Touareg TDI Exec, Hybrid, or Allroad Prestige??

All Q models & VW Touareg
#25

The cost per mile or 5-year cost to own for a diesel GL is less than the gasoline equivalent. Like I said, its the base model and costs $1600 less than the petrol. It is also made in Alabama. It is also the only full size SUV with a diesel option in North America. I shopped, drove, and sat in the third row of every full size SUV on the market. And I think you need to redo your metrics to see if it makes sense to include other factors.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5608/15539191951_ac3d0d89e2.jpg

#26

what the heck is that? That’s assuming what…100,000 miles per year and 0 value when you sell it? lol

$87,000 to drive a GL 450 for 5 years. Right.

#27

If you are having a hard time understanding the arithmetic, go ahead and just concentrate on the fuel cost line item for the two GL vehicles.

You can even input your estimated mileage if you don’t drive a ton.

http://www.kbb.com/mercedes-benz/gl-class/2014-mercedes-benz-gl-class/gl350-bluetec-4matic-ownershipcosts/?vehicleid=391561&ctomileage=15000

Don’t be scared, you can do it.

#28

Costs to own and operate aren’t really of concern. It is a VW. I am betting there are going to be tons of chances to spend money given the reliability concerns. Any major ones that are pretty consistent amongst owners? So I won’t get caught off guard.

#29

Those numbers are a bit of a joke.

First off, some of the numbers (both ways) are ridiculous. It says $3300/year to insure 1 car? I pay $1920 per year to insure an RS4 and an A4 Avant

Second off, the maintenance and repairs are MUCH higher for the petrol engine, however the Bluetec vehicles tend to cost quite a bit more to maintain and repair, so I’m not sure why that’s so far off.

Finally…and this is all that matters…$11,000 EXTRA depreciation on the petrol version. That’s absurd.

If you didn’t question any of these things when you looked at it, I’d be a bit surprised. Perhaps you missed them.

So, to summarize - the numbers overall are BS, and the main differentiators (repairs/maintenance and depreciation) are erroneously skewed in the bluetec’s favour when reality shows the opposite.

#30

You forgot to even look at fuel costs!

#31

fuel costs are marginal.

bluetec at 10,000 miles per year was around $2500 cheaper than the petrol car.

Consumer Reports found that on the GL bluetec they owned, they had to pay $310 to have the adblue service done. They estimated over 100,000 miles that’s $1500 or so…which is about 1/3 of your fuel savings.

Depending where you live, diesel can be pretty expensive (some states levy road tax premiums on diesel becuase big trucks (transports) buy diesel, and big trucks are what stresses out the infrastructure (roads/bridges). So the fuel savings are again, not that great. The 240 hp diesel GL is indeed $1600 cheaper to buy than the 360hp petrol GL (Both V6 biturbo). Of course one has to ask if that’s really a fair comparison. It used to be the 450 got you a nice V8 engine.

#32

Seriously, consumer reports!? lol

How about paying $12 from your local auto parts store.

http://www.amazon.com/BlueDEF-DEF002-Diesel-Exhaust-Fluid/dp/B004O80QP8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413397335&sr=8-1&keywords=diesel+exhaust+fluid

If you drive according to the manual, refills are every 10,000 miles. So for 100,000 miles that is $120. Not $1500.

#33

It says 1Gallon/300miles…or 33Gallons/10000miles or ~160/year …or ~$800 over 5 years (50000 miles)…or $1600 over 100K miles.

#34

Well by that rationale, why don’t you just build yourself a diesel engined 3 seater SUV with junk and scrap parts in your garage? Who needs Mercedes? Anyway, seems you’re doing your best to go off on a tangeant.

Going back to my original point which countered your hybrid point, the diesels don’t make sense in North America. The thread was about the Touareg diesel and strayed over to the Q5 and Q7, and none of these make any sense. They’re a german car lover’s fantasy, just as a hybrid (or electric car) is a liberal fantasy.

#35

UUUUUUgggghhhhhh…I guess I need to go rename the title to the great German SUV debate.

  1. Touareg Diesel Executive
  2. Touareg Hybrid
  3. allroad*

Anybody have personal dealings with any of these? Pros? Cons?

*-denotes Audi model not usually found in this thread

#36

page 11

http://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/DigitalAssets/pdfmb/maintenancebooklets/MY14_Maintenance_Booklet.pdf

#37

You’re missing the point…how big is your DEF tank? It’s not 2.5 gallons.

#38

I believe it is 5 gallons on the mercedes

I also don’t believe that DEF is compliant with the Mercedes standard. Their fluid is good for 1500 miles per gallon.

Using that shit from amazon (1 gallon/300 miles) means you’d be buying 5 gallons a month…and refilling your ADblue tank every other time you go to the gas station to fill the diesel tank. ( While voiding your warranty on the most problem prone component of the entire vehicle). Carrying around 25 litres of exhaust fluid constantly…lol.

Interestingly if you burn out of it, the car dies and won’t move after a few starts.

#39

I test drove the Toureg TDI and it was great. Would definitely consider it for snowboard/towing RS5 on a trailer duties.

#40

Its 8 gallons. So its $384 for 100k miles, and DEF is the exact same as Adblue Saki, Urea ISO 22241.

And if you are not afraid of pulling into your local truck stop, they sell it for around $2.50/gallon.

#41

spent some time with the Touareg diesel exec. Really enjoyed it, nice interior, the boatload of torque was fun. Would be interesting to see what sort of power they get with a tune. Really good range too gets like 8-900km to a tank.

#42

Thanks. We absolutely love the interior. I wonder how well they hold up over time?

#43

That’s not stellar mileage…I believe it has a large 100L tank.

I’ve test driven the gas and diesel Touareg’s a few times and was about 5min from signing the paperwork on an Executive before we decided to have a good look at the q5 3.0T. IMO, the overall interior of the VW is slightly below the quality of an Audi but only by a small margin. It shares many Audi buttons/switches but feels a bit behind in certain aspects. I’m also not a fan of touchscreen interfaces. The seats were also a bit of a disappointment compared to Audi. The VW seats were a bit short on the seat/leg support and had no extension option. For shorter drivers this wouldn’t be as much of a problem…I’m 6’3.

The Aisin 8 speed transmission is solid/smooth and engine is excellent. The rear end is also very stable and feels quite planted for towing. Keep in mind that if you are towing large loads and want to use weight distribution, German hitches are not designed to withstand the torque involved. Long story on why that is but there are options to alleviate that problem.

#44

Thank you. We looked at the Q5’s, but they seemed smaller??? We are open to a Q7 TDI, but guess there will be a 5-10K mark up.