Touareg makes diesel more attractive
Is there a diesel in your future?
Don’t laugh. As fuel-conscious Europeans will tell you, diesels offer significant advantages over gasoline engines, not the least of which is big savings at the fuel pump.
We all know the knock on diesel engines. They’re noisy and smelly. The fuel stinks if you get it on your hands and not all stations pump it. Diesels also produce sufficient noxious emissions that the sale of certain diesel-powered passenger cars has been prohibited in five states.
Those negatives haven’t stopped Volkswagen from championing diesel, though. They’ve offered it for years in some of their smaller vehicles but this year have made it available in both the midsize Passat sedan and wagon and in the up-level Touareg sport-ute.
We reviewed the Passat not long ago, and found its essential character unchanged by the diesel power plant. It’s a little slower from 0-60 than comparable gasoline-powered models, but turbocharging minimizes the effect and the diesel produces enough torque to make easy work of freeway merging and passing on two-lane highways.
The Touareg is another matter altogether. With 310 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque issuing from its 5-liter turbodiesel power plant, this rig is ready to move mountains. Or at least tall buildings. The presence of all that muscle is evident from the moment one nudges the throttle, with max power coming on at about 1,900 rpm.
With its 4,400-rpm redline, the big 10 has a limited power band, but a smooth-shifting six-speed Tiptronic transmission maximizes that band, producing a surprisingly urgent throttle response.
At 7.5 seconds, the TDI propels the Touareg to 60 mph, one-tenth of a second more quickly than does the eight.
And what about those fuel costs? The V-10 TDI earns fuel-economy ratings of 17 city/23 highway, while its V-8 counterpart manages 14/18.
The EPA pegs annual fuel costs for a TDI driven 12,000 miles at $1,065, with the V-8x tagging along at $1,601.
There’s about an $8,000 difference between the price of a TDI (from $58,415, including destination) and the V-8x ($50,565), so amortizing the additional expense is a long-term proposition.
(As a point of comparison, the midsize Passat TDI, which is priced just a couple hundred dollars more than its gasoline-powered sibling, provides a more immediate payback.)
“This summer, diesel models were the most in-demand of all the Volkswagen products,” said Appleway VW salesman Dave Chapman, “especially with the introduction of the Passat.”
Interest may taper off as gasoline prices have come down some, he said, but diesels remain a strong component of the VW product strategy.
Appleway has received just one 2004 Touareg TDI, he said, but expects some ‘05 models this fall.
“They’re unusual,” he said. “They’re not making very many of them and they are about 90 percent pre-sold.”
Indeed, VW plans to sell fewer than 500 Touareg TDIs in the United States each year.
And what about those negatives?
If you haven’t noticed, stations that pump diesel have become more numerous in the past few years. And while it may be no fun to smell diesel on your fingers, neither is gasoline a delight.
Most important, the noise factor has become a non-starter with the new VW turbodiesels. At ignition, the exhaust produces a telltale cloud of black soot as well as some clatter from under the hood. Soon enough, though, the soot disappears and the engine noise fades. At road speeds, it’s a non-issue.
Befitting its stratospheric price tag, the Touareg TDI comes thoroughly equipped. There’s not room here to detail the standard-items list; suffice it to say it includes all the advanced stability control, braking and safety systems known to mankind.
The interior is trimmed beautifully in authentic wood and aluminum trim and our tester came equipped with a Premium package with navigation, Nappa leather, CD changer and a more complete wood trim package. A cold-weather package includes heated steering wheel and rear seats (fronts are heated by default, naturally).
The TDI also receives VW’s air suspension package, which not only allows a variety of firmness settings but also can adjust ride height from 6.3 inches, which works only to 5 miles per hour and is meant to facilitate loading the Touareg, to 11.8 inches, an ultra-high setting for rugged backwoods action.
The Touareg is among the most capable luxury SUVs in an off-road setting (ours even came equipped with a locking rear differential, a $550 option), but it’s also a great road vehicle, with road-handling capabilities that exceed most passenger sedans (at speeds above 118 mph, the suspension lowers itself to 7.3 inches of ground clearance to reduce wind resistance and drop the center of gravity).
The Porsche-designed Tiptronic transmission has a Sport mode for more aggressive shift points and a manual mode for full, do-it-yourself shifting.
From behind the wheel, the Touareg feels as substantial as its 5,825-pound curb weight would imply. It’s lithe and nimble and easily parked, but there’s nothing lightweight about it.
Exceedingly few drivers will get their hands on a Touareg TDI, but those few who do will have the satisfaction of knowing they own one of the most competent and completely outfitted SUVs on the planet.
We may know VW best for its earthy Beetle, but it’s vehicles like the Touareg TDI that will cement its place as an innovative builder of some of the world’s great cars. Diesel or no, the Touareg is a sport-ute as only VW would conceive it.