARS: 0
Got looking into Durango’s, those are quite nice! It is hard to find the larger touch screen under $20k. But that’s not a must.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/19/2017 at 14:46, STARS: 0
Especially if you are trying to tow 3500kg (which is what these are rated at in the US) with the V6.
Or get one with the air suspension, that’s a sure fire way to be on a first name basis with the Service Department Manager.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/19/2017 at 14:49, STARS: 0
I’m sure that the body could handle 7,716lbs (They are rated at 3500kg), but I sure wouldn’t want to *stop* that kind of trailer weight with a Touareg.
Hence why I have a hooptie diesel Chevy around for that kind of thing.
"Saracen" (manualdoucheelitist)
06/19/2017 at 15:10, STARS: 1
A friend of mine who works on Audis and VW’s for a living said to stay away from the Touaregs with the 3.6 VR6. Extremely expensive to repair, will need a timing chain job by 100k, and the 8-speed ZF is a mixed bag. It’s also painfully slow for such a heavy SUV.
The 3.2 VR6 is reliable. Most solid engine for Touaregs you can get is the early belt-driven 4.2 V8.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/19/2017 at 15:11, STARS: 0
You should think about this towing thing, especially *stopping* a trailer.
Personally I wouldn’t want to attempt stopping anything over the weight of the vehicle without a good set of trailer brakes on all trailer axles and a good brake controller. The Touareg doesn’t have a brake controller as standard, and I think it’s a bit of work to add one (since the wiring isn’t included in the harness the way Ford/GM/FiatChrysler do it).
Below here are some random thoughts that I had after reading that you wanted to tow a boat with this.
The problem is that with boats, the boat trailers generally do not have brakes...must be something about dunking them in water on boat ramps.
Also, consider that you can only get up to the 7,716lb rating if you use a weight distributing hitch. The safe weight-carrying rating is likely to be far less than 7,700 pounds. The tongue rating (last time I saw one) was about 600 pounds, so you can only safely load up to 8% tongue weight of the 7,716lb trailer. That’s not great for stability (rule of thumb is 10%).
In practice, I’d drop the tongue weight rating to about 500lbs, (especially if you don’t want to have extra trans and oil coolers installed), which means you are limited to about 5,000 gross trailer weight. If you don’t want to wire a brake controller in (I do not know if VW has precut wiring/a harness plug for brake controllers the way the tow package equipped domestic trucks do), then you are about at 3,500lbs gross trailer weight.
Personally, I’ve towed an Audi S4 on a 2,000 pound trailer with a 1995 F150 (4 speed auto with the 351 V8, truck weight about 5200lbs, about 6,000 lbs GTW with 600lbs tongue weight. Truck was rated at 8200lbs with weight distribution, 6000lbs weight carrying). It was slow to accelerate, slow to turn, and very slow to stop (and don’t even ask about the time that the trailer brake harness was severed and I had to stop that whole thing from 70MPH without crashing).
After losing the trailer brakes incident, I went and bought a Silverado 2500HD. Just for the brakes and four channel ABS. The Duramax was a plus (the gas Ford got about 8MPG towing. Yes, you read that right, EIGHT MILES TO THE GALLON. I can’t imagine what the VW would get, since you’d be on it practically all the time with significant trailer weight).
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 15:33, STARS: 0
Hmm, I don’t hate the older Touaregs, but the 2010+ is definitely an improvement. Pity about the 3.6 :(
"Vicente Esteve" (vicente-esteve)
06/19/2017 at 15:55, STARS: 0
New one is where its at for reliability though.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 15:57, STARS: 0
I certainly won’t tow anything I don’t think my vehicle can handle. But I imagine with the right equipment a Touareg should be okay towing 4000 pounds. If I went that route, it certainly would be nice to find one with a towing package from the factory.
I do like Ash78's recommendation of the Durango though, it’s not as terrible as I expected, lol. The interior does have massive swaths of plastic, but otherwise it’s not all that bad looking of a vehicle.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/19/2017 at 15:58, STARS: 1
Yeah, but not as far as beating the depreciation curve, haha.
"Thomas Donohue" (tomonomics)
06/19/2017 at 17:12, STARS: 0
I’ve got an ‘05 V8 and I’ve recently been contemplating getting something newer, as it needs a pretty full refresh of tires, brakes, belts, water pump, etc. I hadn’t heard many bad things about the newer VR6 reliability, but really hate giving up the V8 as well as the air suspension, which seems to be very rare with the new ones. It’s been pretty reliable, so at this rate I think I’m going to do the work (and add some newer touches like LED DRLs, Bluetooth, satellite, etc). I doubt I’d get much for it in the current condition, anyway.
I should have Doug do a review of it before I get anything fixed...he’d get a kick out of all the warning lights currently illuminating my dash!
"Alex B" (alexb420)
06/19/2017 at 18:56, STARS: 0
My Aunt has one, a 2016 TDi. It’s a very nice SUV and she seems to like it a lot. I must note that she owns a Volkswagen dealer so reliability and stuff isn’t a concern so I don’t know much about that.
I’ve always really liked the Touareg and Tiguan for some reason...
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/19/2017 at 23:04, STARS: 0
The Durango will also be cheaper to fix when it breaks.
I’d still want trailer brakes for a two ton trailer. Unfortunately most boat trailers don’t have brakes (to my knowledge), and that’s the concerning part.
I’d vote for the Durango.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/20/2017 at 08:06, STARS: 1
As far as I can tell it’s Michigan law to have trailer brakes on anything over 3,000 pounds. I suppose that doesn’t mean a trailer will automatically have them though.
edit: also just found that by federal law anything built with the intent of a gvwr of 3,500+ has to be built with brakes.
Anyway, I’m mostly just planning waaaaaay ahead here with this vehicle. She’ll still be driving her Impala for a while, but I just get so excited at the prospect of picking out a new car :P and I suppose it’s not so bad to be well informed when the time comes. Added bonus. All these vehicles will be cheaper when she’s ready for a new car!
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/20/2017 at 08:34, STARS: 0
But you know exactly what will happen: the manufacturer will rate it at 3,499 GTWR, not put brakes on it, but make it large enough to carry a boat that will exceed the rating.
You can probably get a boat trailer with hydraulic brakes (can either be surge or electric actuated [electric over hydraulic]) which will be better at standing up to being dunked in water. Might cost a little more, but after the first time you really really REALLY need the brakes, you will never want a trailer without them.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/20/2017 at 09:13, STARS: 0
Yeah, I read a rather apt analogy earlier today: “you wouldn’t buy a car without brakes (on each axle), right?”
Makes sense, here you are with a boat/trailer the weight of a car, but you don’t put brakes on it.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/20/2017 at 09:40, STARS: 0
I also was obliquely referring to the incident when I had my ‘95 Ford F150. Some monkey at the trailer manufacturer had run the trailer brake feed line in the way of the axle movement, and I hit a bump that caused the axle to pinch the feed wire and sever it. This meant that I lost all trailer brakes on both of the trailer axles.
Of course my Tekonsha controller failed to tell me this...I found out when I was trying to slow down on an off ramp from 70 MPH for a red light at the end. Threshold braking a 5,500 pound pickup with close to 6,000 pounds of trailer and Audi S4 weight (Porker!) is one way to make your pants brown (Because Ford didn’t put four channel ABS on the F-150 until 1997). I still remember the brake pad smell, since that whole thing took forever to come to a halt.
So now, I’m one of those “You must have proper trailer brakes no matter what you believe you can handle” guys. All because I almost crashed a truck and trailer without them.
My personal thoughts on a boat trailer would be an electric over hydraulic setup, so it can withstand being dunked in fresh water and still give you the better braking control that an electric controller will give you over pure surge brakes (which feel like you get rear ended every time you stop, because that’s the exact mechanism by whence they work).
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/20/2017 at 11:07, STARS: 0
Yikes, sounds harrowing.
I believe my cousins current bought ...wow...BOAT has a surge brake on it.
Coincidentally he just showed up with a brand new crew cab 1500 Z71. He tows a 28ft powerboat.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/20/2017 at 11:39, STARS: 0
I hope he’s got 3.73 gears in that thing. Otherwise once you add fuel and fresh water, and gear out the boat, that’s cutting it really really close on the 3.42 or 3.08 gears.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/20/2017 at 13:58, STARS: 0
He’s got the 3.42, along with the 5.3L
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
06/20/2017 at 14:04, STARS: 0
this 5.3L with the 3.42 is a huge upgrade from what he WAS towing it with though. A 2008 Ford F-150 with 5.4L, that thing was so strained it wasn’t even funny.
His dad kept complaining that his truck kept failing parts and that it was a money pit. But that’s what happens when you always have to put the pedal to the metal to move that kind of weight.