Family 4x4 for towing-Touareg?

[fras83]

Hey, Im thinking on changing my honda civic for something bigger. I have been a vw fan for years and have owned numerous golfs. My wife now drives a golf GTD which is a brilliant car.
I have been looking at going for a 4x4 that is a capable tow vehicle too. I have a civic type r ep3 that I use for track days. Its road legal just now but ideally I would trailer it to and from the track. So on my search for a 4x4 I keep going back to a touareg. It just seems a bit more understated than some and has a 3.5t towing capacity. I like the idea of a 3l v6 engine too! I would be looking for one around 3 years old. Anyone own one of these or have opinions on them? Are they a good choice? Cheers

[fras83]

Yeh I have heard horror strories about the first gen touareg. It would be a newer one I would be going for if I was buying one. It seems most are the R line spec which I would be happy with. I dont want a white one but thats what most of them seem to be! I'm pretty sure the newer ones are rated at towing 3.5t. I maybe wrong though! It just seems to fit what I'm looking for- a 4x4 large enough for family, capable tow vehicle, decent running costs, good performance and they seem a bit understated which is what I like too. I'm trying to decide why I should buy a touareg over say a Q5. I know the touareg is based on a Q7 but they seem too big.

[fras83]

Yeh thats what I was wondering as well- why you dont see a lot of them used for towing. Didn't realise it was so complicated to fit a tow bar to them though! I fitted a tow bar to my civic and it was pretty straight forward compared to how this sounds. If I was going to buy one and it didn't have a tow bar fitted I think it would be something i'd have to negotiate into the deal.
I doubt I would be towing the full 3.5t very often but would maybe have a trailer on it rated to that. When its towing it would mainly be for my ep3 civic track car. Although it would get used for other trailer jobs occasionally.
Ideally I'd be looking for a 2014/2015 model so hopefully all those issues mentioned have been sorted out in the newer ones!

Edited by fras83 on Sunday 30th April 15:00

[fras83]

40k is too steep for me too! I am still considering whether I can justify going 30k. Although I do want something fairly new and as well specced and as nice to sit in as the golf GTD my wife has.

[fras83]

Thanks for all the ideas! Well I passed my trailer test a couple of weeks ago so its all go in finding a new steed now. I will also be on the look out for a good second hand trailer for towing the civic. I've been keeping my eye out for a Brian James car transporter. Any opinions on what model to go for?

[fras83]

I also went and test drove a 2015 touareg a few days ago and must say I was very impressed with it. It was the 262ps version. Although I did think the visibility wasn't amazing but it wouldn't put me off it. Its just trying to find one around that age that has a factory fitted towbar and isn't white!