In the November 2003 issue, Car and Driver compared the Touareg to The Cadillac SRX V-8, the Infiniti FX45, and the Porsche Cayenne S. The Touareg finished in last place, which seems inconsistent with their earlier praise of the vehicle. Car and Driver de fends their test results by pointing out that none of the other vehicles were available during the previous Touareg review, and that this review did not involve any off-road driving.

Touaregs with the V-10 TDI engine come equipped with two batteries, the additional one of which is normally dedicated to the engine start procedure exclusively. Some Touaregs without the V-10 TDI engine come equipped with two batteries. In these vehicles, the extra battery is always dedicated to an additional water heater. Currently, all gasoline engine Touaregs sold in the US include only one battery. All diesel engine Touaregs sold in the US have two batteries.

Quite well. It has been said that Volkswagen built the Touareg to be competitive with the BMW X5 on the road, and with the Range Rover off the road. The general consensus is that the Touareg comes very close to meeting, if not exceeding both of these goal s.

Some Touaregs come with cup holders for the rear seats, and some do not. At first, it seemed that only V8 Touaregs included these cup holders, but recent reports indicate that some V6 models do included them as well. Touareg owners who did not get the cup holders have reported that they have been able to obtain them and have a dealer install them. We suspect that there was a cost associated with this upgrade.

When you engage reverse, the Touareg's climate control system enters recirculation mode. This is designed to prevent exhaust fumes from entering the cabin while backing up.

There are various ways to say the word Touareg. Volkswagen seems to have settled on a pronunciation that sounds a lot like "tour egg". Volkswagen's web site for the Touareg, which can currently be found at http://www.vw.com/touareg/mini/flash.htm has audio samples of different people saying the word Touareg.

The Touareg appears to be currently available in the following countries: UK, US, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and quite possible other counties.

In all Touaregs, the main battery is located under the driver's seat. In Touaregs with two batteries, the additional battery is located beneath the floor of the rear storage area, occupying the space that the spare tire would normally occupy.

The word Touareg is an alternate spelling of Toureg, which is a diverse group of people who share a common history and geographical area in the African Sahara. The Touareg people are known for their traditions, pride, intelligence and dignity, and the abi lity to adapt to difficult conditions. It has been said that Volkswagen choose to name the Touareg after these people because of these traits. Literally, Touareg means "Knight of the Desert" or "Free Folk" depending on who you ask.

I have dual zone climate control. Can I make the driver's side temperature knob control both zones? 5. NAV System / Radio Questions

The maintainer of this FAQ makes no claims of expertise on any subject whatsoever. Rather, he is just a curious Touareg owner and is not employed in any automotive capacity. Most of the questions in the FAQ are actual questions that have been asked on var ious online discussion boards and Usenet. The answers are researched by various means including finding answers on the internet, asking Volkswagen directly, reading relevant literature, and talking to experts when possible.

The Cayenne and Touareg share the same chassis, transmission, AWD system, suspension, windshield, doors, and some sheet metal. It should be noted that the Cayenne is more focused on paved-road conditions, whereas the Touareg was designed to be equally capable on pavement and off-road. Consequently the Porsche transmission is tuned with more rear power bias than the Touareg.

In North America, the Touareg is currently available as a 3.2-liter V6, a 4.2-liter V8, or a 5.0-liter V-10 Turbo Diesel, all with 6-speed Tiptronic transmission. Various sources have claimed that Volkswagen has either built or intended to build Touaregs with a W8 gasoline engine. The consensus now seems to indicate that Volkswagen has decided not to pursue continued use of their W8 in any vehicles, including the T ouareg.

Good questions. According to Jamie Vondruska's, article on www.vwvortex.com , the V-10 Touareg is "the one to get." It has been said that people buy horsepower, but drive torque. The V-10 TDI engine has a very high torque output. This may make the vehicle more suitable to towing, although the official towing rating is the same on all models. The higher torque output will also allow the V-10 TDI equipped Touareg to accelerate faster than the gasoline V8.

Volkswagen designed and built the Touareg to be a very capable off-road vehicle. Specifically, they benchmarked the Range Rover for its class-leading off-road performance. Further testament to VW's design goals is the inclusion of full time all wheel drive, a low-range transfer case, ABS and Traction Control that include an off-road mode of operation, available locking center and rear differentials, and an optional air susp ension with adjustable ride height.

The 6-speed automatic transmission was developed and is manufactured by Aisin Co., Ltd in Japan. Volkswagen's designation for this transmission is "09D".

All wood surfaces in the Touareg are real. Walnut, Myrtle, and Vavona wood are used depending on the configuration of the specific vehicle. Vavona is the root wood of sequoia trees. Yes. In Xenon-equipped Touaregs, the outer most lights in the Touareg's headlight assembly are high intensity discharge lamps, and are used for the low beam, the high beam, and as the daytime running lamps.

Yes, it is. First, exit the vehicle and lock it. Next, approach the rear of the vehicle and open the glass hatch. The glass hatch will only open if your key is within a few feet of the back of the vehicle. Once the rear glass hatch is open, throw your key inside the Touareg. Close the rear hatch. After a few seconds, the Touareg will re-lock the rear hatch, thus locking your key in the car.

It has been suggested that there are several repair campaigns in effect for the Touareg. One of the campaigns concerns the improper placement of the antenna used to receive signals from the remote key fob. However, owners that have had this work performed report that it doesn't help much Please send an email to the maintainer of this FAQ if you have access to official Volkswagen service bulletins or repair campaigns. Anonymity is ensured.

NavTech does supply maps to both Volkswagen for use in the Touareg's GPS and Garmin for use in their GPS units. However, it appears that NavTech has different sets of maps for different customers. The maps that NavTech supplies to Garmin are much richer than those supplied to Volkswagen. Garmin's CitySelect maps are comprehensive insofar as they include every public roadway and street in the United States. The Touareg's maps lack many streets a nd points of interest in non-metropolitan areas.

It is possible that by using an auxiliary audio/video adapter, you can attach a DVD player to the Touareg's NAV system.

http://www.treghacker.com/ is a great web site dedicated to little known secrets, modifications, and general hacks that apply to the Volkswagen Touareg. http://www.clubtouareg.com/ is another professional-looking site with discussion forums, issues database, photo albums, et cetera. Check it out.

All matter has a certain amount of heat except at absolute zero (-460º F). Ice cubes feel cool to the touch, but actually it just has less heat than your hand. Heat is transferring from your hand to the ice cube. This is the principle behind how an A/C cools the air in a car. Heated air is circulated across a gas filled evaporator and is transferred to the refrigerant gas making the air less hot.

Two coats of automotive epoxy primer, five coats of color, and two coats of clear will withstand 500 hours of salt spray. Two coats of Master Series Silver and one coat of AG111 will do 14,000 hours of salt spray. Master Series silver primer, if scratched, the rust will not go beyond the scratch.

A tentative release date of late 2007, early 2008 for the first film has been mentioned, although it looks like it will be leaning towards the later since production has not yet begun.

Most women over thirty-five years of age need some form of hormone supplementation, which can include testosterone, human growth hormone, thyroid, and possibly others. This applies to women that have reached menopause as well as premenopausal women. Menopause is clearly a hormone deficiency condition.

Correct. Both reversals have the "If played from your hand" restriction, which means they do nothing when overturned.

I just noticed that my Touareg doesn't appear to have any antennae. Isn't that odd? 3. Hints, Tricks, and Features

That said, on average, Touareg owners have reported about 14 MPG for the V8 in mixed driving. Average in-town mileage for the V8 appears to be about 12. The average reported highway mileage for the V8 is about 18. We have received a report from a V6 Touareg owner who has averaged 14.5 MPG in mixed driving during the first 800 miles.