Volkswagen Touareg 7P V6 TDI (2011-2018)

Fantastic car but does need maintenance! – Bought a second hand 2011 build 7P, 180 kW 10 years ago as a daily driver for my wife. It's just clicked over 200,000 kms. Have loved owning and driving it with no major issues. Extremely comfortable, quiet and will pull Christ off the cross when called upon! However, it does require a some TLC! I'm continually changing injector seals and… Read more

thankfully have only needed 1 injector replaced in this time, at nearly $800 each including programming it's worth keeping them clean! When the oil cooler seals and plastic coolant valve body fail (very common problem) it presents a an oil leak at the rear of the engine, make sure you have a trust worthy mechanic to diagnose this, preferably anyone other than VW. It's a labour intensive job as the EGR manifold needs to be removed, I would recommend getting the EGR system thoroughly cleaned at the same time if you're not attempting it yourself. Sunroof drains can block up to, unfortunately the head and pillar liners need to be removed to fix this, also no biggie but does require some labour. Finally, they are heavy on brakes and tyres due to their weight and power but otherwise, body, running gear and electrics have been faultless. Overall a great car, just needs some up keep and mechanical know how.

Had one 7P…sold my CR19..and bought another 7P – Have had a 2008,2014,2019…and now a 2017. All used as a family 4WD,boat puller and off-road. Great cars..particularly the 2008,2014 and my ( newish) 2017. Having bought a CR7..I found it too carlike..and sold it and bought another 180kw TDI… The 2008 and the 2014 did the Birdsville track and many other serious trips.. It’s a pity that VW could not… Read more

jump the hurdles and have the 7P accepted for what it is..a seriously well engineered,well equipped,industrial, luxurious 4 WD .

Getting old but going great! – 2011 model with over 320,000 km on the clock and goes like a dream. Pulls our 3 tonne off road caravan with ease. Very economical and lovely to drive. We love it. Show details

VW service – Firstly this is my first VW and I started with the best in my opinion. I have a 2015 V6 tdi 180 kw which I purchased in November 2017. After one month I noticed the day time driving light on the driver side was not working and dealer said it needed to be replaced at a cost of $1700. I contacted VW aust. and after complaining about the cost and… Read more

reliability the review the car’s service history and agreed to replace it free of charge. That good customer service and I love everything about this car, the ride the fuel consumption the towing capacity just to name a few.

Great Car! Love its features and comforts! – I bought a 2017 V6 TDI. Great car I have ever driven. Very comfortable specially, I love air suspension, spacious cabin, leather heated seats, heated steering wheel. Also, It has got plenty of power and quick to speed up even though it is a diesel engine. I usually drive the car for long drive at the weekend. I have been driving this car for more than 1.5 year and do not have any issues so far. Show details

Great car if you don’t care its badge – I give a four star due to its dated interior. My Touareg is 2015 edition , 40000km on the clock now, no issue at all. Top class handling and comfort as a suv in this size. Recommended! Looking forward to the new Touareg, it looks more handsome than the Q7 in my opinion.  Show details

Adventure Pack – What a great car, in the real tradition of Volkswagen. I had a BMW X3, this is a significant class above. Smooth 6, same ZF 8 speed transmission, 100 liter fuel tank and the Adventure series has virtually all options included. No wonder it was such a popular seller. It cruises both in town and country effortlessly does not feel big and cheaper… Read more

than same platform Audi or Porsche. Looking fwd to many happy miles around Australia.

Only negative things is dealer and VW have no idea how to do a vehicle handover for a vehicle that has so many features, you are left on your own to figure it all out via one very complex user manual. They should learn a lesson from Apple.

2017 Adventure – I have been driving my Touareg for three months and cannot find anything I am not happy with, this is an upgrade from a Tiguan and Golf Comfortline before that, so I am familiar with a lot of the VW technology, yet I am still finding many extras in Touareg. Easy to drive with only minimal noise, the air suspension smooths out the ride, good… Read more

response from the V6 and reasonable economy of 9L/100 on long trips. The all round camera system is a bonus for parking. The parking sensors can be a bit frightening at first but you soon get to understand them in conjunction with the camera display.

Wonderful vehicle – I found this site very helpful to help my wife and me to decide on which SUV to buy. (There are some pretty unflattering reviews of other SUVs that we had on our shortlist!). We took delivery of a new V6 TDI180kw/550nm Touareg a couple of weeks before Christmas. We then loaded it to the gunwales with gear for our new apartment in Adelaide and… Read more ·  1

set off from Brisbane on New Years Day. Having just arrived in Adelaide, after 2100km in three days, I am delighted to say it was the most comfortable long trip we have ever done in a car. Even with such a heavy load (including a 56kg roof top camper), it drove beautifully; the air suspension on ‘normal’ soaked up the very average road surfaces incredibly well, and there was minimal body roll on bends; passing B-doubles was a cinch - just planted the foot, and the rolling acceleration with the 550nm was terrific- very safe to be able to spend the minimum amount of time on the wrong side of the road. My wife has lower back and upper leg problems but she found the seats gave her very good support and made the trip quite comfortable; the multitude of electric adjustments to the seat, and the memory, made it very easy for us swapping drivers. Being brand new, and so heavily laden, we were reasonably pleased with the 10l/100km fuel consumption. Based on our experience with an Audi A4 with a similar engine, we anticipate that rate will drop over time as the engine frees up. We are transitioning into retirement this year and intend to do some real off-road work with our new toy. I very much appreciated being able to read about other owners’ longer term experiences on this site and intend to provide an update of our experience further down the track.

January 12th 2018 Update: Return trip

I turned around and drove this wonderful vehicle back to Brisbane this week. How many cars can you drive for 8 hours a day for three days straight and not have a numb bum? The Touareg is incredibly comfortable. The 100 litre tank means you do a whole day’s driving without refuelling - so you have to develop other excuses to stop, for safety. I was a bit surprised that having dispensed with my huge load in Adelaide, it only dropped to 9.5l/100km. But the roof top camper is a drag, so that probably limited the potential for a drop in consumption. It used a bit of oil on the 4500km round trip, but other review sites indicate this is to be expected with a new car, and it should settle down with longer term use.

Love it – Purchased this vehicle with a view to tow a caravan. Having only one vehicle in the house it had to be all things for all purposes. Great around town vehicle even though it is on the large size, fuel economy, comfort, handling is great, performance is excellent. Adaptive cruise is very nice feature & encourages one to use it more then standard… Read more

cruise control.

Towing a caravan weighing over 2 tonne it performs beautifully. The air suspension is extraordinary. Space in the seating area is generous even for tall people, cargo space is good. The "Adventure" edition comes with a larger fuel tank which is very handy when travelling in out of the way places.

Downsides are space saver spare. It is not a skinny thing like many of these but does require inflating with the supplied compressor. So for remote travelling I would recommend a full size spare be carried, either in cargo area or the supplied roof racks fitted with a cage.

Only 1 bag hook in the cargo area. Last vehicle had 4 so I miss them when shopping. Overall very happy with the vehicle.

Excellent Car – The Touareg is a fantastic car to drive, so smooth on the road and very economical. It has plenty of legroom and boot space. It gives you so much information about the car and the navigation system is great. I love the seat heaters couldn't live without them in winter.  Show details

Touareg, It's a Winner – Absolutely one of the best vehicles I have owned and driven. A fantastic vehicle to drive, especially around our rough country roads, the potholes are no longer a problem. Its early days yet but have completed a number of long distance trips and step out of the car feeling relaxed and comfortable. Heaps of legroom and head height for my 1920mm frame, even in the back seat.... a driving luxury  Show details ·  1

EGR can be a problem and expensive – Excellent car but watch the EGR value /cooler clogging - very expensive to replace. VW told me that it clogs to due city short trip,driving. Hello ? Living in Melbourne what do we do ? OK occasional weekends away but really driving to work /shopping are pretty regular things. VW need to adjust settings to accomodate regular Australian driving. I have made a note to drive the car on the freeway once a month to "clean it out"  Show details

The Ultimate Four Wheel Drive – I have been the owner and driver of numerous 4 wheel drive vehicles, including Range Rovers, Nissans and Toyotas, dating back to the 1970's and I can honestly say that the Touareg is the best vehicle of its kind I have ever owned. It runs quietly, towing our caravan with ease, and handles extremely well in all conditions. Its comfort, safety… Read more

features and the finish , both interior and exterior, are of a high quality. Added to all of these luxury details it is also economical to run. To sum up, it's my "Super Car"!!

Love that Car – This car has it all, beautiful to drive, adaptive cruise control is great as is the 360* view, so comfortable. Panoramic sunroof. I love the way the seats move according to key used to open, the only thing that it doesn't have but should have is air conditioned seats. It tows our caravan like a dream.  Show details

Best All-round SUV – I heard that VW sell these at a loss and and make up the difference with the Porsche and Audi variants. True or not my Touareg is a fantastic wagon. The performance is tremendous for an SUV through a combination of power (180kw/550nm) and the ultra smooth (8 speed) transmission. Handling is great, that being said, mine is an R-Line with slightly… Read more

stiffer suspension and larger wheels (20 inch). The brakes are also very strong, too. I tow a 2.5 tonne boat up some steep winding hills (15% in places) and the Touareg handles it with ease. As a tow wagon it is much better than my Landcruiser. They actually have a larger wheelbase and track than a 200 series Landcruiser which keeps them very stable with a big load. It has many features (keyless entry, etc) and a good gps touchscreen infotainment system, the seats are really comfy and there is plenty of space. If you are looking for a luxury SUV that drives almost like a sports car and tows better than a Landcruiser for a price of a Prado then I suggest looking at one of these. Mine has now done 56,000km and has never had any issues whatsoever.

Best car I've ever owned – Have been driving euro cars for many years including Mercedes ML320 and BMW X5 and can honesty say the Touareg is in a class of its own, not that it doesn't have its niggles, but very minor. Powerful and smooth with amazing fuel consumption, have now covered 50,000 Kim's with an average fuel consumption on the highway around 7.2lts per 100 Kim's,… Read more

best was 6.8lts, that has to put a smile on your dial. Seats and interior is comfy with easy to use instrumentation, Service costs are actually cheaper that my Father in laws Mitsubishi ASX. Highly recommended.

Nice car? But I will never buy another one! – I have the 2012 180Kw with 4Motion, the performance and drive of this car is great, noise within cabin is great and the Audio system is awesome, but the reliability of the car is very poor for a $100K plus car, and the general support from VW customer care is not good enough. You may ask why I rate the car so poorly, the motor has come out three… Read more

times for oil leaks, (the second removal and repair lasted 11 days before it was leaking again) the computer system has failed and had to be replaced, taking 3 weeks for the dealer to recode the system. The car continues to fail, safety systems work when they want to, cruise control "what is this feature?" this has been one of the most unreliable features in the car, as soon as any safety system does not work correctly, the cruise control shuts down. I've also lost count how many times the central locking system has failed, and the auto function on the windows, now don't use the navigation system for anything that requires you to get there on time as its logic is useless. Now if VW Australia had taken the time to listen and support their customers when something goes wrong then this story would have not gone so badly but to have a car off the road for 26 weeks in VW workshops is not good enough. #Touaregs fail in big ways

An excellent touring vehicle with genine off-road credibilty – I have 2014 4XMotion fitted with the 8 speed low range gearbox, diff locks and adjustable air suspension. This is an extremely capable off-road tourer with torque to burn especially when pulling a van. Great silent comfort and a top performer. The off-road software works extremely well in concert with the adjustable suspension and will embarrass many noted off-roaders. A terrific car with lots of class.  Show details ·  2

As comfortable as a mobile lounge chair with great performance and road handling – Can drive this car all day and finish with no tiredness or aches. The multiple seat adjustments allow all types to find the perfect position for driving. As a tall person, the large seats with lots of legroom make driving a pleasure. Relations of mine commented how quite and smooth the car drove down the highway.  Show details ·  1

Great car, very happy! – I waited six months after I purchased the car before posting a review to ensure I was being fair and had adequate opportunity to test the car under different circumstances. The car has been very impressive, quiet, smooth, responsive (heaps of torque) and economical. A brilliant tow vehicle without the bulk of other 3 tonne towing capacity vehicles and when not being used as a tow vehicle drives more like a sporty sedan than a floaty SUV.  Show details

Fantastic car and value for money – I have owned my 2012 V6180TDI for 1.5 years done 55,000km still on original tyres (not sure how the other reviewer only got 35,000km guess its all about how you drive) Fuel is great average 8L/100 city driving and in about 7.2 on highway only work (have been as low as 6.8l/100km. Had some initial electrical gremlins but they disappeared. Local… Read more

dealer super helpful (Kevin Dennis VW) Love the heated seats when back is sore and on cold winter mornings. Dream to drive on long trips. Great towing capacity and never feels like its working hard. Interior standing up to a couple of kids as well. Service costs reasonable (again another reviewer quoting $15k!!! maybe they meant 1.5K even that is more than I am being charged for major service. Anyhow if you can afford to buy you should be able to afford to service!! Being in the trade I know the value of dealer servicing.

Time for an update now that I have had the car for 4 years (120,000km) Still love driving it. Have had some issues with it but they have been dealt with. Front diff replaced due to a whine developing engine/transmission removed due to rear main seal leaking. Had an annoying low speed rear suspension rattle that took time to get to the bottom of and fix. All jobs done under warranty and apparently can be common issues. Getting 60k from front brakes and 120k from rear typical European car in the discs also need to be replaced. Tip don't panic when the disc pad warning light comes on there is still meat left on the pads and I went about another 6,0000km before changing out but that depends on driving style. Conti tyres giving 80k so happy with all that. Doing brakes myself as have saved good money buying quality aftermarket parts. Still handles like a dream and good on fuel. No rattles and squeaks Service pricing is a bit high but protecting my investment.

Will I buy another, yep but only once a new model is released as its features are getting a bit dated. So will run this for another couple of years and get to about 180,000km.

Will update this post then.

Update 5/8/18 now 6 years and 175k on the clock. Still running like a dream. Had a water leak around EGR cooler out of warranty. Negotiated some assistance which helped. Other wise still a great car with no rattles or squeaks Everthing Nothing

Another update: now 7 years old and 200,000km only repair outside routine brakes and tyres has been carbon build up around injectors causing a misfire. Cost to fix $1700. Still a great car and really happy with it

On my second one – First one (MY08 V6TDI) did 100,000km & now in a MY13 V6TDI with Driver Assist Pack. Both are great vehicles. Miss some features from the first like opening tailgate window, abundance for storage pockets and centre armrest arrangement however new 8 speed gearbox and few more kW in the new one allow for an performance drive when required and… Read more

improved consumption of 2lt/100km. Drive a luxury quick SUV without the "[censored word removed]" factor Sometimes think VW should take Touareg owners more seroiusly.