SIAI
Active member
I drove a new V-10 TDI Toureg the other day and really had some mixed feelings about it. Esserman Volkswagen in Miami, Florida had two new TDI's on the lot. A white with grey interior with navigation, and a black on black without nav but equipped with the 19" wheels and tires. I had gone to the dealer with the intention of purchasing the nav equipped Toureg. When I got there and looked at the vehicles in person, I was a little dissapointed. First (and this is personal preference only) I really didn't like the all white Toureg. Just too much white without any contrasting colors. It just didn't give the appearance of a 65K plus vehicle. At least it would have given it a little more classy look if it was a pearl white. The interior looked great and felt great until you got out of the front seats and into the back. The front seats felt great and gave good back and lateral support. However, the back sets were like sitting on a flat board and really looked cheap. The seats looked like they belonged in a Yugo. I know the flatness is required to allow the seat to fold down, but a little contour to the seat would really be nice. The rear cargo area looked smaller then the trunk on my Jetta! Really very little cargo area. Driving the TDI Toureg was a joy. The engine (as others have said) was very smooth and quiet. Lots of power and a nice smooth shifting transmission. The ride and handling were good, but the adjustments for the shocks didn't seem to change it much. The vehicle was free from rattles or any wind noise. But I was not impressed with the 17/23 epa economy numbers. I bought a TDI to get better fuel economy then the average car---so if I was to buy an SUV, I would expect great fuel economy with a Diesel and I don't think the TDI delivers. I also don't think the people who buy luxury SUV's really care if the engine is gas or diesel and more then likely would not want to deal with fueling and maintaining the TDI. Also, reviewing J.D. Power, the Toureg is near the bottom of the list when it comes to the number of problems reported in new vehicles. Knowing how great dealer service is, I sure don't want to buy someting that may need to go back to the dealer. Esserman was willing to deal below sticker which suprised me for a newly released vehicle that is in short supply. Just my thoughts.
