Should I grab a 2013 for wife?

[jrm]

Hello, always been a TDI (and idi for that matter) owner for decades, thinking I want to pick up a Touareg or Q7 for the wife. I searched for known quirks and such but didn't find anything major? We have a hybrid highlander and that turned out to be a friggin nightmare that I could write a book about, I won't ramble on about that here- I want to get back to something that I can actually work on without a Tech stream subscription (I have VCDS) and much more importantly- a rig that actually has a limp mode rather than it instantly stopping with 100% dead pedal like the highlander does when the IGCT-2 inverter fuse blows.
It looks as if most used 2011+ have nearly 100K on them, my 2015 Passat has 150K and I have yet to have any problems with that car- is this v6 as solid as the EA288?
I am in Oregon, so our B5 fuel makes CP4 failures really rare- anything im overlooking? Oh.... what does the VW have over the Audi? Wife drives like A$$ so slower the better.
Thanks!

 

[oilhammer]

I'd consider an Audi Q5 over the T'reg or Q7, unless you really need/want a "truck". The Q5 is based on the Audi A4 (there is no VW-branded equivalent). It drives much nicer, is easier to maintain, and has essentially the same V6 engine. They are a blast to drive, too, as they have the best power-to-weight ratio of any TDI ever sold here. They'd even kick the V10 T'reg's ass in a race, LOL.

I'd say you are probably in a minority of having a problematic Highlander Hybrid, although our shop services lots of Toyota hybrids (mostly Priuses) so I know first hand they are not all perfect. We do 3rd gen Prius engines often two or three a month.

 

[jrm]

Glad to see your still here after all these years! Yes, our 2011 highlander "should" be reliable, but wife hit a parked car when the 12v brush style junk brake pump failed causing no power brakes. Got that fixed, now the actuator is squeaking and its having issues going back and forth between hydraulic and regeneration braking- (its quite scary to be honest) that's when the IGC-2 fuse blows disabling the rig immediately with no limp mode- that's the tipping point with me, stranding the family in a traffic lane is an absolute no. It's been at Toyota 3 times, and they have no idea. We do need a large suv the highlander barley fits the family after a stop at the grocery store, and she drives 110 miles a day so best fuel economy is ideal- my fault for building a remote mountain home. She also drives over small fallen trees and debris during our many storms- treats the rig like a tank. We did look at the ML and GL350's and X5d's everyone I know says grab a VAG product with the diesel gate warranty? As far as i can tell there is no major issues with these rigs like the blown turbos on the CKRA?