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Interesting that it's a Chevy ad ... maybe prepping people for the Cruze diesel?
Yeah, but lots of stuff won't crank up there in the winter, as you well know. When you go into a cabin and park your rig on the highway for a long weekend, you might need to start the charcoal fire under the engine to warm up the oil and hope the battery has a lot of amps left.
The ad is a prep for the Cruze diesel, but the pundits are laughing that Chevy is advertising for VW.
If a campaign such as this gets people to look at the other technology, and possibly even buy a different brand, that's still a win for the technology and, therefore, a win for GM's diesel products. People tend to like VW TDIs, so they'll recommend diesel, and their friends will check it out. Those friends might even get serious about shopping for a diesel, and will likely then consider all options as they would with shopping for a gasoline-powered vehicle.
Cold weather definitely takes its toll on vehicles, yet, for all practical purposes, diesels are not at a disadvantage compared to gasoline in such conditions.
What's nicer is that I never use them anymore. :-)
My rental Mercury Tracer was hopeless until the sun came out.
Left in the cold all the time leads to ice buildup on the floor boards and long-term exposure to wet in the foot-wells.
if you look at a vehicle's specs and see that the engine torque number is nearly double that of the horsepower, you can bet said vehicle will have decent acceleration or can be used for pulling stumps or both. That's certainly the case with the Volkswagen Touareg TDI.
The 3.0-liter diesel churns out a respectable 225 hp, but the torque produced is a whopping 406 lb-ft. With an eight-speed automatic transmission that keeps the engine in the powerband sweet spot—1,750 rpm—you hit the throttle and get pushed back into the leather seats as the gear changes snap off and the speedometer needle climbs toward triple digits.
But what makes the Touareg TDI an even more complete package is the 22-mpg EPA combined fuel economy. That's about 20 percent better than the gasoline model with a 3.6-liter VR6 that gets an EPA-rated 18.5 mpg combined, and it's easily 50 percent more fun.
The Touareg's 28-mpg EPA highway mileage—the best among six diesel-powered SUVs for sale in the United States—coupled with the vehicle's 26.4-gallon fuel tank gives you an effective range of more than 700 miles. Not stopping for fuel as often is another benefit of diesel propulsion.
With low-sulfur diesel now mandated across the United States, sophisticated engine management and an emissions-control system that makes the engine just as clean as any gasoline-powered vehicle in the market, you end up with a terrific SUV.
We came away impressed with more than just the acceleration and the fuel economy. Volkswagen engineers did a great job producing a chassis that offers good feedback from the road and a suspension that minimizes body roll in the nearly 5,000-pound vehicle. While it doesn't handle like a sedan, it does add up to a highly rewarding driving experience for a sport-ute.
The interior of our Lux-model Touareg was swathed in chocolate-brown leather and wood trim. It is as inviting a cabin as you will find, not to mention very comfortable and quiet, with seating for five. And the panoramic sunroof lets a ton of light inside. The VW's interior doesn't give up much to competitors from luxury brands Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
But this luxury and economy come at a hefty price. Our Lux model stickered for $53,225. The diesel option raises the price from the base model by $3,500. That would buy a lot of gasoline, and with diesel fuel running at about the same price as premium unleaded, you'd have to drive a lot of miles to make up the difference.
But for us, the thrust from the diesel and the extended range are more than worth the price of admission.
That always annoyed me. Still does (obviously).
This is what Edmunds.com shows about the trim levels: LUX plus +5,480, EXEC plus + 5,400 (over the LUX)
..."The Sport comes well-equipped with 18-inch wheels, bi-xenon headlights, foglights, roof rails, a power liftgate, cruise control, dual-zone automatic climate control, eight-way power/heated front seats, leatherette upholstery, Bluetooth and an eight-speaker sound system with touchscreen control, a six-CD changer, satellite radio and iPod integration. Adding the optional navigation system also includes a rearview camera.
The Lux has all of the above equipment plus 19-inch wheels, a panoramic sunroof, heated sideview mirrors, walnut cabin accents, leather upholstery, 12-way power front seats (with power lumbar support for the driver), driver memory presets and power rear seat releases in the trunk. Moving up to the Executive adds 20-inch wheels, a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, keyless ignition/entry and a Dynaudio premium sound system."...
The BMW X5 35D starts off $9,825 and the MB ML350 $3,615 MORE than the Touareg Sport @ $46,875. Both can be outfitted and actually comes more outfitted than even the 3/4 LOADED (hybrid is listed as its own load level) VW Touaregs. Each's options and upgrades are probably too numerous to list. You almost have to do a needle in a haystack search of USA dealer inventory's to find what you really want, if you are more exacting, or order from the factory. :shades: Needless to say NONE of the upgrades has much to do with diesels. I remember Fintail mentioning doing the MB factory tour (AL?)
The ML350 Bluetec is a lot more customizable. Probably due to being built here in the States. Still going to be about $10k more than the Touareg TDI.
Chinese Version
The rest of the World's version of the Q3 TDI Quattro.
On the trio, once you start adding a few of those 1000's plus packages, prices start to ballon up. Almost nothing in those packages were on my had to have list. I would also think the 19 and 20 in wheels and tire combinations would start to shave mpg's pretty significantly.
The 18 in lower profile tires (55) are SUV compliant, but feel on the edge of being very sporty/stiff, more goldilocks if you will, than say the BMW X5 35D, which in contrast is WAY more sports car like and stiff. I am guessing the 19/20's in even lower profile 50/45 are much stiffer and probably more sports car compliant.
The diesel option would offset to some extent the gas-eating qualities of AWD.
China-only edition probably has extra durable bumpers, showy interior trim, and a cow-catcher up front to aid in moving through throngs of serfs...perfect vehicle for the mid level sweatshop "capitalist" or a middling corrupt public official.
I realize that's not bad for its class, but it's like bragging about having the smartest kid on the short bus. LOL
The Touareg isn't even gigantic inside like some others in its class, it's mid-sized at best. Just looked it up - 64 cubic feet puts it well behind the best selling compacts.
$50 grand for a smallish ute?
Is it Suburban sized? No ! @ sub 189 in (188.8 in is what edmunds.com has it @) it is no longer than a Toyota Camry or much bigger than a Toyota LANDCRUISER Those measurements have pretty much been so the whole time nor is anyone saying it is bigger than the sub 189 in mentioned above, certainly not me.
You want a bigger UTE? Cheaper UTE? Better mpg UTE? ETC,, ETC. UTE? There indeed are plenty of others, with more options and combinations than you can shake a stick @. They just don't happen to be diesel UTES in the US market. For that you can thank your FAV oem and US regulatory agencies for that. Hard to buy what you precisely want when it isn't (for whatever reasons) on the US markets. top SUV's However Edmunds.com lists 24 diesels and the mspr price breakdowns, which is more on the diesel topic. The extra diesel option costs are well known ahd the dead horse has long been processed into steaks for the French markets. According to Edmunds.com Kia Sportage is a no brainer @ 16.6k. For that, you can get almost three of them to one Touareg TDI, albeit non diesel.
222.4 in more your boat size? (Land Yacht) ? Chevrolet Suburban clearly is longer @ 33.6 in.
The bigger, Direct-Injected AWD Sorento gets 23mpg EPA combined for half its price, and offers 72.5 cubic feet of cargo capacity, a bunch more space. 25mpg if you don't need the AWD.
I just don't get all the hoopla, I guess. A smallish diesel ute gets 22mpg. Whoop-de-doo.
I want to see what Mazda can do with a SkyActiv CX5. The gasser gets 28mpg combined now, 29 with a manual. I suppose the diesel could bring low 30s?
Now you're talking.
And now you are dreaming. Insofar as diesels, I have been wanting US diesels for easily 25 years. So what and who really cares!?
I commute to DC 5 times a week so I have a different perspective. 28mpg highway is good but 19mpg city is not so good, so I guess it depends on where you live and where you work.
As they say, YMMV. :shades:
For your DC 5 times a week commute example (actually been there done that (with a Wayan's) HATED IT) , you would have to decide whether a 40-50 mpg diesel makes sense (since we are in a diesel thread). Or even if a small to bread truck sized UTE makes sense. The Touareg TDI would probably not be my first choice. :shades:
:shades:
Anyone wishing to tackle the pro point of view, feel free to jam away.
There is no doubt whatsoever that diesel emissions have caused serious health issues for Americans over the years, mostly due to unregulated, non-emissions fitted commercial equipment.
Now that there's a big push to clean up and retrofit, and to produce new technology, and better grades of fuel, I think automakers need to address this changing landscape.
Can the "new diesel" be like the "new coke"? (hopefully, more successful a campaign than THAT one!).
Once again, California is turning out to be the automaker's best friend---if modern diesels can live in California, they can live anywhere. California improves the breed.
I simply picked a mid-size gasser that was more efficient. That was my only criteria.
A buddy owned one (the one who just traded for a Venza). He used to tow a large boat, first with an Expedition then the T-reg. Now he has a yacht that stays in the water, hence no more need for serious towing.
For the few who really need it, I'm sure the TDI's torque would be awesome to pull such loads. In fact, if he had the diesel, maybe he would still own a T-reg, since the guzzling was the one reason he ditched his V8.
I don't think the cheap diesel sold there is ULSD. I know a couple contractors with tanks in their beds go across and fill up at a big savings.