Volkswagen Touareg 3ltr turbo diesel

Patrol22..
Thanks for that heads up regarding the Snorkel issue.. Perhaps one could be some how made to do the job ? Regrading a few inches of water would that be tongue in cheek or a true reality? Surely travelling on normal roads with puddles here and there wont be a problem ?
Sorry for the questions but I have never owned a 4 wheel driven car YET!!!!!
Regards-Terry

If you are just travelling on highways then the snorkel issue is really not an issue. But when fording even 300 mm water the air intake of this vehicle and many many others is low and prone to sucking in cup or 3 of water. Remember you only need a dessert spoon full of water ingested into a diesel to cause you significant grief......water neither burns nor compresses and a hydraulic lock in a cylinder is not something you want to happen.

Yeah the servicing costs on these are going to be way higher than your Japanese equivalents, if money isn't an issue these are a nice drive.

If a jap diesel the yes - a European diesel then no.

Barry, It's a V6 3lt putting out 176 kw and 550nm of torque. So 3500 kg won't be a problem.
Col

Here is a little comparison, a 4.7 litre V8 Landcruiser petrol 2003 100 series did 0 - 100 K in manual form 10.2 seconds and 11.3 auto. A VW 3.0 litre V6 TD Touareg auto does it in 9.9 seconds, with 550 NM of torque has no problems towing 3,500 Kg.

Barry

BMW 3.0 TD
Power 225kW @ 4400rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 1500-2500rpm

Audi 3.0 TD
Power 176kW @ 3800-4400rpm
Torque 550Nm @ 1750-2500rpm

Landrover 3.0 TD
Power 180kW @ 4000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 2000rpm

Toyota 4.5 TD
Power 195kW @ 3400rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 1600-2600rpm

I think any of the above could haul a caravan. 3 litres seems to be at least as capable as 4.5, and likely much more economical.

Bob

Things are changing guys - I can guarantee that the new 3lt v6 Navara STX-550 with its 550nm of torque can accellerate up a hill at 120kmh pulling a 3 ton yacht.

the ZD30 is a European diesel.

The new Nissan V6 diesel code name V9X is also European derived.i

Wrong fisho64, the ZD30 is a Nissan engine not a Renault.
Regards Andrew.

Hi Terry,
If you are going to go 2nd hand they say 1-2 yrs or 20 - 40,000km is the best. We bought ours at 3yrs old and 75,000k's had no problems till about the end of the 5th year when the brakes and rotors needed doing very pricey,the air con would not work properly on auto on hot days, but was fine on manual (we just left it on manual) had air bag sensor problem which took a while to find was a bad connection under the drivers seat (they have 10 air bags), the auto also normally silky smooth would intermittently drop out of 6th gear as I exited the freeway and clunk and shudder into 2nd or 3rd gear. The tyres are also not a popular size so can get pricey, spare is one of them space save wheels you have to inflate when you change the wheel, not good if you are travelling outback even on road. We sold it after 3yrs, please don't think I'm bagging the car as we still think it was one of the best cars we have ever owned. Just trying to giving you info to help your decision.
Col

Have you checked the price of Toyota parts lately - some will be more expensive than the VW and some will be less. I would match the reliability of the VW against any Patrol or Cruiser of the same vintage.

So you are basing your decision on responses on a forum where the majority of posters are Jap owners. And that is fine but there is a level of bias - if I was you I would be looking much further a field than just this great forum - you need a balanced view - we all have our biases.

Hi garrycol,


My response is first hand. Being a mechanical fitter and the people I work with are mechanics, not jap owners. We repair vehicles everyday so mine is first hand experience. The thread question was about known experiences with a certian vehicle. I have replaced more expensive parts on Jap vehicles. They all have their problems.

Ian

Hi Ian,

Yep first hand experiences are really important and my response was not targeted at any one in particular.

Chasekell's response seems to be that he has made a decision based on the information contained on this forum which of course is not a good idea. If it were me I would seek information from a whole range of sources. Yes it is good to get ideas from Exploroz but maybe a wider information base might be a good idea before making such an expensive decision.

I do not own a Tourag or even driven one but an acquaintance had one until it was written off and he now drives a Discovery 3. He raves about his VW and rates it very highly - as he said - some things are expensive others are not. Reliability overall was better than many other makes. Like all makes they have some design problems but then so do Toyota and Nissan as do all makes,

I needed a new (used car) late last year and the Tourag was on the shopping list but I could not find a second hand one that ticked the boxes I was after (low km, price and air suspension).

Anyway it is Chasekell's choice and no matter what is purchased I hope he gets lots of enjoyment.

Garry