Defender 3 vs VW Touareg
Discussion
So not quite a what car thread as I am pretty sure I have settled on one of the above but I am having a tough time choosing.
I do enough miles each year to warrant the Diesel (shush at the back)
The wife is all of 4'11 and owing to a birth defect struggles to get in and out of most 4x4's unless they have side steps or go up and down.
I don't do a huge amount of off-roading these days however I do wish to retain the ability to do so (local pay and play in the main so nothing too extreme) along with going out to the villages in the snow to take pretty pictures/walking the dog etc
Budget is £9-10k. My choices are between a 3.0TDi Touareg, a V10 Touareg (all be it a little older than the other two) and the Disco 3 2.7
I want a 4x4, I do a reasonable amount of towing too, be it car trailer, caravan or dragging cars stuck in muddy fields (don't ask!)
What do we think? I haven't driven either yet both are based purely on looks, a quick bit of googling, youtube and approval from SWMBO I am lining up some test drives of both but would like to know what they are like to live with day to day if anyone knows?
I do enough miles each year to warrant the Diesel (shush at the back)
The wife is all of 4'11 and owing to a birth defect struggles to get in and out of most 4x4's unless they have side steps or go up and down.
I don't do a huge amount of off-roading these days however I do wish to retain the ability to do so (local pay and play in the main so nothing too extreme) along with going out to the villages in the snow to take pretty pictures/walking the dog etc
Budget is £9-10k. My choices are between a 3.0TDi Touareg, a V10 Touareg (all be it a little older than the other two) and the Disco 3 2.7
I want a 4x4, I do a reasonable amount of towing too, be it car trailer, caravan or dragging cars stuck in muddy fields (don't ask!)
What do we think? I haven't driven either yet both are based purely on looks, a quick bit of googling, youtube and approval from SWMBO I am lining up some test drives of both but would like to know what they are like to live with day to day if anyone knows?
Don't know much about 4x4's but always liked the idea of a V10 Touareg. That was until I saw what has to be done to get to almost anything on the engine of the smaller V6. Water pump go, £1k please. They have to drop the engine, transmission and suspension to get to them. 8 hours labour plus parts and that doesn't include 4 way alignment after it's all put back together.
We had a 56 plate 3.0V6 TDI Twig in the Altitude Spec.
It was a lovely car. Returned 28 - 30mpg on a run. The Altitude spec has everything you could possibly want on it (privacy glass, nav, heated front & rear seats, bigger wheels, decent body kit etc, etc). Performance from the 3.0 was more than acceptable to hustle along the road at quite a pace.
Ours didn't have air suspension, but to be honest it rode very well indeed on the standard coils & they are one less thing to go wrong!
The propshaft centre bearing is a common fault on the Twig, Q7 & Cayenne. If this fails, VW want c. £2,000 to repair with a new part. However, it is an easy job to get it refurbished & costs around £300.
We had a 4.4 V8 FFRR prior to the Twig & whilst the Rangie was a beautiful place to be on long journeys, the VW isn't too far behind it in comfort. This, combined with a tighter and more controlled chassis placed the VW slightly ahead of the RR overall for me - granted, it's not quite as big, but frankly we never needed the space of the RR.
We took ours off-roading occasionally over the green lanes around our village & with H & L range & proper difflocks, it was supremely capable off road & never left us wanting. As a winter car, wasn't quite as enjoyable as our Landy S3, but that's only because I really don't worry about sticking the Landy in a ditch!!! The Twig was very acceptable in the snow, but as always, it comes down to the tyres & how you drive it.
When we bought ours, we also looked at RRS's & Q7's. Personally, I prefered the look of the Touareg, as it wasn't quite as shouty as its direct competitors.
Overall, it was a great piece of kit that did everything we asked of it in great comfort and reasonable economy.
It was a lovely car. Returned 28 - 30mpg on a run. The Altitude spec has everything you could possibly want on it (privacy glass, nav, heated front & rear seats, bigger wheels, decent body kit etc, etc). Performance from the 3.0 was more than acceptable to hustle along the road at quite a pace.
Ours didn't have air suspension, but to be honest it rode very well indeed on the standard coils & they are one less thing to go wrong!
The propshaft centre bearing is a common fault on the Twig, Q7 & Cayenne. If this fails, VW want c. £2,000 to repair with a new part. However, it is an easy job to get it refurbished & costs around £300.
We had a 4.4 V8 FFRR prior to the Twig & whilst the Rangie was a beautiful place to be on long journeys, the VW isn't too far behind it in comfort. This, combined with a tighter and more controlled chassis placed the VW slightly ahead of the RR overall for me - granted, it's not quite as big, but frankly we never needed the space of the RR.
We took ours off-roading occasionally over the green lanes around our village & with H & L range & proper difflocks, it was supremely capable off road & never left us wanting. As a winter car, wasn't quite as enjoyable as our Landy S3, but that's only because I really don't worry about sticking the Landy in a ditch!!! The Twig was very acceptable in the snow, but as always, it comes down to the tyres & how you drive it.
When we bought ours, we also looked at RRS's & Q7's. Personally, I prefered the look of the Touareg, as it wasn't quite as shouty as its direct competitors.
Overall, it was a great piece of kit that did everything we asked of it in great comfort and reasonable economy.
Nice cheers for that, just chatting to a couple of guys at work, one has a Touareg and the other a Disco 3, seems the Disco spends alot of time in the garage but the Touareg has only been in for the same issue you described with the prop bearing and he paid the same as you!
Looks like the Touareg might with the showdown! Will have to drive one me thinks...
Looks like the Touareg might with the showdown! Will have to drive one me thinks...
I've run a 2003 Touareg V8 for about 7 years.
Aside from the propshaft support bearing (which should be treated as a 50,000 mile service item on the Touareg/Cayenne chassis) the only other thing to check is for water ingress into the cabin, which can cause an electrical problem with the wiring. Remove the mats from the front footwells and press down really hard into the carpet with your hands to ensure the footwells are dry. There's a lot of sponge sound insulation and water can sit there for years, slowly corroding the electrical wiring. Not a hugely common problem but it's happened to me and I've heard of other cases. Solution is to keep the bulkhead drain outlets free of leaves, so water doesn't back up and flow into the cabin, a 30 minute job every 12 months.
Aside from the propshaft support bearing (which should be treated as a 50,000 mile service item on the Touareg/Cayenne chassis) the only other thing to check is for water ingress into the cabin, which can cause an electrical problem with the wiring. Remove the mats from the front footwells and press down really hard into the carpet with your hands to ensure the footwells are dry. There's a lot of sponge sound insulation and water can sit there for years, slowly corroding the electrical wiring. Not a hugely common problem but it's happened to me and I've heard of other cases. Solution is to keep the bulkhead drain outlets free of leaves, so water doesn't back up and flow into the cabin, a 30 minute job every 12 months.
not driven a toerag so can't comment on that, but my brother had a d3 with all the extras for 2 years and loved it, he only changed it because he was getting a company car. other than servicing it never saw a garage, and it got him to some remote places over here as he does a lot of climbing.
he's as tight as a goldfishes bum, but he's talking about buying another one as their second car.
i'm sure people will be along soon to tell you horror stories about land rover reliability, but having done off roading in oz as well, the d3 and now d4 are well regarded, even to the point that one of the Australian mags voted it their favourite 4x4 and most capable from the factory.
i can also tell you horror stories about most other makes of 4x4 but it's pointless, drive them both and see which is better.
he's as tight as a goldfishes bum, but he's talking about buying another one as their second car.
i'm sure people will be along soon to tell you horror stories about land rover reliability, but having done off roading in oz as well, the d3 and now d4 are well regarded, even to the point that one of the Australian mags voted it their favourite 4x4 and most capable from the factory.
i can also tell you horror stories about most other makes of 4x4 but it's pointless, drive them both and see which is better.
I bought this old girl (V10) 10 months ago just for a bit of fun, I don't have to rely on it for transport all though it does carry my sons motocross bike now and again .
I am well aware if this thing decides to go wrong on me it is spares or repairs on EBAY
.Forgetting the negatives this is one hell of a 2.6 ton 4x4
, drop the air suspension into sport and short shift through the paddles using its massive torque and you can soon forget your in a clumsy 4x4. The off road capability's are fantastic and there is massive ground clearance available through the air suspension .My car is an old 2003 model yet has enough toys to make it feel fairly modern . I cant think of another big 4x4 in this budget range I would rather have. Should my look run out and the old girl ends up as spares or repairs my answer would still be the same . "Hell yea"
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