Site News - 7/9: Amazon Prime Deal: $100 Uber/Lyft Card for $85/$80! | 5/10: Members: Log In to See Fewer Ads!
[General | Members | C900 | 9000 | NG900 & OG93 | 93 | 95 | NG95 | 99 | Sonett | Vintage Models | Clubs | Other Cars | FAQs | Gifts | Member Photo Galleries | Member Directory | Classifieds | Manuals | *Buddy Registry | *Mileage Registry | Polls | What's New | Raffle | Photo of the Month | Sponsors]

General Bulletin Board
[Subscribe to Daily Digest]
(Search Author's Posts: e.g. Keyword:username)*Members Only

[Main General Bulletin Board | BBFAQ | Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ] Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Touareg Test Drive
Like This Post: - Subscribe to Daily Digest for this Bulletin Board
Posted by Jon in Chicago (more from Jon in Chicago) on Fri, 22 Aug 2003 13:31:14 Share Post by Email
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup

First off, I'm not a VW guy, or an Audi one for that matter. I consider these makes generally very good looking, but somehow too arrogant in their execution, and of rather poor quality, and over priced for the total package. If I wanted these same attributes I'd readily take a sexy BMW over a trendy VW/Audi.

That said, I *did* say that I think VW/Audi cars are great looking, and the alluring lines of the Touareg drew me in for a test drive yesterday evening.

$36,800 Base price for a V6 Black Touareg with standard grade leather package. No other options.

First up, THE PROS:

*Handling and especially Brakes are very nice. When turning corners you basically forget this is an SUV / SUV crossover and not a Passat. (I say SUV / SUV Crossover b/c it is almost like the size and shape are not either true SUV or true Crossover which, in my opinion, is almost the exact right size. Good job by the designers/engineers/marketers on getting the size right.)

*Several reviews say it is very capable off-road. In Chicago I couldn't get to this on just a test drive but I'll give the pro reviewers the benefit of the doubt.

*Interior is overall very well laid out and generally of a high quality, though the bright aluminum looking trim and the wood trim everywhere is often plastic instead; also, the instrument panel has no less than 6 separate gauges, 4 of which are too tiny to read easily.

*Leather is of a pretty decent quality, similar to the 02'- 03' 9-5 matte pebble grain charcoal leather, though not as thick as the 9-5s. The dash, console and doors nicely follow the same matte pebble pattern. In charcoal this was very understated, Euro and attractive.

* Interior space is not huge but adequate to good. Ditto legroom.

* Again, the exterior styling in any of the colors is just plain HOT for an SUV. Up close it looks to me like the big brother or at least the big cousin to the 9-3X concept.

Second up, THE CONS:

*V6 acceleration is absolute crap. Serious, serious crap. Not at all what any of us would want, even in the SUV land. Stay clear of the V6. I even wonder if at 220 hp this is not the one in the Passat???? Either way, you don't want this in an SUV of 5000+ lbs.

*V8 non-leather base model starts at $40k with the top of the line V8 at $52K. I'm not an expert on SUV pricing but this seems high for this car, even when we factor in that the V8 at 300hp is more likely to haul some butt even with this weight. Sitting in the top of the line V8 interior is too flashy for its own good and the plastic stuff, though shiny or wood-like, seem really out of place.

*Again, the interior space is adaquate, but no larger than a 9-5 wagon.

*Finally, for the same reasons as the recent full review of the Touareg in Consumer Reports, I'd put any recommendation of the car on hold til VW improves quality or better proves the reliability of this model. I know that some of you will immediately say that these reliability ratings are all due to the cassette/cartridge (as with Saab), but Consumer Reports is not as single minded in their quality rating as that. In other words, when VW proves the realibility of this car even with the somewhat high price tag it will be a car to beat in this segment is my opinion.

Thanks for reading. Go test drive one and tell us what you think!

Jon

02' 9-5
97' 900S convt

posted by 12.100.24...
Posts in this Thread:
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Post a Followup

No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.

Name: Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
E-Mail: (Optional)
Re-Enter E-Mail: (Confidential & Secure - Not revealed to other users!)
Note: Please check your spam folder for BB responses.

Subject:

Posting rules are simple - No for sale/wanted ads may be posted here - use the site classifieds.
You may not cross-post your message to multiple BBs.
Not permitted: political/religious topics and being disrespectful (personal attacks, insults, etc...).
 Site Members do not see any red text, inline ad links, bottom of page anchor ads, box ads, or anti-spam check.

Message: (please no for sale/wanted classifieds - post those in the Saabnet.com Classifieds)
Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).

Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post above, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).
Optional Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/)
Link Title: (Optional)
Optional Photo/Image Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/img.jpg)
Photo/Image to Upload: (Please be patient while file uploads)



StateOfNine.com
SaabClub.com
Jak Stoll Performance
M Car Covers
Ad Available

The content on this site may not be republished without permission. Copyright © 1988-2025 - The Saab Network - saabnet.com.
For usage guidelines, see the Mission & Privacy Notice.
[Contact | Site Map | Saabnet.com on Facebook | Saabnet.com on Twitter | Shop Amazon via TSN | Site Donations]

Random Saabnet.com Member Gallery Photos (Click Image)
This is a moderated bulletin board - Posting is a privilege, not a right. Unsolicited commercial postings are not allowed (no spam). Please, no For Sale or Wanted postings, SERIOUSLY. Classifieds are to be listed in The Saab Network Classifieds pages. This is a problem solving forum for over 250,000 Saab owners, so expect to see problems discussed here even though our cars are generally very reliable. This is not an anything goes type of forum. Saabnet.com has been a moderated forum since 1988. For usage guidelines, see the Saabnet.com Mission and Purpose Page. Please remember that you are not anonymous. Site Contact | Site Donations | Other Sites by SP - Poverty2Prosperity.org | Run Club Menlo Park | ScreenBot


Site Members do not see red text instructions, bottom of the page anchor ads, or box ads.
Click here to see all the Site Membership Benefits!