Comments on: 2008 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI offroad review

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:40:48 +0000

My brother in his stock 2007 V10 Touareg took it across the Simpson Desert in the middle of Australia, traversing 1100+ sandunes 3 x river crossings and some of the nastiest and remote areas of Central Australia, did it with as much ease as 2 Toyota Prados, 2 Nissan Navaras fully spec’d for off road use and a LR Discovery 3. It did it with so much ease I went and bought one. Convince me otherwise, these things are bullet proof and amazing. a real off road test in one of the hottest remote conditions any vehicle could be tested..eat dirt doom sayers..

By: Regger

Regger — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:58:10 +0000

Bottom line here is that a Touareg IS A REAL 4WD……..
Unlike the X5, ML, XC70 you can go and play with your mates in their P’s (Prado’s, Pajero’s & Patrols) but play in style………You gotta smile.

By: david cains

david cains — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:56:10 +0000

I own a 2004 V10 Toureg , have fitted v8 18inch wheels with latest Cooper LTZ tyres for off road work, puts speedo out 10%, goes places my three Nissans and 2 Cruisers will not make. Used as a real off roader in super comfort. Does not have the allround vision of our 2008 3.6 V8 Range Rover , the extra torque of the VW wins hands down , Fantastic pulling a 24 foot off road dual axle caravan.

By: Harriette

Harriette — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:30:52 +0000

Hi, I have a Touarag V6 2008 model in Dubai, and have been trying to drive it in the sand, as I need to do a desert crossing to get to my work (shortcut of 45 minutes). I have no time to let tyres down, and then reinflate, and was wondering what is the best setting to use, either leave the car in High, or move to Low, but then which differential lock, the one all the way to the right, or the one in the middle? Also, should I have the differential lock (ESP button) on or off? So, by this I mean, should the little skidding car be shown on the dash display? Thanks for your responses.

By: Rod

Rod — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:57:04 +0000

Hey Scott,

Took my V6 TD to stockton beach a few weeks ago. If you don’t know where that is it is just north of Newcastle and is probably one of the best places for soft sand dunes around. And I am talking some massive sand dunes. I had alot of trouble to start with… i think just basically learning how to drive the car on sand after many years of owning a Landcruiser. Mine also has the 19in wheels so I found I just had to keep dropping the tyre pressure – eventually down to about 12psi. Once I did that and drove the car in tiptronic mode it was amazing. Normally I could get away with 20psi, but i suspect because there is not much tyre to bulge with the 19in wheels I had to go significantly lower.

You should have no troubles at all. Hope this helps.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:04:38 +0000

I have a ’07 3.6 liter V6 w/out the locking rear diff. All I want to know is will my vehicle make it on soft beach sand like my brother’s ’04 Ford Explorer!

By: Rod

Rod — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:06:58 +0000

Interesting comments on here. I have owned 3 Landcruisers over about 15 years. 2 80 series and 1 100 series. All have been petrol manuals. I have done thousands and thousands of off-road kms (Cape York, Gibb River Road, Simpson Desert, Stockton Beach, Fraser Is). Needed to update the 100 series. Test drove the new Landcruiser and thought it was like driving a ship or a house around. Want to talk about feeling sea sick – drive one, it floats around like you wouldn’t believe.

Bought a V6 Touareg instead (air suspension option, sport setting is fantastic around the streets – sometimes i even prefer it over the VY SS). I can tell you this car is fantastic so who cares whether VW has a long history of making 4wd. I just can’t imagine why you would base a decision on history? (sure if they have a history of building crap, then that makes sense) It’s your choice I guess but I reckon you are going to miss out on some great vehicles. Sure 120K is alot but in reality its probably pretty cheap compared to other similar cars, especially when you look at the included options if you buy the V10.

I guess the only concern I have is when I take the VW out to the outback will I find someone who can work on it??? One of the advantages of the Toyota is it seems easy to find someone to work on it… although maybe even the newer Landcruisers might be getting a bit too high tech??

By: Geoff

Geoff — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 04:45:21 +0000

I should also mention that I would have more concerns in regards the ML’s and X5′s come resale.
There are too many on the road and this will hurt the second hand market as we move forward.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 04:42:59 +0000

A great review, thanks.

I always get a chuckle when I hear people try and can the Touareg by using lack of history in 4wd or that it does not have the prestige of BMW etc.

I own this model Touareg with the V6 diesel (same colour etc as the pics above).
It has been taken to out-back NT, Mallee deserts etc.
It performs extremely well.
I have driven the Cayenne S and the BMW X5 in V6 and V8 trim.

Value for money the Treg wins hands down.
The X5 is terrific on the highway but is not a ‘real’ 4wd, BMW agree that it is not an offroader.
The Cayenne is great fun but you are really buying the same car at a more expensive price (the differences are less than people would think).

The beauty of the Treg is that it is not the brand aware tossers that buy it, it is for a different market segment.

You cant compare it to Jeep, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mercedes and Toyota as the Touareg is multi faceted (compare the first 4 on the highway) and does not rattle and leak dust.

The Land Rover is the nearest comparison and to be honest I think both are very good cars. Land Rover think the Treg is the only real threat to their market segment… that speaks heaps.

By: David

David — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:47:37 +0000

I have a V6 Diesel Touareg, and I take it off road.
It has steel springs, so a little less ground clearance, and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the V10, but it’s fuel ecconomy is much better and it cost a fair bit less. The Torque is 550nm not 750nm.

It’s very capable off road, especially with AT tyres.
You’d want to order the full sized spare option.

VW did invest heavily in highly modified race touaregs for the dakar rally (which was canceled last year) but also used stock cars as support vehicles.

If you want the most capable 4wd, I think you could find better for less. There are few accessories for the Touareg, such as winches, bull bars, lights and importantly snorkels.

If like most of us you drive on the bitumen most of the time (including the 100K+ trip from the city to you favourite off road site) then I think you’ll appreciate the all terain nature of this car. It does everything well.