2004 Volkswagen Toureg V8

It's ironic how much engineering has to go into a product in order for it to work in the dirt. Off-road performance is a whole other world from street performance. And dirt utility and durability are a lot harder to achieve than top-of-the-line pavement pounding. Designing a vehicle that excels in both worlds is perhaps the toughest automotive job on the planet. But it's also the most fun.

In true German fashion, the VW Touareg has a very advanced suspension system. The unique airbag suspension impressed us with its ability to adjust not only the vehicle's ride height (more than 5 1/2 inches), but to compensate for every terrain we threw at it.

When Volkswagen and Porsche got together to create a joint venture 4x4 SUV we had high hopes for the results. We knew that Porsche engineers would bring impressive technology to the product, and we trusted that the Volkswagen team would find a way to keep it affordable for the masses. After all the dust settled, we'd say the results prove the Porsche guys won out. The Touareg feels more Porsche than the Cayenne feels VW, so prepare for a higher monthly payment. Though it is unlikely any of our testdrivers could justify owning a $50,000 Touareg, we all enjoyed driving it. Our Offroad Gray Touareg will be missed.

10,000 miles later...

After an all-too-short 10,000 miles, we still marvel at the 40-valve V-8 and six-speed automatic transmission. We still rave about how solid and stable the Touareg feels. We've benefited from every adjustment the automatic air suspension made, and we fell in love with the interior feel-even if some of us didn't like the colorings. But now that we've had some extended seat time, we've also discovered that owning a high-tech off-road machine does not come without some tradeoffs.

In hindsight, the 254ci V-8 is not a torque engine. The transmission has great gear ratios, but it is very easy to get the engine out of its powerband and between gears where the Touareg feels like a dog. This truck is fast, but it's not best suited for 20- to 40-mph blasts in town. We've also fallen out of love with the GPS and stereo configuration. It's not intuitive to use, and most drivers will give up trying to figure out how to change the radio station without accidentally plotting a new course with the navigation system. The upside is that your passenger can use all of the functions of the GPS while you drive. Other OEMs lock you out of these systems above 5 mph.

The key to the Touareg's optional air suspension is these four air-spring shocks. More like a coilover than an air shock, they use airbags instead of coil springs. Though we'd hate to have to replace one of these babies, we never had one give us a single problem through all our grueling test miles.	Thanks to an impressive traction control system with center and rear locking differentials, VW has been able to get away with what we'd consider a street tire on its off-road vehicle. Naturally, we found the limits of the OEM 255/55/VR18 Continental 4x4 Contact tire over our yearlong test. Not on the trail mind you, but on the street where granite curbs eat these sissy sidewalls alive! At $168 from the Tire Rack, they're about the same price as a 35-inch mud-terrain, which we would have considered an option if we could have fit them.	Should you find you get a lot of flats with your Touareg, there's plenty of room to carry four 36-inch spares. In reality, the Touareg's carpeted cargo space is better suited to hauling luggage than oily junkyard axles. The Touareg would make a perfect shelter for those of you who like camping but hate pitching tents.
We seem to get at least one flat with every late-model SUV we test. The low-profile sidewalls and passenger-car rated tires that all the manufacturers use on these vehicles practically guarantee we'll get to test the truck's jack, lug-nut wrench, and spare. On a luxury SUV, we've come to expect a fullsize-matching spare. But in the interest of saving space for a larger fuel tank and better ground clearance, VW equips the Touareg with this space-saver that you inflate with the on-board air compressor.	But here's the problem. The original tire won't fit back in the hole where you got the spare. What are you supposed to do? Leave the old tire on the side of the road? If you don't want to litter, and can't afford to ruin the interior of your Touareg, we'd throw a Hefty trash bag in the back to put the wasted tire in until you can have it replaced.

Specs