2010 Volkswagen Touareg TDI: It's a Diesel, Really!

By Cliff Leppke

Cliff Leppke

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Cliff is a Milwaukee-based automotive writer and American studies scholar who works as an electronic journalist for a TV station. Born in 1958, he's... More

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Last year, automakers were poised to invade our roadways with a new generation of oil-burning cars and trucks.  That made sense; contemporary diesel fuel, engine and emission technology allow both lower consumption of fossil ooze and reduced impact on the air we breathe.  Due to smaller carbon footprints and improved performance, diesels appeared ready for a renaissance.

That impending boom went bust.  Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford and Chrysler stalled their U.S. diesel car and truck programs.  Besides financial woes, the industry says that the public thinks diesels stink; the Fed's new rules for calculating fuel economy and CO2 (biased toward city driving) penalize diesels and reward hybrids.

Nonetheless, VW continues to shed light in this automotive Dark Age with its turbocharged, common-rail, direct-injection diesels.  Its Bosch-developed, high-pressure fuel delivery system with quick-acting piezo type fuel injectors results in precisely timed injection that reduces consumption, pollutants and the marbling pinging sound that gives diesels their hard knock reputations.  There's even a fuel radiator (also found on VWs gas-fed FSI engines) that chills diesel that in the injection system's return line.

This review's subject is the Touareg 2 TDI.  With its 221-hp V-6 and 406 lb-ft of torque, VW's 3.0-liter engine yanks boats up ramps and campers out of their berths with more moxie than the discontinued Touareg V-8.  Attached to a six-speed automatic with selectable stump-puller low gear and differential lock, this all-wheel-drive SUV consumes less fuel than some mid-size sedans. I registered 27 mpg highway; 22 overall.  The EPA says 17 city; 25 highway--squirting AdBlue an urea exhaust injection solution ($8.50 per half gallon) that makes its tailpipe output 50-state compliant.  Due to its lean-burn technology, the hefty TDI qualifies for a $1,150 federal green car tax credit.

A TDI is irresistible; it quietly does chores in a manner that belies its truck-like capabilities--gobbling less fuel than two-mode hybrid SUVs.  It precisely threads through Wisconsin's byways.  However, it's tackle-bound by too much weight.  A large, leather-wrapped, four-spoke steering wheel is sensuous but road feel is suppressed, response is slow; its best for off-road dialing.  Ride quality is resilient with some pitching.  Noise: some wind rush and exhaust note.  Driveline chirping, which plagued my Touareg 2 VR6 tester, is as the Raid commercial said, killed dead.

The Touareg isn't a hose-out work truck.  Its mien is upward, upwardly mobility.  The highly maneuverable chassis is off-road capable, but its buttoned-down Brooks Brothers-like interior is too nice to soil.  Gadgets dazzle and confuse.  The dual-zone automatic climate control lacks synch--the ability to adjust left and right temp with one knob.  The radio's virtual tuning dial--with linear horizontal scale and magnified gun-sight indicator--is an interesting affectation.

Most won't know it's a diesel.  In fact, a trek to me favorite coffee joint netted not one person who pinned this as an oil burner.  My barista, who knows something about dark liquids said, "It's so quiet. It cannot be a diesel."

There are moments, however, after cold starts or brief scats when you feel some not so good gritty vibrations through pedals and hear a distinctive coffee-grinder grunt.

Should you fancy this feast of an SUV that sips fuel, it costs at least $43,000 for starters.  You can add VW's latest touch-screen navigation system with HD radio.  It is far less maddening than VW's previous knob-twirling setup.  The FM radio auto selects the primary HD radio signal if its available but I couldn't find the sub-channels.  Free HD-radio based traffic alerts cried wolf too often.  Yet, when its accurate, the voice warns of congestion and graphics depict what traffic tie-up is ahead so you can avoid crashes.

Smooth tidy interior, memory seats and other electrical goodies let you live the lush life.  And you can see better too.  VW now uses the fog lamps as cornering lights when turning at low speeds--with effective xenon high beams.

However the overly complex rear-seat folding drill, when you want a flat floor, requires more dedication than is necessary.  Instrumental visor rattle was the only unwanted noise.

VWs Touareg has been difficult to sell.  Other companies can lard up their trucks, charge a premium and people buy them.  But folks balk at VW's luxury SUV.  With its TDI mill, however, the Touareg 2 regains VW's role as building MPVs of MPGs.