Weekly Top 3: Why I Want the VW Touareg TDI More Than the Audi Q7 TDI
As all you diehard Weekly Top 3 fans will recall (come on, I know you're out there, you silent majority you!), I was pretty smitten with the new Volkswagen Touareg 2 V6 TDI after driving it to San Francisco and back. But the Touareg's theoretically the runt of this litter, upstaged by its Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne platform-mates. Now, there's no Cayenne diesel, so I'll spare you my "OMG I <3 this car!" paean to the Porsche.
There is a Q7 TDI, though, and it just so happens to share the Vee-Dub's powertrain. And I just so happened to snag the keys to one last weekend for my sojourn in California's ancient bristlecone pine forest.
Three reasons why I'd buy the Touareg TDI instead, coming right up.
3. Touareg has better steering.
Remember my affection for the Touareg 2 V6 TDI's steering, WT3-o-philes? "Responsive and accurate at all speeds," I raved, noting that it had little of the "yaw delay" that plagues most SUVs. Well, turns out that the Q7 is more of a typical SUV in this regard. Yank the wheel back and forth at speed and the Q7's chassis stumbles all over itself trying to catch up with the sudden inputs. As I said last week, the VW has driver's-car steering. The Q7 has luxo-barge steering by comparison. I don't like that one bit.
2. Q7 doesn't have a significantly better ride.
If there's one thing holding the Touareg 2 V6 TDI back from SUV perfection, it's the stiff ride. Unfortunately, the Q7's ride isn't a whole lot better. Sure, the Audi doesn't crash its way over potholes like the tautly sprung Touareg, but it's still more jittery than I'd like. I suspect the vehicle of choice in this bunch is the Touareg with the air suspension, a $2,750 option (not available on the Q7 TDI) that provides three ride settings and a range of height adjustments to boot.
1. Q7's third-row seat is silly.
Putting aside snob appeal, there's roughly one on-paper reason to buy the Q7 instead of the Touareg, and that's the Q7 TDI's standard third-row seat. Well, now I've tried it, and trust me, it ain't all that. Ingress and egress are athletic feats, and my 6'1" frame had negative headroom and legroom, i.e., my head was in the roof and my knees were in my chin. Is this Audi worth the extra eight grand over the VW ($50,900 vs. $42,800)? I think not.
Give me a Touareg 2 TDI with the air suspension, please. And thank you.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor
- Posted by
- Josh Sadlier July 3, 2009, 3:00 AM
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- Audi, Volkswagen, Weekly Top 3
Dissenting Opinion--d
(3) Stop yanking the wheel back and forth at speed. This thing weighs a billion pounds. Relax, enjoy the comfort.
(2) ...yes it does.
(1) You're the driver and will never use it. You'll be glad you have it when you eventually need it. Remember, we even used the silly third row in our dearly departed Outlander.
Here's why it's worth the money over the VW:
(A) Better interior. Looks and materials the Audi takes the cake. (Seat lacks a little leg support on both.) MMI is better than what VW uses.
(B) The Q7 looks 8-grand better.
(C) Better ride and isolation. Quick story, I was driving, the Chairman of a fairly large corporation riding shotgun. During the ride he called another captain of industry and exclaimed the virtues of this clean diesel. If we were in the Vee-Dub version, he wouldn't be able to dial for all the jittering.
-mm
1) I agree, Third row seats in SUVs ARE stupid. They are usually tiny and when you use them they eat up all of your trunk space. If you really need a third row get a minivan.
I know it's not "cool" to drive a minivan. But it's cheaper, holds more people and more stuff. And your third row passengers won't curse you for every minute they have to spend on a flat bottom SUV third row seat...
I'd also add:
4. The Touareg can go off road (it has a low range and offers an optional height-adjustable suspension), should the occasion present itself.