ToolmanJohn
New member
Well it was a close one. My 2003 4runner V6, although still running great and no real issues, is 10 years old, and not a great highway tow vehicle, 10-11mpg (for small travel trailer) at 60-65 mph.
The 4runner is consistant at 16mpg mixed, for the area I live, many hills , not much highway usually (Highway is always 20mpg on long trips).
So last week, I started the search for a more efficient tow vehicle, had to be a SUV, (no way will I ever own a pickup, I have ZERO reasons to own one), so the choices are very limited.
BMW X5 X35d diesel. Tested a used 2010, very good power, and handles like a car, but the interior of the X5 was garbage cheap compared to my 4runner. It immediately turned me off to owning it. Every button (it has WAY too many buttons!!) felt cheap in comparision, window switched, door locks, ect.
Touareg TDI Sport, 2012 new, tested a NEW 2013 because the dealer had the 2012 in the showroom. Well I have to say it was very impressive, very quiet, smooth, handled nicely at normal speeds. Had plenty of power, and under part full throttle, was much quieter than the 4runner, as far as exhaust sound.
Unfortunately, VW decided not to install factory hitches on all the diesels(?????), so this particular Touareg has none. I would have put a deposit right there on the truck, but instead asked how much the dealer instaled FACTORY htitch would cost installed. They had to take half a day to figure that out, but $1100 !?!?!?!.... Screw that.
I know there are aftermarket hitches that do fit the Touareg, but there are a couple unwanted issues with them:
1) The aftermarket limits the tow capacity to 6000lbs. Touareg has a 7700 lbs limit with FACTORY hitch. Aftermarket would actually lower the resale of the Touareg.
2) The FACTORY hitch comes with a plug-in electronic towing module (not a brake controller) that can communicate to the Touareg that a trailer is present, it changes a few things with transmission shifts, rear backup sensors and camera, and stability control. It costs over $400 by itself. Seems like an important safety feature to me.
SO, I declined. I am hopefull that Toyota isn't too stupid to allow every other SUV maker to get in front of them with diesel SUV's. Jeep will have thiers available this Summer/Fall, VW has one, BMW (ugh), Audi ($$$$$), Porsche (uh, nope) not sure of others really couldn't find any.
I was going to hunt extensively for a used vehicle, but honestly, without a great warranty , I do NOT want an expensive diesel SUV. I realy want that warranty to cover my ass for a few years. I had the extended Platinum warranty for the 4runner, and it did come in handy at the 93,000 mile mark for a couple of repairs, but nothing that would have stranded me, the 4runner always starts when I need it to, and never broke down and left me stranded. It just can't do 420 mile tow trips in New England (hills) at normal highway speeds, and it would be nice to get better fuel economy all around if it were diesel.
The 4runner is consistant at 16mpg mixed, for the area I live, many hills , not much highway usually (Highway is always 20mpg on long trips).
So last week, I started the search for a more efficient tow vehicle, had to be a SUV, (no way will I ever own a pickup, I have ZERO reasons to own one), so the choices are very limited.
BMW X5 X35d diesel. Tested a used 2010, very good power, and handles like a car, but the interior of the X5 was garbage cheap compared to my 4runner. It immediately turned me off to owning it. Every button (it has WAY too many buttons!!) felt cheap in comparision, window switched, door locks, ect.
Touareg TDI Sport, 2012 new, tested a NEW 2013 because the dealer had the 2012 in the showroom. Well I have to say it was very impressive, very quiet, smooth, handled nicely at normal speeds. Had plenty of power, and under part full throttle, was much quieter than the 4runner, as far as exhaust sound.
Unfortunately, VW decided not to install factory hitches on all the diesels(?????), so this particular Touareg has none. I would have put a deposit right there on the truck, but instead asked how much the dealer instaled FACTORY htitch would cost installed. They had to take half a day to figure that out, but $1100 !?!?!?!.... Screw that.
I know there are aftermarket hitches that do fit the Touareg, but there are a couple unwanted issues with them:
1) The aftermarket limits the tow capacity to 6000lbs. Touareg has a 7700 lbs limit with FACTORY hitch. Aftermarket would actually lower the resale of the Touareg.
2) The FACTORY hitch comes with a plug-in electronic towing module (not a brake controller) that can communicate to the Touareg that a trailer is present, it changes a few things with transmission shifts, rear backup sensors and camera, and stability control. It costs over $400 by itself. Seems like an important safety feature to me.
SO, I declined. I am hopefull that Toyota isn't too stupid to allow every other SUV maker to get in front of them with diesel SUV's. Jeep will have thiers available this Summer/Fall, VW has one, BMW (ugh), Audi ($$$$$), Porsche (uh, nope) not sure of others really couldn't find any.
I was going to hunt extensively for a used vehicle, but honestly, without a great warranty , I do NOT want an expensive diesel SUV. I realy want that warranty to cover my ass for a few years. I had the extended Platinum warranty for the 4runner, and it did come in handy at the 93,000 mile mark for a couple of repairs, but nothing that would have stranded me, the 4runner always starts when I need it to, and never broke down and left me stranded. It just can't do 420 mile tow trips in New England (hills) at normal highway speeds, and it would be nice to get better fuel economy all around if it were diesel.
