About to pull the trigger on a mid sized TDI Touareg. I like the size and it'll be a good DD and still be able to easily haul my race car on an open trailer or in a small enclosed trailer.
Besides the Excursion (way too big) are there any other mid sized diesel SUV's out there besides the Euro ones (X5, Q7, etc) that I should be looking at?
Grand Cherokee and Liberty both came in Diesels. Not sure if the GC still does or not.
Mercedes ML320 of various years
Also some years of Benz GL's and even the Benz R350 minivan-ish thing.
Jeep Grand Cherokee offered a 3.0L benz diesel in '07 & '08
Jeep Liberty had a 2.8L in '05 and '06 but a small vehicle to tow with.
Hey Doc...know you from M3forum. Some advice...read up on the tongue weights before you buy. While the Touareg will tow 7700, it has a tongue limit of 770lbs. (and that is limited by what you have onboard as the car only has a cargo limit of 1100lbs). The Jeep is even worse with a tongue limit of 500lbs.
Plus none of the euro rigs are approved for the use of weight-distributing hitches. (largely because they don't have them in europe).
I currently tow an open steel trailer with 2004 t-reg v8. Car and trailer is about 5300. Tows great. Yes I use a WD hitch.
I am also looking at the t-reg diesel as a replacement, but another issue is that the self-leveling suspension is no longer available. If fuel-mileage is your goal the T-reg is a good choice. The other option is the Cayenne Diesel (as the self-leveling suspension is available) but you'll pay $10k more for the p-car. Interested in what you come up with. I'm also looking at the qx56 as it has a better tow rating, but it suck down the gas.
You can find older K5 Blazers with Diesel, IIRC. They might be of the military variety, however.
Looking at picking up a 2006 Touareg V10 diesel, it has the air suspension and locking diffs still. 1 owner, all records, going to make a rather low offer on it and see what happens. I've lined up a 3 year 36k miles comprehensive warranty for it cause I know these things are maintenance hogs.
It's rated at 22mpg hwy, saw in a service record where the previous owner complained that mileage had dropped from 28mpg to 25mpg! If I get 25mpg (not towing of course) I'd be ecstatic.
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