Don't make me agree with my wife: Range Rover or Touareg

[Speed 3]

Our 3rd Touareg left the factory this morning. We had a Mk 1 which I hated for being too agricultural although my wife loved it. I conceded over a big estate as it has very subtle looks for a 4x4 whilst sits on the same chassis as the Cayenne. When we changed to a Mk 2 I couldn't believe the progress. +10 MPG real world, +70 BHP and half the tax. It now truly drives like a big saloon. Hence we ordered an R-Line a month ago as I got £8k off list even on the new facelift.

Reliability-wise we had some sensor issues on the Mk1 and the only problem on the Mk 2 (3 years + original owners year) has been a couple of ignition barrels and bizarrely a new steering column, all done under warranty. I suspect the steering column was the cause of the ignition problems but VW wouldn't go into details (suspect for safety/legal concerns....). We haven't had any RR product but everyone I know who has had them has had endless quality problems. VW dealers are so-so but there's a fair bit of independent expertise available (in our neck of the woods)

I love the stealth(ish) looks compared to other big 4x4's. I love its long distance cruising ability (couple of trips to the Alps each year for us) and the fact its quicker than my 90's Golf GTI 16V.

Off road it isn't going to match the Disco but put the right tyres on it and it'll do most things you generally need.

We're putting our current SE at 4 yrs / 31k up for £22k which I think is a steal. Very much looking forward to the 262R arriving in Jan.

Edited by Speed 3 on Thursday 11th December 17:48

Edited by Speed 3 on Thursday 11th December 17:49

[bigdom]

One of the directors at work runs a Toureg, on his second, had both incarnations. However, he mentioned that whilst he loves the car, would never buy one second hand as spends more time at the dealers than it should.

Plenty of others run FFRR, one of them spontaeous combusted in a petrol station recently, when he was paying for the fuel. Others have suffered from keyless theft, maybe not so much of an issue in the back and beyond?

Another had a disagreement in his Toyota Land Cruiser and a 38T lorry, held up remarkably. I'd have one of them.

[amusingduck]

Have you considered these OP?
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

[IanRubie]

Save £5k off your budget and spend £20k on a good late model 100 series Land Cruiser. While no vehicle is infallible you are much less likely to need unscheduled maintenance in a Land Cruiser than you are in a VW or RR.

[Caddyshack]

Bought the Rangie myself and it is by far the best 4x4 in my opinion.....just feels right. tD48 is a brilliant engine too. I have had no problems with mine

[cheddar]

I love the Touareg, easily the least brash of the big SUV's but thoughtful and capable too.

Nothing wrong with the V6 but can you stretch to £30k for the V8 TDI? It gives that effortless, imperious RR feel without the image or issues.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

[TorqueDirty]

cheddar said:

I love the Touareg, easily the least brash of the big SUV's but thoughtful and capable too.

Nothing wrong with the V6 but can you stretch to £30k for the V8 TDI? It gives that effortless, imperious RR feel without the image or issues.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Careful now, you will get me in to a lot of trouble.

Also that's only a few grand shy of early but immaculate Aston Martin V8 Vantage money - which is the car that I have really been obsessing about for the last few weeks! Of course it won't help in the snow but there is always the good old Disco 2 on the driveway

[dave_s13]

skyrover said:

Rural Scotland?

Land Cruiser every time

The say for driving into rural Scotland you should use a land rover. If you want to then drive back out use a land cruiser.

Or something like that anyway.

I love the FFRR, never sat in one, never mind driven one but they ooze greatness. To rich for me though.

Pal of mine has a toerag for a couple of years and it never broke. Nice enough inside but the ride was a bit bouncy. I bet the RR air suspenders are on another level.

[Bill]

Fix the suspension on the D2.

[jhonn]

Nice post OP, enjoyed reading that.

I've been in a similar quandry - my heart says Range Rover, my head says...Landcruiser.

A bit of background.. We've had a 2003 Landcruiser for about 8 years and taken it to 187k miles and it's still going strong. As has been said, it's not the most refined drive, but perfectly acceptable and most importantly, it's been dependable.

We looked at replacing it recently and I went back and fore between FFRR, Touareg, Discovery and even the Porsche Cayenne.I couldn't live with the looks and the interior of the newer Landcruiser so it wasn't an option.

We eventually purchased a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee for less than your budget price and have been very happy with it - most importantly, both the wife and I like it! I'd still like a FFRR and it's on my bucket list as a 'I'm going to have one of these one day, irrespective of what I know about LR products, or how much it's going to infuriate me' - not quite ready for that yet though.

There's a good review of the Jeep in the Off-Road forum where the owner compares it to the FFRR and other similar vehicles - it's certainly worth considering - the quality of the vehicle and the ergonomics are much improved over earlier versions.

Good luck with your decision!

[Ruskie]

Toureug 5.0 TDI has to be the one. Will be a giggle in a straight line as well.

[TorqueDirty]

Bill said:

Fix the suspension on the D2.

Already have - twice. This one has ACE and is on springs - which whilst theoretically more reliable then the air system is a lot harsher I think.

ACE (active cornering enhancement?)is weird - or st, depending on how diplomatic you are feeling. It does certainly stop roll around corners but on a bumpy road it cant respond fast enough and simply makes the car shudder violently. Mind you, I can't imagine the ACE control system is very sophisticated; I bet it just pushes the car in the opposite direction of the lean at any given moment and thus sets up an oscillation when the bumps are coming thick and fast from either side.

[TorqueDirty]

Ruskie said:

Toureug 5.0 TDI has to be the one. Will be a giggle in a straight line as well.

Ha ha yes, all the way from one petrol station to the next! But I agree, there is a certain temptation there although I'd sooner go for the Mk2 version and lose some frankly unnecessary grunt.

Who knows, after all this talk I'll probably end up with a sodding Suzuki Jimny so grunt won't be an oft used word - except following the words "lack of...."

[cheddar]

Ruskie said:

Toureug 5.0 TDI has to be the one. Will be a giggle in a straight line as well.

Good in its day Ruskie but a dinosaur now - superseded and easily surpassed by VW's more powerful, torquier, quicker, smoother and more economical 4.2 TDI.

OP, try the 4.2, best of all worlds, you know it makes sense.

[Bill]

Doesn't ACE need air suspension to work properly? You'd be better doing the full conversion to normal ARBs AIUI. Mine's surprisingly good.

[sealtt]

Range Rover is great, I've got a Sport and it's a very reliable work horse.

[Ruskie]

cheddar said:

Good in its day Ruskie but a dinosaur now - superseded and easily surpassed by VW's more powerful, torquier, quicker, smoother and more economical 4.2 TDI.

OP, try the 4.2, best of all worlds, you know it makes sense.

Yeah I suppose it's getting on a bit now. Nice dilemma to have though.

[Nikko 40691]

Back in the day I'd have said V10 TDI but times have changed and as what has been mentioned, they're long in the tooth.
Surely it's got to be a FFRR?

[ReaperCushions]

How about something a bit more left field...

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/i...



They also do a V8 if you fancy it.

I've owned the previous model for a while now and its been immense.

[Baryonyx]

Forgot those naff crapwagons, OP. Get a Landcruiser if you really want a tall, ungainly SUV.