Looking for a new towing vehicle

[Hogwild]

Originally Posted by AZX9

I knew before I started reading the posts that the advise was going to be all over the place. If anything we will confuse the issue. My two cents are no different.

First of all when it comes to towing and mileage there is no substitute for diesel. Now for my story. I had a 2500 Dodge Ram Cummins that towed wonderfully. It replaced an F250 V-10 that would not hold speed in hill situations and got about 6 mpg towing. I was in a similar situation with pending steering component repairs and decided to get a new vehicle. Since I drive a company car the vehicle would be the wife's daily driver. She did not want a clunky truck to drive around so I gave her a choice. She could get anything we could afford AND it had to be diesel. After considering the few choices out there we went with the VW Touareg. It's mid sized and my 6'3" son fits just fine in the back seat. Not so in our 4runner. It has all wheel drive so absolutely no wheel spin issues at the ramp. It has a 7700lb tow rating. With a 3 liter diesel the thing gets about 31 mpg at 65 mph. We get about 24 in town. The torque is awesome for towing with a fairly large and flat torque curve that is mated to an eight speed transition so it's never searching for a gear. It pulls strong and keeps speed going up grades. This is the type of tow vehicle that passes slow people in motorhomes on a two lane road. The vehicle has a substantial all around feel to it. From the solid feel of the door closing to the solid tow stability. It's a rocket ship that feels equally well doing 85+ mph. We absolutely love the vehicle and it's cool not driving a vehicle that everyone else has. It's hard to rub two of them together. The wife is excited because the 2013 Porche Cheyene which is made in the same factory along with the Audi Q7 will have the diesel next year. I can dream.

Good luck in putting a consensus from all the info thats conflicting. In the end you'll have to use your gut.

Yeah, I figured that I would get responses from across the board, but I like to hear other's experiences with certain vehicles. And I like the fact that you responded because I wouldn't even have considered the Touareg as an option, but is one that I may well consider. I have always liked VW vehicles, but didn't realize it had that towing capacity.

[ttu]

hogwild, i am in a similiar position. i had a 08 sequoia that pulled great but drank gas like crazy. it needed service at the 90K area along with tires and brakes. i did not do all the repairs and bought a 06 land cruiser. ( always loved the way they drive). it pulls the boat fine but still drinks gas.

i have been debating on going with either a audi q7 tdi or a touareg tdi as azx9 recommended. found a nice 09 q7 with low miles but concerned about realibity. also like the touareg but would want a 2011.

maybe azx9 will chime in on this part.

[pmkkdx]

Oh yes, the TDI Touareg is another one that I would definately consider for my wife's daily driver & sometimes tow vehicle but forgot to mention. That came to light about a week after we bought our '11 4runner and really wished I had heard more about it prior to our purchase.

[Ironhorse]

My wife drives an XC90 Volvo and it is a terrible vehicle. My wifes friend drives a 2010 Touareg and her husband says they have had nothing but issues with it as well. All I am saying is you may not have missed out buying the 4runner before you considered the Touareg. They do look good though.

[swatkinz]

what's this 90K Toyota service you all are talking about. $1K? What does that service include?

[mzimme]

Originally Posted by swatkinz

what's this 90K Toyota service you all are talking about. $1K? What does that service include?

For my Lexus, the big portion of the 90k service is the timing belt. Not sure if it's the same case on the 4runner, however.

Also things like oil, trans fluid, radiator flush, rear diff flush, spark plugs, wires, accessory belt, etc. Normal maintenance things, but the timing belt is usually the big one.

[TRBenj]

Originally Posted by swatkinz

what's this 90K Toyota service you all are talking about. $1K? What does that service include?

Its specific to the V8... timing belt and water pump are the 2 big hitters. I had them do a trans drain/fill also (flush is not recommended).

The V6 is much more reasonable, as it has a timing chain.

[Hogwild]

You all are correct. Dealer told me that on V-8's the timing belt job alone takes them 4 hours to do and is about 2/3 the cost of that 90K service. The rest is fluids, etc.

[Hogwild]

Originally Posted by ttu

i have been debating on going with either a audi q7 tdi or a touareg tdi as azx9 recommended. found a nice 09 q7 with low miles but concerned about realibity. also like the touareg but would want a 2011.

maybe azx9 will chime in on this part.

Still hoping he responds as well. He has my interest peaked with the touareg.

[ttu]

Originally Posted by Hogwild

You all are correct. Dealer told me that on V-8's the timing belt job alone takes them 4 hours to do and is about 2/3 the cost of that 90K service. The rest is fluids, etc.

around a $1000 for the timing belt, water pump and fluids. on my sequoia it was going to run another $400 for tranny along with $350 brakes and $1400.00 for tires.