Volkswagen Touareg (2010 - 2018) 3.0 V6 TDI (245bhp) R Line 5d Tip Auto Owner Review

3.0 V6 TDI (245bhp) R Line 5d Tip Auto

23 November 2023

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In their own words

VW Touareg is one of the most understated cars in its class. People rave about BMW / Audi / Mercedes etc and the Touareg hardly warrants a second glance. Until you have driven one for yourself, that is.... if you have never owned or driven one you will never understand. And generally very reliable, and has never let us down so far. (Fingers crossed, not wishing to tempt fate...!) I can understand why so many folk use these cars for towing heavy plant trailers or car/van delivery trailers.
Naturally for a car in this class it could be expensive to run, especially if taken to main dealers - but by keeping it serviced by a quality independent mechanic, by looking after it and driving it to optimise longevity, I intend and hope to hang onto this car.

Does the car do everything you expected it to do?

Purchased primarily for towing our caravan - which at 2 tonnes, and 2.5mtrs - 8 feet wide, requires a very solid capable tow car. It has outperformed my expectations in so many ways - at 2.5 tonnes unladen (car) it accelerates 'briskly' in a way that it seems no right to be capable of, and even towing the caravan we can easily keep up with the traffic - if I wanted to. Of course that brisk performance comes at a price - whilst I always average 26mpg towing through good forward planning I can get that down to 20mpg if I choose to drive 'spiritedly' - which I don't! Solo driving is the same; it is not a sports car but if I am tempted to drive hard the effects on fuel figures reflects that. But I don't.

How they rated it
Reliability: 4 out of 5 4.0
Meets Expectations: 5 out of 5 5.0
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 5.0
John Davidge recommends this car