V6 tdi

[gerhard]

Well, I write this with a heavy air of disappointment ......

Since it looks like my Jackaroo and my GTI will both be w/o on Monday as a result of the hail, I figured it might be the right time to upgrade to a Touareg, since I have lusted after one for years.

So I took one for a first drive yesterday, and was underwhelmed

I found it was floaty, with zero steering feel due to way too much assistance, the interior rattled on every cat's eye. Only 4000k old.

I perceived the engine to be noisy at idle and up to 2k rpm, but it sure had heaps of get up & go. It just didn't feel like a "lazy" diesel, which it's not.

No complaints on the brakes, beautiful, but the bluetooth thing was tacked on the dash like a cheap navi system, - ghastly.

My dream has been shattered

[GoLfMan]

shame to hear that your GTI is written off, beautiful example!!! Buy it back and track it!

In regards to the Touareg, of course the steering is going to be indirect, its a truck, plus you have just stepped out of a GTI

maybe try another one, surely the interior rattle would be a rare occurance?

[gerhard]

It's not so much that it is indirect, just zero feedback due to way too much assistance.

Even my 12yo Jackaroo feels better in the steering, giving you the feedback needed to place the wheels, especially when off-roading. The Treg feels like it could hit a kerb and you wouldn't know till you saw your punctured tyre next time you got out.

But I think you're right, I need to get into another one, 20 minutes is not enough to decide, but plenty for a first impression.

Monday at about 11.45am will be the decision time - today I found even more hail marks than I'd seen before - it's now bonnet, roof, both roof rails, both front guards, both left passenger doors Can't imagine they will attempt to repair all that, but we'll see.

Yep, there may well be a track car available, but not for me - no room for storage and no desire for that kind of activity.

Pete Jones might want it

[T Rex]

Hi Gerhard. Good idea to test drive another one. After 2 Range Rovers, a V8 BMW X5 and a Toyota Prado I feel the Touareg V6TDI is the perfect combination of luxury, driveability and off road ability. Yes, steering lacks feel compared to some others but you soon adapt. The whole car shrinks around you fairly quickly. Try to test drive one with air suspension and set it on "sport" - works well for tarmac. Good luck and sorry to hear about the hail damage. Cheers. Geoff

[gerhard]

Hi Gerhard. Good idea to test drive another one. After 2 Range Rovers, a V8 BMW X5 and a Toyota Prado I feel the Touareg V6TDI is the perfect combination of luxury, driveability and off road ability. Yes, steering lacks feel compared to some others but you soon adapt. The whole car shrinks around you fairly quickly. Try to test drive one with air suspension and set it on "sport" - works well for tarmac. Good luck and sorry to hear about the hail damage. Cheers. Geoff

Cheers, Geoff - I'm still kicking myself - 2 years ago I could have had a 12,000k V6 3.0 treg with air suspension for $70k.

Haven't seen one with air since Except the V10s, of course. But they get the bigger wheels and brakes, making them less suitable for the trails due to poor sidewall height.

[Transporter]

The same here, Gerhard. You will quickly get used to the Treg's steering. I recall that on the first road test it felt a bit big and heavy but only onto the first corner, before second corner I recalled that in some write up about Touareg I red that it had fantastic brakes, so I gave it a bit more push on the brake pedal and oh.. yeah it braked like small Golf or even better and handled like a dream.

Every trip is joy and don't even mind the cra*y road works everywhere.

[phaeton]

Hey Gerard

Did the Touareg have Air Suspension ?

ps Amarok due very soon if you can wait

[gerhard]

Hey Gerard

Did the Touareg have Air Suspension ?

ps Amarok due very soon if you can wait

No, it was a "standard" V6 3.0.

I'm seriously considering the Amarok, if I end up without the Jackaroo and the GTI.

I have some beach blocks which need mowing and I'm soon to be building on one of them. I have been loading the mowers, etc into the Jackaroo and can cart up to 100kg on the roof racks, so it was a useful jigger for that and for camping and off-roading.

Treg is not really a direct replacement for those tasks, so the Amy is definitely in the frame.

Should also be $20k cheaper than a Treg, leaving that sum to maybe get a cheap little tray thingy (Kia 2600 or similar) for the building chores, and the Amy for daily duties plus off-roading, next Cape York trip, etc.

[T Rex]

Hi Gerard. We do plan to head off into the outback in the Treg. This time with a roof top tent rather than having to erect a normal tent at night. Thought you might like to know the roof rails on the Treg are rated at 100kg. Air suspension gives you up to 300mm clearance. All handy. Cheers. Geoff