Interested in a Toureg

bigb

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2018
Location
Arizona
TDI
2015 Sportwagon S
I am presently driving a Sportwagen TDI which I love but I am also interested in the Toureg TDI. Just starting my research after driving one today, a 2011. I do not want a sun/moon roof which puts me in the Sport trim. My Sportwagen is a base model and has manual seats except for the tilt, and it has the simulated leather instead of real leather and I am OK with that, will that also be the case with the Sport trim Toureg? Also I understand the second generation includes 2010-2018 models.
Any tips or suggestions? Any years better than others? Or certain issues with certain years? I am hoping to find one under 50K miles, rust free and if possible white. If I am not mistaken 2015 is the newest I'll be able to find in a TDI here in the US, and all of the Gen2 models will have a DPF?
My most important requirement is driving comfort on long trips and headroom which I have plenty of in the Sport trim.
 

Tom_B

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2004
Location
Central Oklahoma
TDI
15 Touareg, 14 A6
I am presently driving a Sportwagen TDI which I love but I am also interested in the Toureg TDI. Just starting my research after driving one today, a 2011. I do not want a sun/moon roof which puts me in the Sport trim. My Sportwagen is a base model and has manual seats except for the tilt, and it has the simulated leather instead of real leather and I am OK with that, will that also be the case with the Sport trim Toureg? Simulated leather but I believe all have power seats.

Also I understand the second generation includes 2010-2018 models. NA V6 TDIs are 2009-2016.

Any tips or suggestions? Do lots of research here and at ClubTouareg. Set up a good maintenance/repair fund. Maintenance is a given, repairs are a roll of the dice, but both are more expensive than your Sportwagen.

Any years better than others? myturbodiesel.com also has a good summary of the differences between T2 and T3 versions.

Or certain issues with certain years? I am hoping to find one under 50K miles, rust free and if possible white.

If I am not mistaken 2015 is the newest I'll be able to find in a TDI here in the US, and all of the Gen2 models will have a DPF? 2016, Yes.

My most important requirement is driving comfort on long trips and headroom which I have plenty of in the Sport trim. T2 (2009-2010) has more comfortable seats for long trips; T3 gets better fuel mileage and seats are still quite comfortable.
For features by year I've found this site helpful:
http://www.auto-brochures.com/volkswagen.html
Again, do lots of reading. Good luck!
 
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redbarron55

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Location
Navarre, FL.
TDI
2012 Touareg TDI Executive
We drove JSWs TDI since 2009 and bought the second 2013 second hand.
260 + K on the 2009 and 100K + on the 2013 until VW bought them back.
One of the replacement cars was a 2016 Passat 1.8 TSI.
We loved the long distance touring in the Passat, but getting in and out was getting to be a bigger problem.
Since the Wife had always "wanted" a Touarge TDI ($$$$$$$$) we thought lets look at a VW "fixed" vehicle.
We decided to pay the extra fuel used and enjoy the higher and easier entry and exit and take a chance on the Touareg.
We bought one that had lived it's life in Georgia with regular maintenance at 96K miles.
It is great, but the highway tracking, even after alignment, is not as "straight" as the Passat.
Ours is a Touarge TDI Executive with all od the bells and whistles including the accursed sunroof.
I hope that VW does a better job with the more expensive cars than they do with the JSWs.
One reason we went with the Touareg is the towing rating since occasionally we take our 16' Scamp on fairly long trips. Still to come is the answer the the question on mileage towing vs the 2016 Town and Country which gets ~ 16 mpg towing.
With the premium paid for Diesel it has to be better than that for Mr Feel Good Diesel man...
BUT the added torque and turbo at higher altitudes should be better than the T&C.
BUT the T&C has a lot more room for "stuff".
 

bigb

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2018
Location
Arizona
TDI
2015 Sportwagon S
Thanks for the replies, I am in no hurry so will watch for a nice one. I hope they are not too scarce.
 

bigb

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2018
Location
Arizona
TDI
2015 Sportwagon S
My GSW has a DPF regeneration about every 125 miles in city driving and about every 250 miles in highway driving, can I expect about the same on the Toureg with the 3l V-6?
 

35 Yr Dsl Veteran

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2019
Location
Ft. Pierce & Lake Placid, FL
TDI
2012 Touareg TDI Sport
My GSW has a DPF regeneration about every 125 miles in city driving and about every 250 miles in highway driving, can I expect about the same on the Toureg with the 3l V-6?
I've had my 2012 Touareg TDI for quite a while now, and I have yet to notice when it is in REGEN! You could not miss REGEN in my recent BMW X5 d35, as at steady highway speed, the MPG analog meter would drop from around 30 to close to 25 for around 10 minutes.

How do you know Touareg TDI is in regen?
 

Radman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 13, 2001
Location
Montreal
TDI
2014 Audi A6 TDI, 2014 Touareg TDI
It is very difficult to tell when the Touareg is doing a regen, not as noticeable as on the 2.0. The only time I notice is if I get home and the fan keeps running so have no idea how often it is doing a regen.
 

bigb

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2018
Location
Arizona
TDI
2015 Sportwagon S
I drove a 2014 this morning, drove nicely as I expected. The seat felt comfortable enough but hard to say how it would feel after 2 or 3 hours. The Sportwagen seat feels great at first but after a couple of hours my rear gets sore due to the thin padding I think, and the low position which tends to make my knees high. The Toureg seems to have more padding and a bit wider seat, as well as higher like my pickup bench seat which is very comfortable BTW, can keep knees even with hips and stretch out more.

While the Toureg drove nice, there is definitely less "fun factor" than the GSW.
 
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Tom_B

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2004
Location
Central Oklahoma
TDI
15 Touareg, 14 A6
If you want fun factor and SUV convenience, try a Q5 TDI. But there's no equivalent to a Sport model. Even the Premium (lowest level) is equipped pretty nicely.
 

bigb

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2018
Location
Arizona
TDI
2015 Sportwagon S
Going to look at a 2012 Monday. Question for those of you who have driven both the Golf/Jetta/Passat and the 2nd generation Toureg, would you say the Toureg is more comfortable on long trips as far as the seats? I noticed JD Power lists one of the cons reported by owners is seat comfort. I haven't sat in one long enough for it to feel uncomfortable so I have no way of knowing although it felt pretty comfortable on a 15 min test drive on both a 2011 and a 2014.
 

bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
Going to look at a 2012 Monday. Question for those of you who have driven both the Golf/Jetta/Passat and the 2nd generation Toureg, would you say the Toureg is more comfortable on long trips as far as the seats?
I too was done with sunroofs, so limited our search to Sport models. We ended up with a Sport with navigation. I don't use the factory navi too much, but the radio is nicer. As far as comfort, we have had every MK4 model, a 2015 Sportwagen and a Tiguan. I would say the Touareg is more comfortable than any of the others even with the base interior (which is pretty nice). I don't think you will be disappointed with the comfort.
 

bigb

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2018
Location
Arizona
TDI
2015 Sportwagon S
I too was done with sunroofs, so limited our search to Sport models. We ended up with a Sport with navigation. I don't use the factory navi too much, but the radio is nicer. As far as comfort, we have had every MK4 model, a 2015 Sportwagen and a Tiguan. I would say the Touareg is more comfortable than any of the others even with the base interior (which is pretty nice). I don't think you will be disappointed with the comfort.
Thanks. I drove the 2012 today and while the seats were quite comfortable and the mileage was only 48K it was not as nice as I thought it would be, or even as nice as it looked in the pictures. It looks a bit rough and the steering wheel shimmys at 75 MPH. Also not crazy about the chocolate brown dash which looked black in the pics. I think I will look for a later model year.
 

Gilty_one

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Location
Warman, Saskatchewan, Canada
TDI
2016 Touareg Execline 3.0 V6 TDI; 2012 Jetta Highline TDI
Thanks. I drove the 2012 today and while the seats were quite comfortable and the mileage was only 48K it was not as nice as I thought it would be, or even as nice as it looked in the pictures. It looks a bit rough and the steering wheel shimmys at 75 MPH. Also not crazy about the chocolate brown dash which looked black in the pics. I think I will look for a later model year.
I would assume an issue with one of the wheels or its not aligned right. My 2016 is steady smooth all they way through 160kmh (100mph)
 

Tom_B

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2004
Location
Central Oklahoma
TDI
15 Touareg, 14 A6
Many early T3s had steering wheel shake. There is a TSB to address it, but it could also be something else as has been mentioned.
 
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