Volkswagen Touareg TDI
At first glance, the Volkswagen Touareg TDI seems like a decent luxury SUV, a suburbanite’s family wagon with a hint of leather, a dash of woodgrain, and some millennial creature comforts. Hear nothing more than the name, and you get an image of a postmodern car concept befit the millennial generation, to be sure. But the Volkswagen Touareg TDI is¸ in fact, quite a capable 4×4 machine. There are reasons it makes our list of the 20 best off-road vehicles. Yes, it may look a little effeminate, perhaps a bit mundane, but trust us. Keep reading.
We’ll start with the Touareg’s TDI motor: 406 torques at just 2,000 RPM. That’s cruising speed for most daily drivers, and it’s also the off-road sweet spot for tackling loose terrain and slowly crawling over obstacles. The brakes clock in 60 to 0 in just 122 feet. This means two things: They’re huge, they’re resistant to brake fade, and they make for excellent modulation of power transfer between all four wheels. That power transfer is handled expertly with a very efficient 8-speed automatic transmission. Power’s always on tap, but never jumpy or unpredictable. Exactly what you want on uncertain trails.
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An oversized 26.4-gallon fuel tank and the TDI’s impressive fuel economy means the Touareg gets 766 miles to a tank. That also means you’ll enjoy hours of trail running and mud crawling, bolstered by Volkswagen’s patented “4Motion” AWD system and its three (yes, 3) differentials – front, center, and rear. The 4Motion system uses Torsen differentials to predict and prevent slipping, before any loss of control even occurs. A nice bonus when traipsing through mud, snow, or rainy dirt roads.
But all these tech specs sound too familiar and repeated – especially if you’ve been an astute reader who’s followed every vehicle thus far. So, what if we told you the Touareg TDI ran the Baja 1000? Yes, Volkswagen took a (mildly modified) Toureg TDI, bumped up the horsepower and torque to 550 and 625, and ran it. While VW didn’t win the race, the team finished in respectable time with nothing more than a minor clutch issue.
If that’s not enough, just take a browse through Club Touareg’s forums. You’ll find some owners who’ve managed to slap lift kits and mud tires to their rides, bump up their boost, and hit some serious 4×4 trails. Search for Touareg’s off-roading on YouTube, and you’ll find one lazily scaling an 8-foot boulder and dunking itself in deep water with ease. For that alone, this premium-ish, surprising little SUV gets a spot on our list.
