First pics & info of VW's new SUV

[Nemesis77]

Yep, I still hate SUV's, but anyway...

The VW Touareg

 

[vi edit]

<< At the German market launch, the Touareg will be available with a 3.2-liter VR6 engine and a 5.0 litre V10 TDI engine. The VR6 engine has a power output of 220 bhp and develops up to 225 lbs-ft of torque. The world's most powerful passenger car diesel engine is the V10 TDI with unit injectors and bi-turbo charging. It has a power output of 313 bhp and develops an impressive 551 lbs-ft of torque at 1800 rpm. >>



Whoa! That's better than the new Chevy HD Diesel hehehehehe!

They should have called it the Passat CR-V

 

[NFS4]

<<

<< At the German market launch, the Touareg will be available with a 3.2-liter VR6 engine and a 5.0 litre V10 TDI engine. The VR6 engine has a power output of 220 bhp and develops up to 225 lbs-ft of torque. The world's most powerful passenger car diesel engine is the V10 TDI with unit injectors and bi-turbo charging. It has a power output of 313 bhp and develops an impressive 551 lbs-ft of torque at 1800 rpm. >>



Whoa! That's better than the new Chevy HD Diesel hehehehehe!

They should have called it the Passat CR-V >>


BUAHAAAHAHA, that diesel owns!!!!!!!!!!!!! You should mention the diesel specs in the thread title to get the Detroit boys in here

The interior looks AWESOME, but the the exterior screams Toyota boring They could have done ALOT better IMHO. It still looks better than the Cayenne though Anyway, the name Touareg sucks.

 

[tennesota]

Any info on how it would be priced?

 

[Capn]

sorta looks like a jacked up passat wagon

 

[911paramedic]

Those things like that just don't qualify as an SUV for me. Those old 70's-80's full sized station wagons were much bigger than these things. Bronco, Expedition, Jeep (kinda), Tahoe, etc, THOSE are SUV's.

 

[StageLeft]

Not bad - the Diesel version is a beast from hell!

 

[ElFenix]

looks like a passat with bigger tires

that diesel is a beast!

 

[aphex]

I really like the styling (looks just like my passat) but i dont care for the huge taillights...

 

[psteng19]

Looks like a CR-V from the front, and a Mercedes ML from the back.
Inside looks nice.

 

[NFS4]

<< Those things like that just don't qualify as an SUV for me. Those old 70's-80's full sized station wagons were much bigger than these things. Bronco, Expedition, Jeep (kinda), Tahoe, etc, THOSE are SUV's. >>


It looks too derivative with the styling though. At least give it some personality. As it stands not, it looks like a ill-proportioned Passat/Phaeton clone.

 

[Pocatello]

Why can GM SUVs have an interior like that (Escalade EXT)?

 

[vi edit]

<< It's NOT a real SUV IMHO either. It's the kind of vehicle that will get stuck in the rough stuff. Just like our Highlander, or an MDX, or an X5, or any car based sport utility, this thing is meant for the ROAD first and foremost...not that that is a bad thing >>



I dunno about that. With 11" of ground clearance and the W8, it could have some serious off road potential....key point being in if they give it a low range gear.

 

[NFS4]

<<

<< It's NOT a real SUV IMHO either. It's the kind of vehicle that will get stuck in the rough stuff. Just like our Highlander, or an MDX, or an X5, or any car based sport utility, this thing is meant for the ROAD first and foremost...not that that is a bad thing >>



I dunno about that. With 11" of ground clearance and the W8, it could have some serious off road potential....key point being in if they give it a low range gear. >>


11" of ground clearance doesn't mean jack squat if your are running on low-profile street tires (images 1 and 3). That thing would get stuck easy.

 

[vi edit]

That's easy enough to fix though

 

[toant103]

Honda Pilot look alike?

 

[LittleWolf]

<<

<< Those things like that just don't qualify as an SUV for me. Those old 70's-80's full sized station wagons were much bigger than these things. Bronco, Expedition, Jeep (kinda), Tahoe, etc, THOSE are SUV's. >>


It's NOT a real SUV IMHO either. It's the kind of vehicle that will get stuck in the rough stuff. Just like our Highlander, or an MDX, or an X5, or any car based sport utility, this thing is meant for the ROAD first and foremost...not that that is a bad thing
>>



Dude, this SUV has 11 inches of road-clearance and wade through more than 23 inches of water !!:Q
It has an extra long wheelbase and gradability of 100 percent and the ability to roll to 45 degrees. Not to mention the 7,716 lbs of towing and true low range gearing set..

The BMW X5 and Acura MDX (which is basically the Honda Odessey Minivan on stilts) doesn't even come remotely close !
The X5 slips even on wet leaves, forget any off-roading....:disgust: I won't even talk of the likes of poseurs like MDX, Lexus RX or the Highlander. And ofcourse these are also built on resp. car chassis. The VDUB is built on a specially built SUV chassis and not bastardised from some car.

This VW SUV has been benchmarks more against the likes of Jeep Grand Cherokee and Merc ML, only supposedly much better.

So I suspect the VW is gonna kick some serious butt off-roading. OK, it's not gonna be a Hummer, but it not gonna be as crappy as a X5, MDX or ilk in off-roading. And on-road with the adjustable air-suspenions, it should also certainly be much better than the MDX, RX, and ML. The X5 needless to say might be a bit sportier because of it RWD bias and more car-like structure. The Porsche Cayenne and the upcoming Audi SUV should easily take care of that.


-j

 

[yakko]

I like the look and I love that diesel. I wish they would have released the AAC pick up. I wonder if I can squeeze that diesel in my Jetta?

 

[nihil]

that's a pretty bada$$ truck. certainly kicks the crap out of the silly jap imports.

 

[NFS4]

<<

<<

<< Those things like that just don't qualify as an SUV for me. Those old 70's-80's full sized station wagons were much bigger than these things. Bronco, Expedition, Jeep (kinda), Tahoe, etc, THOSE are SUV's. >>


It's NOT a real SUV IMHO either. It's the kind of vehicle that will get stuck in the rough stuff. Just like our Highlander, or an MDX, or an X5, or any car based sport utility, this thing is meant for the ROAD first and foremost...not that that is a bad thing
>>



Dude, this SUV has 11 inches of road-clearance and wade through more than 23 inches of water !!:Q
It has an extra long wheelbase and gradability of 100 percent and the ability to roll to 45 degrees. Not to mention the 7,716 lbs of towing and true low range gearing set..

The BMW X5 and Acura MDX (which is basically the Honda Odessey Minivan on stilts) doesn't even come remotely close !
The X5 slips even on wet leaves, forget any off-roading....:disgust: I won't even talk of the likes of poseurs like MDX, Lexus RX or the Highlander. And ofcourse these are also built on resp. car chassis. The VDUB is built on a specially built SUV chassis and not bastardised from some car.

This VW SUV has been benchmarks more against the likes of Jeep Grand Cherokee and Merc ML, only supposedly much better.

So I suspect the VW is gonna kick some serious butt off-roading. OK, it's not gonna be a Hummer, but it not gonna be as crappy as a X5, MDX or ilk in off-roading. And on-road with the adjustable air-suspenions, it should also certainly be much better than the MDX, RX, and ML. The X5 needless to say might be a bit sportier because of it RWD bias and more car-like structure. The Porsche Cayenne and the upcoming Audi SUV should easily take care of that.


-j >>


When you puncture a tire and bend a rim on your precision 18" tires and wheels, don't come crying to me When it comes to off-roading, I would still GLADLY take the solid axels of the Grand Cherokee over the VDUB. Chance of seeing a Grand Cherokee off-roading?? Pretty high. Chances of seeing a VDUB off-roading. About less than 1%. No soccer mom is gonna risk scratching the paint on her new SUV

These trucks will never be taken off road and VDUB knows this. That's why the thing looks so gutless (read station wagon on stilts) on the outside.

Also, that 7,000+ lb tow rating is most likely with the diesel. And NA is not getting the diesel...just the V6 and V8

 

[LittleWolf]

<< When you puncture a tire and bend a rim on your precision 18" tires and wheels, don't come crying to me When it comes to off-roading, I would still GLADLY take the solid axels of the Grand Cherokee over the VDUB. Chance of seeing a Grand Cherokee off-roading?? Pretty high. Chances of seeing a VDUB off-roading. About less than 1%. No soccer mom is gonna risk scratching the paint on her new SUV >>



I think I shall reserve my comments till there are more details and road-test of this VDUB. But trust me, this SUV was designed specifically to compete with the likes of Grand Cherokee and ML in off-road worthyness. So I won't be the least surprised to see this VDUB beat them hands-down. Trust the Porsche Engineers to have figured a better way of doing everything out. (In case you didn't know Porsche used to win the Dakkar-Paris etc off-roading rally quite handily. Didn't hear any Grand Cherokee doing that. I know about the Rubicon etc trail and I am sure VDUB/Porsche has considered that )

About chances of some Soccer mom actually taking it out being low, guess can't do much about that. But that's doesn't mean that the vehicle isn't capable, unlike many of the current poseur SUVs.




<<
These trucks will never be taken off road and VDUB knows this. That's why the thing looks so gutless (read station wagon on stilts) on the outside. >>



I think you should do a bit more reading about the development of this vehicle and it's sister the Porsche Cayene before making some totally baseless statements.
Here's a clue. The target for the engineering team was to make a SUV capable of beating most of the current SUVs (read Merc ML, GM , Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner, Land-cruiser, Land Roer) in off-roading and most of others (read BMW X5, AMG ML Merc etc) in road-handling and speed. The off-roading bias is given to the VW SUV and road-handling bias was given to the Porsche Cayene. So there...



-j

 

[Amused]

Is it just me, or does the interior look an awful lot like BMW's latest interiors?

 

[Transition]

ewww..

 

[aphex]

<< Is it just me, or does the interior look an awful lot like BMW's latest interiors? >>



Yea, i noticed that too... Personally, i like it...

 

[NFS4]

<<

<< When you puncture a tire and bend a rim on your precision 18" tires and wheels, don't come crying to me When it comes to off-roading, I would still GLADLY take the solid axels of the Grand Cherokee over the VDUB. Chance of seeing a Grand Cherokee off-roading?? Pretty high. Chances of seeing a VDUB off-roading. About less than 1%. No soccer mom is gonna risk scratching the paint on her new SUV >>



I think I shall reserve my comments till there are more details and road-test of this VDUB. But trust me, this SUV was designed specifically to compete with the likes of Grand Cherokee and ML in off-road worthyness. So I won't be the least surprised to see this VDUB beat them hands-down. Trust the Porsche Engineers to have figured a better way of doing everything out. (In case you didn't know Porsche used to win the Dakkar-Paris etc off-roading rally quite handily. Didn't hear any Grand Cherokee doing that. I know about the Rubicon etc trail and I am sure VDUB/Porsche has considered that )

About chances of some Soccer mom actually taking it out being low, guess can't do much about that. But that's doesn't mean that the vehicle isn't capable, unlike many of the current poseur SUVs.




<<
These trucks will never be taken off road and VDUB knows this. That's why the thing looks so gutless (read station wagon on stilts) on the outside. >>



I think you should do a bit more reading about the development of this vehicle and it's sister the Porsche Cayene before making some totally baseless statements.
Here's a clue. The target for the engineering team was to make a SUV capable of beating most of the current SUVs (read Merc ML, GM , Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner, Land-cruiser, Land Roer) in off-roading and most of others (read BMW X5, AMG ML Merc etc) in road-handling and speed. The off-roading bias is given to the VW SUV and road-handling bias was given to the Porsche Cayene. So there...



-j >>



I know all about the Cayenne and VDUB SUV's. In fact, I've been the one keep the forums up to date on their development (and even alerted the forums on developments on the Cayenne and when it was officially announced).

Rallying and off-roading are two different things IMHO. When I think of off-roading, I think of rock climbing and forging through gullies and over obstacles at low speed. When I think rallying, I think of Subarus and Porsche 959's flying around loose gravel at high rates of speed.

And as I said, when it come to off-roading, I'd take the Jeeps solid axles anyday.

And as for you believing all the hype of press releases (i.e., how it will best those SUV's off - on road), that's up to you. I'd rather hear real world testimates than to base my statements on what the company is feeding you. It's just like Cadillac saying that their CTS can hang with the 3-Series or 5-Series or Suzuki trying to compare their XL-7 SUV to the X5 and ML series. It's all PR speak. Until the thing proves itself, I don't put much faith in it.