VW Touareg vs. 4Runner

Which Is the Better SUV

  • 4Runner

    Votes: 75 32.9%

  • Touareg

    Votes: 18 7.9%

  • Is this a joke????

    Votes: 135 59.2%
  • Total voters
    228
rennur said:
This is an interesting comparison because these were the two vehicles I considered. I chose the 4 Runner based on several important factors:
1. Toyota Quality. Need I say more? Check out Consumer Report and the VW is not recommended
2. Price. For a V6 VW you get a V8 4Runner. I just couldn't justify spending upwards of $7000 more for a VW
3. Style. This is a dificult one as I do like the look of the VW.
4. Performance. Or the VW's lack of it. The TRag weighs over 5000lbs. Thats a lot of weight regardless of what you put under the hood. No wonder they need a V10 option. That sucker is freekin Heavy! And then to put a V6 in it? What were they thinking?
5. Resale: I don't care what the VW guys say, the 4Runner retains more resale compared to the VW. I've seen 2 year old VW's for $20K under new cost. Take a 2 year 4Runner and saving $20k will be flagged on craigslist for SCAM.

Some on the VW forum say it's a no brainer to choose the TRag. Unfortunatly, they really should not have relied on their brain and looked at the statistics. In every aspect, the 4 Runner is unbeatable. Their loss and why would anyone admit that!
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This write-up should be posted on their forum. Definitely some good insight here. Thanks a lot.
 
Re: Re: Re: VW Touareg vs. 4Runner

MikeinCincy said:
Jim, I have and every time I do, I just shake my head. But I guess if people like to race their SUV, that's their business. It just doesn't make much sense to me. There are a few SUVs that are legitimately fast, but the vast majority are not, because the vast majority were not built to be fast.
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Interesting how some SUVs include 0-60 times in their specs and others do not. According to specs, the Touareg does 0-60 in 8.3 seconds with the V6.
The V8 and V10 TDI does 0-60 in 7.6 seconds.

Funny how I cannot seem to find any 0-60 times in the specs published by Toyota for the 4Runner.

MikeinCincy said:
This write-up should be posted on their forum. Definitely some good insight here. Thanks a lot.
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If one does not own a Touareg, writing a post critical of the vehicle may get one branded a "troll".
Also be advised that at least one Touareg owner is a moderator who also has close ties to VWoA.

I have tried a number of times over the years to enlighten members of that forum. A few appreciated the information but most were less than receptive.

GatorGreg said:
I take a perverse pleasure in reading this, given that the Touareg beat out my GX for 1st place in this old CAR & DRIVER review[/URL] from 2003 :)
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Some more pleasure for you....
Laughed my AZZ off back in the day when this happened.

http://www.dwmorrison.com/shameonyou.html

FYI, VWoA eventually bought back this Touareg.
 
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charlier180 said:

A long time friend of mine is a VW Tech. When the Touaregs first came out he made a statment that is sad, funny and most of all true. He said that in some cases the Touareg is smarter than it's owner. That difference in intelligence does contribute, to some degree, to the dissatisfaction that some Touareg owners exerience. He also said that if Touareg owners would take the time to READ their owners manuals some of their initial complaints/issues/questions would never come up.

The Touareg has a number of features that are needed for customers in Europe but make no sense for North America.
For instance, when parking if one depresses the turn signal stalk then shuts off the vehicle the turn signal lamps stay lit. This has to do with the narrow streets/roads in europe and being able to see the vehicle. Great for europe but this feature is the source of more than a few questions/complaints from owners who do not read their owner manual.

Another feature is the rain sensing wipers. Nice feature except when the owner forgets to turn them off and tries to clean the windshield. More than a few Touareg owners have been slapped around by the wipers when cleaing their windshields.

VW classifies the Touareg as a "Luxury" Mid Sized SUV.
Does it do some things better than some of it's other "Luxury" competitiors?... Maybe and maybe not. I suppose it depends on one's point of view. For me, the 4Runner does everything I ask it to do at less cost (both purchase and ownership) and has been rock soild reliable.
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Great post. The VW is a well built SUV with a strong chassis and powertrain, now that the 3.6L engine issue has been resolved. Consider how dynamic this chassis is. It handles gas, torquey diesel and a twin turbo 550 hp monster in the Cayenne. As with many German cars, VW is quick to implement new technology. This is usually a detriment to reliability.

When C&D tested the 'reg off-road, they really liked it. They commented the 'regs chassis remained stable throuh all obstacles, and the chassis did not exhibit any creaks or groans while off-roading unlike other vehicles in the test. Then they went on to say the 4Runner was the only other vehicle in the competition to do as well off-road.


From C&D
The suspension and drive systems are superb. An illuminated dash icon shows which diffs (rear and center) are locked in the full-time all-wheel-drive system. Knobs in the center console let you choose six different heights with the optional air suspension. At full lift, with lots of daylight showing over the tires in the fender wells, the Touareg slinks over the boulders of Broken Arrow rather like a great silver hyena.
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I agree with the carryover "euro" features. The turn signal/parking light feature has been on VW's since the Jetta III. The rain sensing wipers on our family's Jetta only activate if the stalk is in the intermittent setting. There is also a dial to tweak the sensitivity. (Even Steven would be happy).

Its not fair for some posters to call the Treg an egg or a wagon.. etc. it deserves more respect than that. It has almost 12" of ground clearance at max setting, locking center and rear diffs, and a solid unibody that I would feel safe putting my family in, as long as an electrical gremlin does not leave them sidelined on the highway.

Where the 'reg fails to measure up to the 4runner is in execution. Both are off road capable, handle, accelerate, and brake well. Toyota chose its technology wisely, has years of reliability behind it and paid attention to vehicle weight when designing the 4th gen. VW took a no holds barred approach, threw a lot of expensive tech at it and ended up with a full featured, overweight, problem ridden SUV.
 
Here's the Touarugg pickup. Nice looking truck...:lmao:
 

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It's still just an egg-shaped wagon to me, even if it does have some decent 4wd hardware.

If I wanted something ugly and unreliable, I would probably take a hard look at the Touareg. I'd rather have a true full frame SUV with excellent 4wd abilities and reliability. Now where does that point me? We all know the answer to that question.
 
I think I can go downstairs, go make some hard-boiled eggs, make a few cuts on them, and have the same product.......
 
josh220 said:
I think I can go downstairs, go make some hard-boiled eggs, make a few cuts on them, and have the same product.......
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It would be a lot cheaper that's for sure. And you probably wouldn't have as many problems with the egg.
 
josh220 said:
And it looks at home on a salad rather than broken down on the side of the road.:biggrin2:
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haha, you got that right. I think the only place that the Tourugg looks "at home" is in the shop.
 
MikeinCincy said:
Here's the Touarugg pickup. Nice looking truck...:lmao:
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FUGLY!

I can see the press release: VW in an effort to widen its appeal of the slow selling Touareg, announces the new Touareg SSR...
 
"I LOVE MY 4RUNNER!"

My brother in law has a 1985 4Runner and he still drives it every day. EVERYDAY! my 97 I drive everyday, and my sister (wife of previous mentioned brother in law) drivers her 07 everyday too!

Sorry, I just felt like i had to say something since i read the entire thread from beginning to end.
 
Last time I saw a Touareg was in my rearview mirror. On the side of the road being loaded onto a flatbed.

Can't even compare the two. I would take less technology in my 4Runner as a substitute for reliability.
 
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