Range Rover Sport L320 or VW Touareg Mk3
Discussion
Hi All,
Looking for some advice on Mk3 Touareg ownership.
Since our trusty Subaru Outback 3.0R has finally been condemned we’re currently in the market for a new family (of four) bus, needs to be capable on some mild off road tracks. We previously looked at getting a new Suzuki Vitara but after visiting a dealer it was just too small. So we have decided to go up a few sizes and go used with a budget up to £18k ish.
I’ve always hankered after a L320
and I’m aware of the issues surrounding them. Planning to look at a very well kept facelift (2010) TDV6 with 68k miles today.
However SWMBO isn’t a fan and thinks they are the car of choice for people who specialise in selling product by the gram (despite the one we are looking at not having privacy glass, being in a actual colour and not having any side steps or other questionable mods) and we use an excellent VAG specialist for our Leon that is conveniently placed near my place of work and there is no local LR specialist (only a main stealer) to us. So the Touareg is in favour.
My gripe is that the roads are awful where we live and the Touareg we plan to view doesn’t have air suspension, where as the RRS comes with it as standard. I have considered a A6 Allroad but I cannot find a decent one locally and travelling hours to view things is not something I have the luxury of right now. Also considered a Disco 4 but they are so much more than a L320 for what is essentially the same thing minus the seven seats and a bit more room.
Specifically looking at a 2013 Mk3 3.0V6 TDI Bluemotion with 81k on the clock with a FSH from VW. Are they any good?
Thanks in advance
Looking for some advice on Mk3 Touareg ownership.
Since our trusty Subaru Outback 3.0R has finally been condemned we’re currently in the market for a new family (of four) bus, needs to be capable on some mild off road tracks. We previously looked at getting a new Suzuki Vitara but after visiting a dealer it was just too small. So we have decided to go up a few sizes and go used with a budget up to £18k ish.
I’ve always hankered after a L320
and I’m aware of the issues surrounding them. Planning to look at a very well kept facelift (2010) TDV6 with 68k miles today. However SWMBO isn’t a fan and thinks they are the car of choice for people who specialise in selling product by the gram (despite the one we are looking at not having privacy glass, being in a actual colour and not having any side steps or other questionable mods) and we use an excellent VAG specialist for our Leon that is conveniently placed near my place of work and there is no local LR specialist (only a main stealer) to us. So the Touareg is in favour.
My gripe is that the roads are awful where we live and the Touareg we plan to view doesn’t have air suspension, where as the RRS comes with it as standard. I have considered a A6 Allroad but I cannot find a decent one locally and travelling hours to view things is not something I have the luxury of right now. Also considered a Disco 4 but they are so much more than a L320 for what is essentially the same thing minus the seven seats and a bit more room.
Specifically looking at a 2013 Mk3 3.0V6 TDI Bluemotion with 81k on the clock with a FSH from VW. Are they any good?
Thanks in advance
Edited by jwwbowe on Tuesday 12th April 09:55
We've had a 2016 Touareg Escape (facelift model with the 262 engine, adds low range box, big fuel tank, locking centre + rear diff) since late '18, from roughly 30 to 60k miles.
It's been faultlessly reliable, tows a 2 tonne caravan and a 12ft twin axle trailer at 2.5ish tonnes very happily, averages about 30 mpg in our use with 38ish on a long steady run as long as you don't cruise at more than 70. (Anecdotally the pre-facelift engine with 245bhp seems to be a bit more economical.)
It's completely standard spec inside so it's quite a long way away from the level of luxury you'll find in a nicely specced RRS, the seats in particular are nothing to write home about, but it's quiet and comfortable, the centre screen tech is showing it's age but interfaces fine with our phones for calls and music and the Nav works fine despite looking a bit old fashioned.
My only really gripe is I think the ride quality is fairly poor for a large SUV; it's far from bad by performance car standards but it's no wafting magic carpet. They're very very rare but if you could fine an Escape or SE (to avoid the large wheels of the 'sporty' ones) that's been specced with air suspension and the nicer electric seats I think it'd be a very nice car, although of course with said air suspension you're adding another level of complexity from a reliability and maintanence perspective. Ours cost £21500 at 2.5 yrs old/30k miles - at that point it was dramatically cheaper than any comparable Land Rover product of a similar age and while it's not quite as 'special' I have no regrets. As a reliable family dog/child/towing machine it's been great.
It's been faultlessly reliable, tows a 2 tonne caravan and a 12ft twin axle trailer at 2.5ish tonnes very happily, averages about 30 mpg in our use with 38ish on a long steady run as long as you don't cruise at more than 70. (Anecdotally the pre-facelift engine with 245bhp seems to be a bit more economical.)
It's completely standard spec inside so it's quite a long way away from the level of luxury you'll find in a nicely specced RRS, the seats in particular are nothing to write home about, but it's quiet and comfortable, the centre screen tech is showing it's age but interfaces fine with our phones for calls and music and the Nav works fine despite looking a bit old fashioned.
My only really gripe is I think the ride quality is fairly poor for a large SUV; it's far from bad by performance car standards but it's no wafting magic carpet. They're very very rare but if you could fine an Escape or SE (to avoid the large wheels of the 'sporty' ones) that's been specced with air suspension and the nicer electric seats I think it'd be a very nice car, although of course with said air suspension you're adding another level of complexity from a reliability and maintanence perspective. Ours cost £21500 at 2.5 yrs old/30k miles - at that point it was dramatically cheaper than any comparable Land Rover product of a similar age and while it's not quite as 'special' I have no regrets. As a reliable family dog/child/towing machine it's been great.
Thanks for taking the time on that good to hear. Shame about the ride, I’ll have to sample it, I had a Mk7 Golf R estate previously and the ride (even on 18s with fresh bushes, springs etc) was borderline unbearable IMO.
Any out of the ordinary issues at service time? Our Leon needed new rear shocks at 30k and I’m led to believe all VAG cars use similar shockers. The seals going on them regularly.
Does your later facelift car come with adaptive cruise control? That seems to be missing on most pre facelift cars along with a rear cam, not deal breakers but makes a L320 RRS seem better value in terms of equipment.
Any out of the ordinary issues at service time? Our Leon needed new rear shocks at 30k and I’m led to believe all VAG cars use similar shockers. The seals going on them regularly.
Does your later facelift car come with adaptive cruise control? That seems to be missing on most pre facelift cars along with a rear cam, not deal breakers but makes a L320 RRS seem better value in terms of equipment.
jwwbowe said:
Thanks for taking the time on that good to hear. Shame about the ride, I’ll have to sample it, I had a Mk7 Golf R estate previously and the ride (even on 18s with fresh bushes, springs etc) was borderline unbearable IMO.
Any out of the ordinary issues at service time? Our Leon needed new rear shocks at 30k and I’m led to believe all VAG cars use similar shockers. The seals going on them regularly.
Does your later facelift car come with adaptive cruise control? That seems to be missing on most pre facelift cars along with a rear cam, not deal breakers but makes a L320 RRS seem better value in terms of equipment.
If you have a VAG specialist near why not go for the Cayenne that way you get the air ride & still get to use your specialist.Any out of the ordinary issues at service time? Our Leon needed new rear shocks at 30k and I’m led to believe all VAG cars use similar shockers. The seals going on them regularly.
Does your later facelift car come with adaptive cruise control? That seems to be missing on most pre facelift cars along with a rear cam, not deal breakers but makes a L320 RRS seem better value in terms of equipment.
ZX10R NIN said:
If you have a VAG specialist near why not go for the Cayenne that way you get the air ride & still get to use your specialist.
I had exactly the same thought, though said specialist only advertises as Audi, Seat, Skoda & VW, so I asked last time our Leon went in for service if they would work on a Cayenne due to it being a VAG group car. They said they wouldn’t because Porsche use different diagnostic interface SW and they didn’t have a account with a Porsche parts supplier. Jwwbowe, this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but we’ve just changed my wife’s 2018 Golf for a 2018 Touareg (last of the mark 2s) because my 2004 L322 Range Rover wasn’t deemed to be reliable enough for horse trailer towing duties.
From what I’m aware from friends who have had them, Touaregs are good bits of kit and reliable. Time will tell if the one we’ve just bought turns out well.
In a bit of a kick to the goolies, the first weekend my wife would have towed the horse trailer with the Touareg she turned round to me and said “it will be parking in fields and it will be muddy, so I’ll take the Range Rover”.
I love Land-Rovers and especially the L322 Range Rover that we’ve had as a third car for the last 4.5 years and 40,000 miles. I bought it with the idea of doing 2-3,000 miles a year, but the whole family like travelling in it so much, we’ve ended up using it far more than we thought. I think you’ll find an L320 similar.
But, I wouldn’t recommend running a RR or RRS without a good specialist or very good local garage to look after it. They are complicated vehicles and diagnosis is everything. ….many garages will just shrug their shoulders at warning lights. Also, spare parts are readily available but you have to really watch the quality of any non-genuine or non-oem parts. In a nutshell, a RRS will take a lot more time and commitment to look after than a Touareg.
It seems to me like you have a heart (L320) or head (Touareg) choice ahead of you. I think driving an L320 will answer the question for you. Either you’ll come away thinking nothing else will do, or you won’t see what the fuss is about compared to things like the Touareg.
Very best of luck finding the right vehicle for you.
From what I’m aware from friends who have had them, Touaregs are good bits of kit and reliable. Time will tell if the one we’ve just bought turns out well.
In a bit of a kick to the goolies, the first weekend my wife would have towed the horse trailer with the Touareg she turned round to me and said “it will be parking in fields and it will be muddy, so I’ll take the Range Rover”.
I love Land-Rovers and especially the L322 Range Rover that we’ve had as a third car for the last 4.5 years and 40,000 miles. I bought it with the idea of doing 2-3,000 miles a year, but the whole family like travelling in it so much, we’ve ended up using it far more than we thought. I think you’ll find an L320 similar.
But, I wouldn’t recommend running a RR or RRS without a good specialist or very good local garage to look after it. They are complicated vehicles and diagnosis is everything. ….many garages will just shrug their shoulders at warning lights. Also, spare parts are readily available but you have to really watch the quality of any non-genuine or non-oem parts. In a nutshell, a RRS will take a lot more time and commitment to look after than a Touareg.
It seems to me like you have a heart (L320) or head (Touareg) choice ahead of you. I think driving an L320 will answer the question for you. Either you’ll come away thinking nothing else will do, or you won’t see what the fuss is about compared to things like the Touareg.
Very best of luck finding the right vehicle for you.
I think the above posted have nailed it, its a head v heart decision.
We've had a Mk1, Mk2 and now Mk4 Touareg with Land Rovers woven in between.
The Mk1 & Mk2 Touaregs were proper 2.3 ton offroaders, engineered to compete with the Range Rovers at the time. Aaprt from the 'escape', the Mk3 and new Mk4 are cut down or 'lite; versions (similar to the Q7).
However this made them better or worse depending on what you want.
The RRS will be more luxurious inside, better offlroad and more special to drive. The Touareg is better on road, faster, more economical, more reliable, cheaper to run and with good tyres capable off road.
Both are good choices, both have fantastic engines. Head choice Touareg, Heart RRS.
Personally, I would fine a good L322 range rover.
We've had a Mk1, Mk2 and now Mk4 Touareg with Land Rovers woven in between.
The Mk1 & Mk2 Touaregs were proper 2.3 ton offroaders, engineered to compete with the Range Rovers at the time. Aaprt from the 'escape', the Mk3 and new Mk4 are cut down or 'lite; versions (similar to the Q7).
However this made them better or worse depending on what you want.
The RRS will be more luxurious inside, better offlroad and more special to drive. The Touareg is better on road, faster, more economical, more reliable, cheaper to run and with good tyres capable off road.
Both are good choices, both have fantastic engines. Head choice Touareg, Heart RRS.
Personally, I would fine a good L322 range rover.
jwwbowe said:
I had exactly the same thought, though said specialist only advertises as Audi, Seat, Skoda & VW, so I asked last time our Leon went in for service if they would work on a Cayenne due to it being a VAG group car. They said they wouldn’t because Porsche use different diagnostic interface SW and they didn’t have a account with a Porsche parts supplier.
In which case go for the one in the middle of the VAG range & that's the Q7.Thanks all for the feedback.
Head won.
Put a deposit on a 2013 Touareg 3.0V6 BlueMotion (not sure if that is a Mk2 or 3, the facelifts seem to muddle it for me).
Also viewed a TDV8 2010 facelift RRS today and while it was nice and a few £k cheaper, it’s history wasn’t fantastic, only book stamps with no other history, dealer said there no bills or invoices for any previous work because of “data protection” not sure on that
Dealer was nice enough but wasn’t that keen on letting me drive it without a deposit because I was looking at the Touareg after, seemed weird. Some trim was loose on the doors and rear cam surround, one of the tweeters was hanging off and the rear seat belts were frayed. My inner car detective self 
said someone has been taking door cards off chasing electrical faults. It was due a service though this was included in the price (at the dealer though not a specialist) and to be fair everything seemed to work on it. It’s a second hand car so I don’t expect everything to be perfect but there were a few alarm bells.
Although a little disappointed about the RRS, it wasn’t out of the running for the right price, though I continued on with an open mind to the dealer selling the Touareg. Different story there, they were happy for me to take it out despite having to move other cars (inc a Maserati GT, wow what a noise) and the history + invoices were all present, great, no “data protection” caveat there.
Was very impressed with the Touareg’s general quality, difficult to put something quantifiable behind that statement, but the cabin was in better shape and the materials were (to my surprise) a higher quality than the RRS. Ergonomically it was better for me and despite the on paper litres difference in boot size it is plenty big enough.
Short test drive over some county lanes and the the ride seemed ok to me, agree no magic carpet as another poster mentioned but seemed fairly forgiving.
Looking forward to picking up over the weekend.
Head won.
Put a deposit on a 2013 Touareg 3.0V6 BlueMotion (not sure if that is a Mk2 or 3, the facelifts seem to muddle it for me).
Also viewed a TDV8 2010 facelift RRS today and while it was nice and a few £k cheaper, it’s history wasn’t fantastic, only book stamps with no other history, dealer said there no bills or invoices for any previous work because of “data protection” not sure on that
Dealer was nice enough but wasn’t that keen on letting me drive it without a deposit because I was looking at the Touareg after, seemed weird. Some trim was loose on the doors and rear cam surround, one of the tweeters was hanging off and the rear seat belts were frayed. My inner car detective self said someone has been taking door cards off chasing electrical faults. It was due a service though this was included in the price (at the dealer though not a specialist) and to be fair everything seemed to work on it. It’s a second hand car so I don’t expect everything to be perfect but there were a few alarm bells. Although a little disappointed about the RRS, it wasn’t out of the running for the right price, though I continued on with an open mind to the dealer selling the Touareg. Different story there, they were happy for me to take it out despite having to move other cars (inc a Maserati GT, wow what a noise) and the history + invoices were all present, great, no “data protection” caveat there.
Was very impressed with the Touareg’s general quality, difficult to put something quantifiable behind that statement, but the cabin was in better shape and the materials were (to my surprise) a higher quality than the RRS. Ergonomically it was better for me and despite the on paper litres difference in boot size it is plenty big enough.
Short test drive over some county lanes and the the ride seemed ok to me, agree no magic carpet as another poster mentioned but seemed fairly forgiving.
Looking forward to picking up over the weekend.
Sounds like a good result, I know how dissapointing it can be when you go to see a car whith your heart set on it and try to overlook it's faults, i've been there myself.
I think the Toureg is probably the right decision though, it maybe something I look at myself in another couple of years, great cars
I think the Toureg is probably the right decision though, it maybe something I look at myself in another couple of years, great cars
jwwbowe said:
Thanks for taking the time on that good to hear. Shame about the ride, I’ll have to sample it, I had a Mk7 Golf R estate previously and the ride (even on 18s with fresh bushes, springs etc) was borderline unbearable IMO.
Any out of the ordinary issues at service time? Our Leon needed new rear shocks at 30k and I’m led to believe all VAG cars use similar shockers. The seals going on them regularly.
Does your later facelift car come with adaptive cruise control? That seems to be missing on most pre facelift cars along with a rear cam, not deal breakers but makes a L320 RRS seem better value in terms of equipment.
Sorry - I'm late back to this thread, no issues at all with shocks or anything else so far; it's been excellent. Adaptive cruise was never standard on Touareg until Mk4 was released in 2019ish.Any out of the ordinary issues at service time? Our Leon needed new rear shocks at 30k and I’m led to believe all VAG cars use similar shockers. The seals going on them regularly.
Does your later facelift car come with adaptive cruise control? That seems to be missing on most pre facelift cars along with a rear cam, not deal breakers but makes a L320 RRS seem better value in terms of equipment.
Lets us know what you think after you've picked it up; in my experience they're a bit of a grower.
Personally I’d avoid the TDV6/SDV6 engine due to its potential crankshaft issues, it you want a Sport go for the TDV8, some can have turbo issues which aren’t cheap but a lot better than needing a new engine if the crankshaft goes.
Best pick would be an L322 with the later 4.4 TDV8 and the 8 speed gearbox, they have far less issues generally.
Best pick would be an L322 with the later 4.4 TDV8 and the 8 speed gearbox, they have far less issues generally.
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