Volkswagen Touareg (2003 – 2010) Review
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Volkswagen Touareg (2003 – 2010) At A Glance
Luxurious, safe, accomplished 4x4. Comfortable on road, very capable off it. V10 TDI is astonishing, 2.5 TDI and 3.0 TDI the sensible choices.
Reports of electrical and front diff problems. Failure of propshaft centre bearing common.
If you're looking for the newer version, you need our Volkswagen Touareg review.
Reviews for Volkswagen Touareg (2003 – 2010)'s top 3 rivals
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Volkswagen Touareg (2003 – 2010) models and specs
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Length | 4754 mm |
| Width | 1928–1977 mm |
| Height | 1703–1726 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2855 mm |
| Miscellaneous | |
|---|---|
| Kerb Weight | 2238–2685 kg |
| Boot Space | 500–1570 L |
| Warranty | 3 years / 60000 miles |
| Servicing | - |
| Costs | |
|---|---|
| List Price | £28,600–£64,685 |
| Insurance Groups | - |
| Road Tax Bands | K–M |
| Official MPG | 21.2–34.0 mpg |
| Euro NCAP Safety Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Adult | 5 |
| Child | 4 |
| Pedestrian | 1 |
| Overall | - |
On sale until November 2010
| 4 X 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Version | List Price | MPG | 0-62 |
| 2.5 TDI 5dr | £31,635 | 28.0 mpg | 11.5 s |
| 2.5 TDI Altitude 5dr | £38,025 | 28.0 mpg | 11.5 s |
| 2.5 TDI Altitude Tiptronic 5dr Auto | £39,480 | 27.2 mpg | 11.6 s |
| 2.5 TDI SE 5dr | £35,140 | 28.0 mpg | 11.5 s |
| 2.5 TDI SE Tiptronic 5dr Auto | £36,595 | 27.2 mpg | 11.6 s |
| 2.5 TDI Tiptronic 5dr Auto | £33,090 | 34.0 mpg | 8.5 s |
| 3.0 V6 TDI 5dr Auto | £35,145 | - | - |
| 3.0 V6 TDI Altitude 5dr Auto | £41,535 | 28.5 mpg | 8.3 s |
| 3.0 V6 TDI SE 5dr Auto | £38,650 | 28.5 mpg | 8.3 s |
| 3.6 V6 Altitude 5dr Auto | £41,835 | 21.2 mpg | 8.6 s |
| 3.6 V6 SE 5dr Auto | £38,960 | 21.2 mpg | 8.6 s |
| 5.0 V10 TDI Altitude 5dr Auto | £60,355 | 23.7 mpg | 7.4 s |
| 5.0 V10 TDI SE 5dr Auto | £57,470 | 23.7 mpg | 7.4 s |
| BlueMotion 3.0 V6 TDI 5dr Auto | £35,570 | 28.5 mpg | 8.3 s |
| BlueMotion SE 3.0 V6 TDI 5dr Auto | £39,075 | 34.0 mpg | 8.5 s |
| R50 5dr Auto | £64,685 | 23.7 mpg | 6.7 s |
On sale until April 2006
| 4 X 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Version | List Price | MPG | 0-62 |
| 2.5 TDI | £28,600 | 28.8 mpg | 12.4 s |
| 2.5 TDI Altitude | £34,630 | 28.8 mpg | 12.4 s |
| 2.5 TDI Altitude Auto | £34,630 | - | - |
| 2.5 TDI Altitude Tiptronic Auto | £36,070 | - | - |
| 2.5 TDI Auto | £28,600 | - | - |
| 2.5 TDI SE | £31,865 | 28.8 mpg | 12.4 s |
| 2.5 TDI SE Auto | £31,865 | - | - |
| 2.5 TDI SE Tiptronic Auto | £33,305 | - | - |
| 2.5 TDI Tiptronic Auto | £29,995 | - | - |
| 5.0 V10 TDI Altitude Auto | £56,050 | - | - |
| 5.0 V10 TDI SE Auto | £53,285 | - | - |
Model History
- February 2003: Touareg launched in UK
- December 2004
- March 2005
- January 2007: Facelift prices announced
- March 2007
- October 2007: New R50 V10 diesel announced
- April 2008
- June 2009: Touareg BlueMotion launched
February 2003
Touareg launched in UK
First UK engine is huge 4,920cc 323bhp V10 diesel, with 553lb ft torque at 2,000rpm; six speed Tiptronic; top speed 140mph; 0-50 7.5 seconds; 20.5mpg combined and 329lb ft torque, price £50,440. Alternative engines are VAG's 220ps 3.2 V6 petrol at £29,335 for the 6 speed manual or £30,725 for the 6 speed Tiptronic and 310ps 4.2 petrol V8 6 speed Tiptronic at £41,795.
174ps 2.5 litre TDI came later from £28,500.
4,750mm long, 1,930mm wide and 1,720mm high.
Top speed of most powerful versions limited to 155mph. Designed to compete with BMW X5, MB ML, Porsche Cayenne, Toyota Landcruiser Amazon and Range Rover. Price range £29k to £60k with V10 diesels starting at £50k.
December 2004
Superchipped Touareg V10 diesel develops 356bhp and 855NM (631 lb ft) torque. 2,967cc chain-cam VB6 TDI from November 2004. Has 225bhp at 4,000rpm and 369 lb ft torque at 1,750rpm. 6 speed Tiptronic. 125mph, 0-60 in 9.6. 25.9mpg combined, 294 g/km CO2. Prices £34,070 and £35,270 for Sport.
March 2005
3.0 litre 225PS chain cam V6 from 2005.
January 2007
Facelift prices announced
2.5-litre TDI DPF 174 PS 6 spd manual 267g/km CO2 £29,465
2.5-litre TDI DPF 174 PS 6 spd auto 275g/km CO2 £30,865
3.0-litre TDI 225 PS 6 spd auto 278g/km CO2 £32,225
2.5-litre TDI DPF 174 PS 6 spd manual SE 267g/km C02 £32,850
2.5-litre TDI DPF 174 PS 6 spd auto SE 275g/km CO2 £34,290
3.0-litre TDI 225 PS 6 spd auto SE 278g/km CO2 £35,610
3.6-litre V6 280 PS 6 spd auto SE 324g/km CO2 £36,430
5.0-litre V10 TDI DPF 310 PS 6 spd autoSE 346 £54,770
2.5-litre TDI DPF 174 PS 6 spd manual Altitude 267g/km CO2 £35,615
2.5-litre TDI DPF 174 PS 6 spd auto Altitude 275g/km CO2 £37,055
3.0-litre TDI 225 PS 6 spd auto Altitude 278g/km CO2 £38,375
3.6-litre V6 280 PS 6 spd auto Altitude 324g/km CO2 £39,200
5.0-litre V10 TDI DPF 310 PS 6 spd auto Altitude 346g/km CO2 £57,535
March 2007
2007 facelift with 2,300 improvements and new VW corporate front launched. Four engines: one petrol and three diesel. These are a 3.6-litre V6 280 PS petrol; 2.5-litre TDI 174 PS with DPF (diesel particulate filter); 3.0-litre V6 TDI 225 PS with or without DPF; and the range-topping 5.0-litre V10 TDI with 313 PS and DPF. The 2.5-litre TDI will be available as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox and optional Tiptronic automatic transmission. All other engines get six speed Tiptronic automatic transmission
October 2007
New R50 V10 diesel announced
Has 350 PS (at 3,500 rpm) and 850 Nm torque at 2,000 rpm. Priced at 88,260 in Germany. On sale from November 2007. 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds, ; top speed 235 km/h. Uses 12.6 liters per 100 km combined. 21-inch Omanyt type alloy wheels and size 295 tires.
0 to 62 mph in 6.4 seconds, top speed of 146 mph. 22.4 mpg combined and 333 g/km. 4XMOTION four-wheel drive, six-speed automatic gearbox. CDC (Continuous Damping Control) with sports modification which sees the car lowered by around 20 mm is also a standard feature on the R50. 21-inch ‘Omanyt’ ten-spoke alloy wheels. R50 is priced at £61,885 (RRP OTR).
April 2008
Revised 3.0-litre V6 TDI common rail diesel engine announed. New common rail engine raises the power output by 15 PS to a total of 240 PS and torque from 369 lbs ft to 406 lbs ft. The result is a significant gain in performance, with the time taken to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph dropping from 9.2 to 8.3 seconds. Despite these gains, CO2 output falls from 278 g/km to 262 g/km. The 3.0-litre V6 engine is linked to a six speed tiptronic gearbox and four-wheel drive.
The new Euro 5 compliant engine also features a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) in the exhaust system, and joins the existing 2.5-litre TDI and 5.0-litre V10 TDI diesel and 3.6-litre V6 petrol engines in the Touareg range.
The new engine will be available in three trim levels – Touareg, SE and Altitude – all of which come with a comprehensive list of standard equipment. Advanced 4XMOTION all-wheel-drive linked to an Electronic Differential Lock (EDL), hill start and descent assist, air conditioning and six airbags are all fitted as standard.
Prices for the new Touareg 3.0-litre V6 TDI start at £33,465 RRP on the road, rising to £36,865 for the SE model and £39,665 for the range-topping Altitude trim level.
June 2009
Touareg BlueMotion launched
Offering improved fuel efficiency and emissions of 219 g/km, well below the tax threshold of less than 225 g/km. Prices for the most efficient version of Volkswagen’s luxury off-road vehicle start at £34,150 on the road RRP for the entry level model and rise to £37,545 for the SE.
What to watch out for
Reports of electrical problems and grumbling front differentials.
Wheel alignment and transfer box problems lead to uneven rear tyre wear. Quite a lot of complaints about tyre wear and wheel alignment. One owners was told by his dealer "please don't take the car off- road."
Reports of excessive wear to centre propshaft bearing
Timing chain failure reported on 3.2 V6 after 3 - 4 years when service indicator oil change regime is followed.
Timing gear train on 5.0 V10 diesel can mangle and can be 10 hours labour just to get the engine out. Can be oil feed problems to the camshafts, eventually causing £9,000 worth of engine damages. As happeed at 4 years old and 50k miles.
Water pump failure not uncommon on 174PS 2.5TDi 5-cylinder engines.
Where fitted, air suspension failure is not uncommon at 5 - 6 years old. What can happen is the air hose drops off due to rust.
One case of a bonnet catch and safety catch failing and the bonnet wrapping itself around the windscreen. These catches need to be regularly greased.
12-02-2011:Many Touaregs are now suffering centre bearing failure on the rear prop shafts after 60k miles. UK VW dealers typically charge around £900 to £1,000 as they will only fit new, factory supplied, prop shafts. However several prop shaft refurbishers have been identified that can change the failed centre bearing for around £250 which, with a couple of hours labour to remove and refit, is less than half the dealer cost. For more skilled mechanics with the right tools and know-how, the bearing itself can be bought for about £80. The failure rate on the Touareg is now such that some owners in the know have changed the bearing before it fails as part of their routine maintenance.
02-04-2011:Here's something else you may wish to add to your reviews of older VW Touaregs. A number of owners are suffering enormous thumps through the drive train as the auto box goes from 5th to 4th on, say a light trailing throttle as the car comes under load again. This is due to a failing valve chest in the automatic gearbox caused by excessive wear in the valve bores. Yet again VW are denying there's a signifcant problem despite a considerable number of reports on both the US and UK Touareg forums which, are as ever, only the tip of the iceberg! It affects car from 60K onwards - just like the failing prop shafts! My local dealer is doing several valve chests a month at £1,900 a pop. Thanks to Warranty Direct I only had to contribute £500 last week!. It's a three hour job to replace a £1400 part. There are alternative solution with one or two transmission specialists now offering to fit refurbished valve chests for 40% of the VW main dealer cost for those on a budget. However the main dealer gives a year's warranty on both parts and labour and two years on the parts alone.
22-09-2012:As with 2.7 and 3.0 V6 TDI in Audis, problems develop with sticking swirl flaps in the inlet manifolds of 3.0 V6 TDIs, requiring expensive replacement pf the manifolds. Some possibility that they stick due to hydrocarbon build-up and could be fixed by cleaning with a fuel system cleaner.
30-11-2012:Faults reported on a 2010 Touareg bought at 1 month old, now 2 yeasrs old with 22k miles.
Seizure of a front brake calliper.
Braking prop shaft/joint fault making car unsafe to drive.
Leaking/split pipe resulting in the loss of power steering and recovery on a flatbed lorry.
Undiagnosed intermittent fault with the electronic child locks.
Fault with the electronic hand brake, as yet undiagnosed.
18-07-2013:2005/55 2.5TDI required new propshaft and propshaft bearing at 58,000 miles.
02-12-2013:DPF failed on 2010 2.5TDI. Quoted £2,500 to replace but possible that a Unipart of Alliance car centre can clean out the original DPF using the Ceramex process.
06-06-2014:Propshaft centre bearing of Touareg failed at 51k miles (age of car not supplied). See 12-2-2012 and 30-11-2012.
12-06-2014:Power steering of 2007/57 Touareg reported to be noisy when hot, after about an hour's driving. PAS pump replaced. Correct mineral PAS fluid used. Noise still present.
02-09-2019:Report of gears not changing easily in 2007 VW Touareg V6 automatic. Likely to be clogged servo valves. Probably needs an automatic transmission fluid transfusion.
