It's a very good towing vehicle on this combination. The only downside is because of one the one turbo, you need to keep the vehicle in a lower gear to ensure you are in a higher rev range. I've had to use the 'low diff' mode on numerous occasions to ensure that I don't get into difficulty on steep inclines or steep pitch access etc. But over all. It pulls like a train.
One of the best tow cars out there! Bailey Unicorn Vigo barely noticeable when towing in any conditions. Over 40mpg solo and mid 20's towing is good for such a powerful car. Went for the 286 bhp engine which never struggles to cope. Stunning acceleration without the caravan - useful when overtaking.
Towing ability is excellent.Power and overall performance is fantastic.For a quick getaway stick it in sports mode.You will be amased.Avg mpg is about 22 mpg.Stability is great.Get the 286 bhp not the lower 236.Use to have a santa fe and this was a great tow car, but not compared to the VW Tourage
Fantastic towcar. I've towed previously with Landrover Disco's , Mercedes E220 and BMW 520 and the VW Touareg is by far the best towcar. Totally stable whilst towing and the auto gearbox is relaxing for the driver. The car's power enables towing at 60mph generally in either 8th or 7th gear for hills. We get 27mpg around town solo, around 36mpg on a run maintaining around 65mph and generally get 23 to 25 mpg whilst towing.
After a year of battling with our 2.0l Passat and our Pegasus 534 ... Unstable, heavy nose weight etc something had to give and it was the Passat ... Found a lovely 2012 Touareg and just had first trip and what a revelation.... Amazing car, so powerful, towing dream and now such a relaxing drive without constant worry of what's overtaking us.... We can load sensibly and at 60mph not a twitch from the caravan ... Not a cheap car to buy but full of quality and currently 39 mpg solo 25 towing ... I love the car and it's a pleasure again to go away in the caravan!
This is second full year in my first Touareg after owning Discoveries , E Class Mercedes ,and 5 Series BMW -- no contest the VW wins hands down both towing and solo. Comfort , space , solo and towing ability is second to none. I achieve on average 35mpg solo and 23mpg towing. If you want to arrive , no matter how long the journey , fresh and relaxed then this is the car for you. Simply the best.
Touareg is a fantastic car for towing, it is a pleasure to tow with, I pull a Pegasus 624 t/a it doesn't know it's on the back really I would recommend this car to anybody who want's to tow a larger caravan
I have been caravaning for 3 and a half years and dilibarated for some time what unit to buy i decided on a 173 bhp Nissan X Trail although a amazing suv and pulled my Bailey Olympus 2 620/6 with great ease i did find the front end a little light for me wben overtaking slower vehicles so i bit the bullet and changed my unit again and after endles reserch decided to go for a 2007 VW Touareg 3lt V6 TD and i have to say WOW this car would pull a train i am sure it so smooth pulls my Bailey like its not there lorrys pass me by on the odd ocation and you dont even feel any buffering at all it realy is one of the best cars i have ever driven especialy when towing so if you are thinking of getting a caravan and are not sure what unit to go for i can strongley recomend the VW Touareg 3lt TD V6 in a word ( Ammazing )..
Now on my 3rd touareg, the latest R-line 245bhp. Effortless towing down to the South of France again this year, now done 11000 miles and returned over 40mpg solo at the weekend, unbelievable, stop start much more economical than my previous one and more powerful. Still only does about 22-24 towing but then again I tend to drive as if it was solo and don't hang about. My one criticism is I wish I had got air suspension as the sports suspension is a bit hard. As a tow car it takes some beating, and does not have the reliability problems of the most popular 4x4.
Excerllent tow car! I did a 900 mile trip to Scotland and back with effortless driving pulling a swift challenger 636 witch I managed 27 mpg at 60mph. Anyone looking to buy a big tow car this is the one
Just bought a touareg v6 altitude 245, towing my buccaneer schooner is like it,s not on the back, fully loaded it,s awesome & comfort is next to none, fuel is good 25mpg + all over U.K & France, it will out accelerate the average solo car. 10 out 10
My second touareg, Superb tow car, effortless towing, very smooth gearbox, watch others disappear behind you in the distance as you climb the hills, I have friends with other 4x4 s none compare on performance or reliability.
I would agree with the last review,the 3 litre Toureg is an ideal tow car,I have a 2009 model although a bit juicier than the newer models it is an excellent tow car. Hill starts no trouble,overtaking when necessary no problem smooth fast and safe,braking smooth and effortless. Towing 22-27 mpg solo 30-35 mpg.
As with lots of reviews the latest towcar you have is the best !
In my case I have been towing for 25 plus years and the two memorable tow cars have been the most powerful , not economical or cheap to run but good compromises .
My latest tow car is a VW Touareg 3.0l TDI SE
Yes its a big 4x4 but on a recent towing trip 300 plus miles I got 27.5 mpg( which I was pleased with) It has an excellent 8 speed auto gear box and is comforable towing my Abbey 418 .
On reason for getting this car was after towing 2 weeks through Belgium, Germany , France and Luxembourg, with a manual gear box and a knee problem I vowed to get an auto and now think I should have done it years ago !
So far I've had no problems with the car and I am on a service deal for the first three years so running cost are reasonable. Hope this helps people looking at buying a Touareg .
ps... auto hold on this car is excellent when setting off on an incline whilst towing.
Have had the car for past 5 years and has been a pleasure, much more car like to drive than the 4 Discovery's we had previously, but I can't say they caused us any issues and all were very reliable. We bought the Sterling just over 12 months ago and have taken it to Mid France last summer and to several UK sites and apart from a flat tyre on the M20 which I didn't even know about until a Continental Driver beeped me when he overtook towing has been very straight forward.
This is an addition to my previous review. The caravan I was towing was an Airstream International 532 loaded to its maximum of 1.7 tonne. As previosly stated I got 18 mpg towing-my previous car was an Audi A4 Avant 3 litre Tdi and I got 22 mpg towing the Airstream. Not a lot of differene when you consider the extra power.
Toureg V10 5 litre. Touring to north of Scotland and back approx 800 miles got 18 mpg and absolutley no problems towing. The car is a 2003 model and has done over 85,000 miles and if there is a better mdel of any type of car I would like to see it.
Effortless, towed this outfit all over Europe. As with any big vehicle and van combination, fuel consumption is low as expected- can average 21mpg @ 60mph which I don't consider bad. Car tows very well, nice relaxed tow.
This is a superb match. The Clipper fully laden including aircon unit on the roof and the awning in the side lockers does not seem to cause the Touareg any problems. This has been our combination for the past three years and apart from the touareg being a bit thirsty while towing we have to accept the compromise.
Thinking of changing to a VW Phaeton 3.0tdi 4motion as it appears to be an even better match!
just come back from touring scotland ,up the west coast along the north coast and down the east coast back to west yorks .no problems but preferred to use tiptronic for better results .went up any road we encountered
I have an '08 VW Touareg 3.0 tdi Altitude and tow a 1999 Abbey Spectrum 418.
Having just commenced towing again after a 20 year break (used to tow my parents Thompson Glennevis caravan with an Austin Maxi -often with the typical slipping clutch!!
) it is so pleasant having a such a capable towcar. The Abbey has a total loaded kerbweight of 1500kg, but the Touareg is still capable of holding the unit in drive mode on inclines without having to resort to the use of the handbrake. At roundabouts and junctions it truly shows its towing capabilities with very rapid takeoffs (often leaving solo saloon cars for dead!!), especially if you use sport mode as this has a far smoother power curve than the normal drive mode.
The vehicle also benefits from the tiptronic gear change option which means that you can lock the car in a gear to assist with both uphill ascents or to aid braking with downhill descents.
You'll also find that the auto difflock very effective, especially when climbing inclines where the surface changes suddenly. This impressed my towing instructor last year (also a 4x4 instructor) when the vehicle immediately reacted when one of the wheels passed over some gravel while the other wheels were on very grippy concrete.
I have towed twice so far and have returned between 22-24mpg but as these were only short journeys I would hope for better figures on longer runs (solo it returns 23-24mpg around town and up to 32mpg at 70mph).
Only word of advice is that vehicle is heavy on tyres (first set of Pirelli PZero Rossos only lasted 7000miles!!) so choice of make important (apparently General UHP Grabbers work well but haven't tried these personally -on Yokohamas currently so will have to wait and see what happens) and also to ensure you have extended warranty in case of problems, as they can be very expensive.
the best 4x4 on the road today value for money quality build no faults at all with 77k on clock now,tows 2009 fleetwood 640cb easily. have had truck revo tuned to 280bhp -360lb torque better on fuel now .very quiet 4x4 and comfortable
Having been a Land Rover driver for years and years i fancied a change. As far as i am concerned the Touareg is the best thing i have done for years!! It tows in my opinion far better than the Discovery. It tows my Super Cyclone abosolutly effortlessly no matter what you throw at it. It also seems so reluctant to change out of 6th gear hanging onto it for as long as it can just using all the torque of the engine. I would recommend this car to anyone who tows a large caravan.
First Class touring with this outfit. The car and caravan are both at the upper end of the market and very enjoyable to drive and live in. There is always the assurance that there is enough power to cope and that he brakes are well matched to the weight of this outfit. However this is really quite a large outfit - nearly 40 feet long - and on minor roads it takes up a lot of space. This is offset on motorways where there isn't even a whiff of disturbance as you glide along at the upper legal limits. 3500 miles in 2008 to Italy and back through England, France, Austria, Germany and Belgium and not a hint that there was any strain on the car - though at 25 mpg towing there was a bit of a strain on the wallet. Ah well, just goes to show that you can't have everything, and I would have no hesitation in recommending this combination. Indeed I believe the VW would tow a greater load with equal aplomb if I had wanted an even bigger caravan, but at over 18 feet for 2 people the Argosy seems luxury enough and I'm looking forward to further continental adventures in the future. WGS.
Have traded in my BMW 520i for a VW Touareg 2.5 TDI Sport. What a difference!!. The BMW was good, the VW is awsome. No probelms at all at any speed and wide enough not to need mirror extensions, pulls like a train got up to 70 mph with out realising!
I am very new to caravanning but already have such a passion for it. I picked up my first ever Volkswagen in a brand new Touareg 3.0 litre Altitude which I had re-mapped to nearly 300bhp Prior to this I was adamant that the 4X4 I was going to purchase was the Landrover Discovery3. 2.7 litre HSE. Luckily my friend who got me into caravanning had a 2.5 litre TDi & asked me to look at the Touareg before making my final decidion; I'm so glad I did.
The power, build quality, looks,gagets, comfort & towing ability with the hill assist function that even the 'great' Disco does not have are just a few things to mention. Also not fogetting its brilliant off road ability which I was privileged to experience on th Touareg-unlimited day laid on courtesy of Volkswagen.
I picked up my first ever caravan in February 2008 which was an Abbey Freestyle 500 single axle 5 berth dinette. I have to say that as my friend said "I am spoilt coming into this game." The Touareg made 'light work' of this outfit with me sometimes forgetting it was on the back. Also I have never driven a car with such massive side mirrors that you can see pased the caravan.UNBELIEVABLE!
Now because I've got the bug for the touring caravan life & wifey does not like the idea of me having to assemble the bed each time we go away, we have already changed our caravan to the award winning best luxury caravan in the Swift Conqueror 630 2008 twin axle.
With the added stability of the twin axle & the power of the Touareg, the combination is FANTASTIC! I would highly recommend this outfit to anyone who wants the ultimate in touring caravan luxury.
what a fantastic towcar this is it was purchased to tow my caravan and boy does it do it in style. we have towed all over u k with no problems and even out accelerated solo sporty type cars who when they see a caravan have to be infront so as not to get held up. 20 -23.5 mpg brilliant does any one have clarksons mobile so i can show him my outfit
p e pearce
Having towed for a year with '05 plated 5.0 litre V10 TDi, an awesome car both solo and towing, we recently changed to a '57 plated 3.0 litre V6 TDi (Altitude spec).
The spec and build quality are both superb, and although our newer model does not have the air suspension of the V10, it tows like a dream.
Our Series 5 Wyoming, being a twin axle behaves very well and the match is well suited, stable and safe, even for higher continental towing speeds should you wish to travel faster than 60 mph (equiv).
The car solo at 70 mph returns 32 mpg average and during a recent hilly trip from Durham to England's Lake District, returned 22 mpg with the caravan behind.
This figure should be considerably higher on longer runs and I'm hoping for 25 mpg when we take it to Vendee, France this summer.
We looked at the Range Rover Sport and Mercedes ML Class before buying into the VW marque and believe that reliability, build quality and value for money put the Touareg ahead of the others.
Fantastic, even with nearly 2 tons on the back overtaking relatively easy, give lots of solo cars a surprise. Have towed caravn over Grossglockner pass in Austria 8,250 feet asl no problem! Fuel consumption towing 20-24mpg.
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