Touareg

Volkswagen Touareg Gold Edition & Race Touareg 3 Qatar

Luxury SUVs like the Volkswagen Touareg are very popular in the Persian Gulf, where all-terrain mobility is as vital as pampering luxury and fuel costs are no object. No wonder then that Volkswagen is coming to the Qatar Motor Show with not one, but two concept versions of the Touareg.

The Gold Edition is outfitted specifically for Middle Eastern tastes, with 24-karat gold replacing the chrome on the exterior as well as the cabin. The shiny stuff coats the 22-inch wheels, roof rails, window frames, door mirrors, grille surround and more. Meanwhile the interior is also distinguished by gold trim, complimenting the Luna trim color, Alcantara roofliner, Nappa leather seats, natural brown leather and Walnut Burr veneers.

More enticing to enthusiasts, however, is the Race Touareg 3 Qatar. Envisioned as a street-legal version of the racing machine that recently claimed its third consecutive victory in the formidable Dakar rally, the Qatar version is just as tough, but benefits from an upgraded cabin trimmed in Nubuk and perforated Nappa leather.

Gallery: Volkswagen Touareg Gold Edition

Gallery: Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 Qatar

Tags: qatar, qatar motor show, Race Touareg 3, Touareg, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Race Touareg 3, Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 Qatar, Volkswagen Touareg, Volkswagen Touareg Gold Edition

2010 Geneva Motor Show: Ze Germans

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Germany is the very epicenter of the European automotive industry, playing host to several of the world's largest and most significant automakers. But with the Frankfurt expo forced to alternate with the Paris salon, Geneva is the closest to a home turf international auto show these companies have.

Ever keen to demonstrate the latest cutting-edge automotive innovations and show the world their newest developments, Germany's automakers crossed the border into Switzerland this year with a virtually unprecedented array of new vehicles. Follow the jump to read and see what they brought.

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The Classicist: Touring in the New Touareg TDI

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Luxury Cars & Autos, Events, Green, The Classicist

Volkswagen is not a marque one usually associates with luxury, and so we admit to being somewhat skeptical about the new 2010 Touareg V6 TDI and not all that enthusiastic at first when the chance came to test it out. MotorTrend changed our mind with its recent comparison of diesel and hybrid luxury SUVs - amazingly, their pros all concurred that it outclassed more expensive models like the Mercedes ML320 BlueTEC, BMW X5 and Lexus RX 450h. Plus it's one of the most fuel efficient and cleanest SUVs in the world.

We had a chance to experience it firsthand on a recent jaunt to Washington, DC and Annapolis, Maryland. The Touareg handled all situations with poise and equanimity, from navigating the city streets to an amazing dinner at Wolfgang Puck's The Source, to finding the right marina in Eastport through the bay's backroads for some sailing (the touchscreen GPS was a big help there). We could easily have kept on going, as the comfy interior with its wood and leather resembles in MotorTrend's words "a den in a ritzy Alaska fishing lodge" - or for our purposes make that the upstairs bar at the Annapolis Yacht Club.

Don't think that "diesel" means noisy and slow like those old Mercedes wagons of your youth. The Touareg TDI is powered by a hushed 3.0L, turbocharged six cylinder engine that produces 225 horsepower and an impressive 407 lbs-ft. of torque. Tourque, we learned en route, is more important than horsepower in diesel engines. The TDI's torque gives it performance equal to the gas-powered Touareg V8 that's rated at 350 hp and 324 lb-ft of torque, to give you an idea. And whereas the latter has an EPA mileage rating of 13/18 mpg city/hwy, the TDI gets 17 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.

Gallery: Touring in the Touareg TDI

Tags: Annapolis, BMW, diesel, Lexus, Mercedes, SUV, Touareg, Volkswagen, VW, Washington DC, WashingtonDc, Wolfgang Puck, WolfgangPuck

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Least Reliable Luxury Cars of 2006

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

While we'd like to think that all of our favorite luxury cars are as reliable as they are desirable, that is not the case. Autoblog just listed the five least reliable luxury cars of the year. The list comes from Forbes and was compiled using data from J.D. Power and Consumer Reports.:

Land Rover LR3 SUV (pictured is the 2007 model)
Land Rover Range Rover SUV
Lincoln Navigator SUV
Saab 9-3
Volkswagen Touareg SUV

The only questionable choice on the list is the Volkswagen - is a Touareg really a luxury car? If they had to reach that far down-market, it probably bodes well for some of out favorite wheels in terms of reliability.

Source

Tags: cars, land rover, least reliable cars, lincoln navigator, luxury cars, ratings, reliable, saab 9-3, touareg