Volkswagen Touareg

5.0L 350 PS (345 hp/257 kW) diesel V10
4.2L 350 PS (345 hp/257 kW) V8
The Volkswagen Touareg is a mid-size luxury SUV produced by German automaker Volkswagen since 2003. It was the second Sport Utility Vehicle from the automaker, after the much older Volkswagen Thing.
The Touareg was a joint project developed by Volkswagen and Porsche, who was also looking to add a luxury SUV to its lineup, as a cost-sharing initiative. The goal was to create an off-road vehicle that could handle as a sports car. The team, with over 300 people, was lead by Klaus-Gerhard Wolpert and was based in Weissach im Tal, Germany. The result of the joint project is that the Porsche Cayenne shares the Touareg’s Volkswagen 7L platform, although there are numerous styling, equipment and technical differences between the two vehicles.
The Volkswagen Touareg is built in Bratislava, Slovakia. The manufacturing plant shares production with Touareg-cousins Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7. Due to the demand, and the exchange rates of euros against the dollar, as well as different pricing and environmental policies in the USA, the V6 and V8 variants make up most of Volkswagen’s American Touareg offering. However, a limited number of the V10 diesel were available in the 2004 model year (before being pulled for environmental reasons). They were brought back to the United States for the 2006 and 2007 model years. As a result of their rarity and options, the V10 model’s sticker price often exceeded $60,000 (£30,202).
The Touareg comes standard with four wheel drive. An automatic progressively locking center differential (with manual override) and a “low range” setting that can be activated with in-cabin controls. Options to make the vehicles more capable off-road include an available air suspension system which can raise the car’s ride height on command and an interior switch allowing the rear differential to be manually locked. At maximum ride height, the air suspension system gives 10.7 in of ground clearance.[citation needed]
The following engines were or are available:
No other passenger car has ever hosted such a range of cylinder counts in standard engines.[citation needed] The 5.0L Single overhead camshaft, 20 valve V10 diesel engine pushes the Touareg from 0–62 mph (100 km/h) in 7.8 seconds, and on to 143 mph (230 km/h) maximum. The diesel V10 was offered in the United States for a limited time in 2004, but emissions regulations forced it off the market for a temporary period. Volkswagen fixed these issues, and the V10 returned to the US lineup late in 2006 as a 2007 model year vehicle in 45 states and a 2006 model year vehicle in 5 states. It was the only U.S. market Volkswagen diesel available for the 2007 model year. A new version of the V10 diesel engine is available in Europe for the R50 model, boasting 350 PS and pushing the car from 0-62 mph(0-100 km/h) in just 6.7 seconds.
The W12 version was initially intended to be a limited-edition model, with just 500 units planned to be produced; around 330 were slated for sale in Saudi Arabia, with the remainder sold in Europe. No sales in the United States were made. Eventually, the W12 model became an ordinary model without any production restrictions. Currently it is being sold in Europe. It is estimated to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.9 seconds.
The Touareg’s first facelift was unveiled at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, and debuted in North America as a 2008 model. It now features the shield grille from other Volkswagen vehicles. The updated Touareg has more than 2300 redesigned parts and boasts some new technological features:
The 2007 Touareg, alongside an already lengthy options list, could be equipped with a driving dynamics package, a rollover sensor, a 620 watt Dynaudio sound system and redesigned comfort seats.[citation needed] All diesel versions now have the diesel particulate filter standard.[citation needed]
In the US and Canada, the facelifted Touareg is marketed as the Touareg 2.
The V10 diesel version of the Touareg was named “Meanest Vehicles for the Environment in 2007″ by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) for its fuel economy of 17 miles per US gallon city (14 l/100 km) and 22 mpg highway (10 l/100 km). Note that diesel vehicles are judged at a disadvantage - To illustrate, an average North American full-size (gasoline(petrol)-not diesel) SUV usually travels 13 mpg (US) (18 l/100 km) city and 16 mpg (US) (15 l/100 km) highway. This earned the Touareg the low “Green Score” of 14, as compared to the Honda Civic GX, which was the “greenest”, at a score of 57.
The Touareg was Car and Driver magazine’s Best Luxury SUV for 2003, Motor Trend magazine’s Sport/Utility of the Year for 2004, “Four Wheeler” magazine’s Four Wheeler of the Year for 2005, & Overlander’s 2003 4WDOTY.
Porsche/Volkswagen jointly did extensive off-road testing with test mules and both vehicles are capable off-roaders. Volkswagen entered a highly modified Touareg in the Paris Dakar rally raid.
In the 2003 Dakar Rally Volkswagen entered a team of 2WD VW Tarek buggies. VW claimed 6th overall, driven by Stephane Henrard and co driver Bobby Willis. In the following year, the 2004 Dakar Rally saw the debut rally for the T2 class purpose built Race Touareg by Volkswagen Motorsport. Bruno Saby and co driver Matthew Stevenson claimed 6th position overall. In the 2005 Dakar Rally, Jutta Kleinschmidt and co driver Fabrizia Pons claimed 3rd spot overall in the Race Touareg. A modified Touareg dubbed Stanley won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. In the 2006 Dakar Rally, VW driver Giniel de Villiers and co driver Tina Thorner claimed 2nd spot the highest ever for a diesel model in the new Race Touareg 2 which had a shorter wheelbase than the 1st two models Rallied. For the 2007 Dakar Rally, VW driver Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford drove the Race Touareg 2 to 4th position overall.
Power Output: VW Dakar Racers
The Touareg name is derived from the French moniker for the nomadic Tuareg tribe. The proper pronunciation is TWAH-reg, however it is commonly mispronounced as “Tour-egg”.