World Premiere 2nd gen Touareg & Touareg Hybrid

[phaeton]

I feel exactly the same. will be interesting to see what will VW use in Dakar race.

If they do the Dakar in 2011

[Transporter]

Yeah, the speculations...

http://www.marathonrally.com/news/dakar_2011_volkswagen_blackmailing_dakar_organisation_aso_for_2011.14927.0.html

[Dirty R50]

Personally I don't see the point of doing the Dakar. I thought the point was to establish the Touareg as a serious 4x4. If they do, I'll bet that they'll keep the current race Touareg configuration. I hope they listen to the few here that agrees with us and returns the Touareg to a 4x4 in future. My car proves that you can have a good looking, good driving, capable 4x4 that mum can use for the school runs. Now it is school runs exclusively. I'm rather disappointed in that.

[Moonan]

I haven's lost hope yet...
Let's wait for the new tranny specs, and look at the gear ratios as well as the torque at various speeds.
For example, in the existing touareg, Low Range 1 & 2 are the only gears lower than High 1. Low 3 is exactly the ratio of High 1. And of course, the V10 has a higher diff ratio (due to its greater torque) and so effectively misses out on Low 1. V10 Low 1 = others Low 2. V10 Low 2 = Others High 1. In other words, to put it crudely, a current V10 has only got 1 crawler gear lower than a V6's High Range Gearbox.
Theoretically, if you could get enough torque to climb the steepest gradient at 1000RPM instead of 2000RPM you wouldn't need such low gears. My old 1976 2-stroke suzuki 4x4 could climb a hill as steep as a Touareg can, but it's little 3-cylinder motor was screaming at 5000RPM in Low first to do it!!
So, before we abandon the new Touareg completely, let's see if first gear in the 8-speed is any lower than the current first. If so, we may not lose too much.

And yes I did these same sums before buying the Q5, and it's first gear is way too high - but I bought it anyway. So now I just have to do those steep trails way faster than I want to!

[Transporter]

I think that the biggest drawback will be reduced ground clearance and more money to pay for the extra off road features.

[Dirty R50]

To me the issues aren't with the ratios but the overhangs and ground clearance. In the bush it is not always possible to approach an incline at an angle and from the photos I think the approach angle won't be much more than 10 degrees if at all. That doesn't compare with any other 4x4 and would catch you out on some driveways. If I was going to buy a AWD wagon without 4x4 capability, I would have bought the R36, not be forced to spend a few grand on air suspension and 4xMotion. I won't buy the new model for that reason alone and stick with my current car. I'll never abandon VW, but my next car might be a Golf R while I hang on to the current Touareg for the weekends.

[apom]

why they fell need to make the same corporate faces on cars I cannot fathom! Why should the front of the new treg have to resemble the latest golf, polo and every other model they release. Someone should tell the bean counters and designers its actually OK to make a unique looking vehicle.

All it does is instantly date the new car because we are used to the look. By the time the treg gets here the same looking golf will have been here well over 12 month and it will e familiar with something we have already gotten used to. Someone should tell these guys to wake up!

[idaho]

I posted as below in another thread but it would be more appropriate here.

... I will update next year with the new model I will 4.2 V8 TDI for sure...

.. But reading between the lines (so to speak) it appears the V8 TDI will be available soon-ish after release. Might we also assume that the available specs will be similar to overseas and that the Terrain Tech pack (dual range transfer + diff locks + larger tank) will be available with the V6 TDI?

I quite like the looks of the new model. The current model looks nice also but the steering wheel, woodgrain and parking brake put me off.