X5 vs Touareg vs LR4 Tow Vehicle Decision
 

Hi All,
We've just relocated to Toronto and need a few cars. First up is the Wife's, which will need to triple as her daily runabout, dog carrier and my tow vehicle for the enclosed trailer about once a month.

Given model availability, price, capacities, etc we've narrowed it down to three choices. I've heard good and bad about all of these, I'd appreciate feedback from people who have owned them and towed with them...

VW Touareg. Tow capacity 7500lbs, V6 TDI
BMW X5. Tow capacity 6000lbs, V6 3.5TD
Land Rover LR4. Tow capacity 7500lbs, V8

The wife likes the BMW the best but I'm concerned about the towing capacity. My race car weighs 2000lbs and I want to tow at least a 22' enclosed trailer. I havent purchased the trailer yet but I dont want to have to skimp on the trailer length and carrying capacity because the car cant handle it.

Appreciate your feedback!

Cayenne S - V8, tow capacity: 7700lbs+

Just sayin. :cool:

+1

The X5 is okay, but would pick the LR before that (for towing) and the Touareg before either of those two.

The Cayenne is an exceptional vehicle.

Cayenne = Touareg

Not quite. A friend had a Touareg; I have a Cayenne. The Cayenne is a couple hundred pounds lighter, and has a much better interior.

22 foot enclosed trailer?

I vote for a 4 door F350 with the new 6.7ltr desiel.

And a larger engine, a Porsche Badge and costs, what, double?

Lip stick, meet pig.

Seriously, I'm not dissing the Cayenne. I'd love to be able to afford one...

would advise against the LR, only because the likelihood that you'll be spending a LOT of time in the service department is very high...I used to work at a dealer.




buy my supercharged Tundra and you'd be able to tow 10,400 lbs ;)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280470278901

I know the Touareg makes 406 lb-ft of torque and is rated at 25mpg hwy (owners report more like 30). Pretty good for a 5,800 lb car, and it's fast. Last year of production of this model.

the touareg is changing in 2011 along with all new engine line-up including 4.3 liter TDI ... 337 hp and 509 lb-ft of torque VW reveals 2011 Touareg

"VW shaved 208 kilograms off of the base version"

Wow! Impressive stats on those Diesels!

Buy used and get one of the V10 TDI VWs..... Those made ungodly amounts of torque

the Cayenne is changing, too Official: Porsche unveils 2011 Cayenne SUV

Thanks guys.

Firstly, this will be my wife's primary car so it needs a certain amount of...er...refinement...in order to keep her happy. What I mean is (and I hope she doesnt read this) if I keep it upscale I can achieve my ulterior motive of getting her to view my tow vehicle as hers so I can add another sports-hooligan car to the stable. I like the Tundra, Sequoia and Armada but the latter two are "too big" in her opinion.

She's German so its beyond my powers of persuasion to convince her of a Tundra or F-series.

Regarding the Cayenne, we already have 2 Porsches and maybe a 3rd on the way. I'd be self-conscious of having 4. As pointed out the Touareg is 90% of the Cayenne for 65% of the money (here in Canada) and the Touareg 3 wont be available here for quite some time.

Lots of Touareg tuning stuff available too with that 'charged motor...

We're close to crossing off the X5. Its towing capacity is borderline, and its handling is great but the turbo lag is unforgivable. I'm a big-cube NA and supercharged guy and lag drives me crazy. I dont know how VW eradicated it but what a great motor! Tows 7500lbs too.

j

I like your thinking. I looked into that, none for sale here. Importing is another project I just dont have time/patience for now. I'm already in the process of importing 3 other vehicles, buying a house and starting a new job and keeping a new wife happy....

mine is debadged...(well except for the steering wheel and the front grille)...put in a billet badgeless grille and a VW emblew on the steering wheel and she'll never know the difference! :p :D

The Tundra is amazingly nimble with its tight turning radius, and the Sequoia even more so since it's tighter than the Tundra...

Is the diesel in the X5 same as the one in the 335d? Heard great things about it, and nothing about turbo lag?

Anything pickup-shaped is out for her. She's a keen driver in her own right and no fool.

I am not sure about the motors across the X5 and 335. I hope they are not the same/same tune. My list includes the S4 (drove it yesterday, unimpressed with the power) 335xi, C63 and used 911 Turbo. Need to get her sorted first tho.

Most people do... :D :D

I've towed with an X5 for a few years. Granted, it was a V8 so hard to compare, but it did well. I would be weary of the Touareg, at least reliability. It has gotten sacked in almost every reliability survey.

FWIW:

We own two X5s, bought new, both V8s, 2001 and 2008. The 2001 has just over 100K now. We've towed with both (track car and open trailer) and they've done it surprisingly well. Friends have equal praise for the six banger. Both have been pretty trouble free over their lives but the old one now has a tranny problem- it goes into failsafe mode occassionally- I restart the car and it clears but I need to have it looked at.

A relative who is a VW mechanic deplores the Toureag- says they're garage queens with no end of problems and the mechanics hate getting them for service as they lose money.

Our neighbor has a Range Rover and hates it- she says she's getting our car next time. It's in for service constantly.

We have superb BMW service in our area and I have a friend who works on the older car off the clock so to speak. That was a big factor in our buying decisions.

Last time around I tried to have the wife at least sample a Toyota/Toureag/Cayenne/Audi (the last three are superb examples of badge engineering IMO) etc. and she wouldn't hear of it. The first time I tried in vain to have her look at a pickup too- she wouldn't consider it and after driving her first x I don't think I'll ever be able to pry her out of the thing.

I really do believe they offer the best value for the $ among SUVs. They handle and stop superbly, are reliable, powerful and luxurious and can tow just about anything you're ever going to need to. Plus, IMO, they're far better looking than anything else. The six will do just fine, the V8 is fantastic but I would get the diesel if it were available. I think BMW's tow capacity is underrated- any model would tow your setup with ease.

If you want to make her happy- and tow- I wouldn't cross off the X. I'm sure glad I didn't.

BTW the 335 and X5 V6 share the same motor. There is no turbo lag- at all. They use twin low pressure turbos to ensure that. I've driven both and the power delivery is smooth and linear. The 335 smokes...might even best last gen M3.

[QUOTE=cairns;5206691]FWIW:

Our neighbor has a Range Rover and hates it- she says she's getting our car next time. It's in for service constantly.


They (X5) handle and stop superbly, are reliable, powerful and luxurious and can tow just about anything you're ever going to need to. Plus, IMO, they're far better looking than anything else. The six will do just fine, the V8 is fantastic but I would get the diesel if it were available. I think BMW's tow capacity is underrated- any model would tow your setup with ease.

BTW the 335 and X5 V6 share the same motor. There is no turbo lag- at all. They use twin low pressure turbos to ensure that. [QUOTE]

Thanks Cairns. A few questions/comments....

You say your neighbor hates his Range Rover, which model/year is it and what does he use it for? There is a vast difference in the range and years.

WRT the towing capacity I couldnt imagine any reason why BMW would underrate their own towing capacity. At 6000lbx max it is just borderline carrying a 24' Pace and 2000lb race car. No safety margin.

Maybe it was a problem with that particular car but it indeed turbolagged like a dog. 2000rpm cruising, punch the gas and wait 2 counts before it kicks in. Could be a combination of the torque converter(?)/transmission/traction control/turbos but it lagged terribly. Unacceptably. It handles well but with the dealer offering his "best on the road price" of $80,000 it doesnt have the power, options, capacity, or space of the LR or Touareg. That's $3,000 more than the LR4 for less HP, towing capacity, rear luggage (dog) space, traction control, cameras, 3 sunroofs, and accessories.

After some more thought and seeing the LR4 again today the X5 is out.

I'll still give BMW a chance when its time for my car.

funny story.... I was at the Dallas Motorplex watching a nascar race, had rained all night before, muddy as hell....jeep cj5 stuck, 4-wheel drive ford f250 stuck(drunks)comes to get it out , stuck, here comes a Hummer all tricked out to get it out , no go it gets stuck, ( crowd is going wild yelling obscenities ( ford vs chevy), etc, her comes these guys in a g500 mercedes ( very confident) yanks all 3 out, crowd went crazy!

We drove Land Rovers on and off since the late 80's - Range Rover,Defender,Disco and the last one we had was an LR4. We never experienced the problems a lot of people talk about. Perhaps a lot of people who never owned one feel the need to talk up how bad they are with out any first hand experience.
We bought a P-car in Colorado and trailered it to Pa. we hit lots of snow and had no problems.
I will say that winter wiper blades are a must even with a heated windshield. Some LR'S had a rear alignment issue but if you checked tire pressure on a regular basis it was not a problem catching it. They are thirsty but most SUV's are. The ride and off road capabilities are super. My wife liked the LR and felt safe and secure hauling the children. She regrets trading it for her EOS (she does like the EOS for what it is) but she did it under stress. I was ill and gas went sky high ( $100 plus fill ups) and she thought she would trade before the SUV market crashed.
I think if you have a good dealer that is half the battle. Good luck with what ever you choose.

I'm yet to hear anything good about Touareq reliability. The X5 is nice, but I wonder if it's not quite enough truck for the towing you want to do. The Land Rover would be my pick as it's beautiful inside and out, great to drive, and still a truck at heart (body on frame construction). I won't claim that it's as reliable as a Honda Pilot, but BMW ownership of Land Rover helped them make HUGE strides in reliability.