anti Touareg sentiment

Jeez, Gort, calm down. The issue isn't whether people should be allowed to buy them, it's about the wisdom of making the choice to do so. As long as SUV defenders justify their purchases by claiming that they need the "utility" of them, there will be people there to point out that SUVs have less interior room than minivans or many sedans, that very few people ever will need four-wheel drive in their lifetimes, and the fact that most people buy SUVs for appearance and vanity, not anything remotely related to "utility." That's all. Go ahead and buy them, but don't pretend that they're necessary or even useful.

I figure I can stop much faster than an SUV can with my Golf, and I try not to tailgate... Doesn't really bother me driving behind a van or sport ute... I do realize many people really dislike behind behind a vehicle that is larger then their own tho, this is actually why people LIKE SUV's, so they see over things.

What bothers me is when their rear w>

Considering that fuel efficiency wasn't even a factor it's not like that matters. Today, however, fuel efficiency IS an option and there are plenty of ways to haul lots of stuff around without resorting to horribly inefficient vehicles like the Touareg.

Kent,

Some might say that one of the unspoken benefits of the SUV ownership experience is the high seating position which allows one to look into the goings-on in the front seats of smaller cars. However, a related terror might be seeing YOU, driving without pants in your Scotchguarded cloth seats, as you try and replicate Lexol "rash" on a budget.

Let's turn this thread in a positive direction: Group, tell us your most voyeuristic car experience to date. :-)

And enough SUV bashing, agreed?

Mike a satisfied VOLKSWAGEN owner

What the hell are you yelling at me for? All I did was point out that the Touareg isn't really an SUV. I never said anybody couldn't have one.

-- Mike Smith

What better "excuse" do they need?

-- Mike Smith

Rolled over smashed SUV's, involved in single vehicle accidents, are always nice to see.

Lots of 'em, too.

Rolled over smashed SUV's, involved in single vehicle accidents, are always interesting to see.

Lots of 'em, too.

I missed that post. AFAIK, the Toureag isn't car based. So what makes it not an SUV? Steve Grauman

Don't be too sure in most cases they are exempt from CAR specs as they are listed as TRUCKS.

Still, of course advances have been made.

TBerk

I believe that the 3.5 litre V6 in Honda's Pilot and MDX SUV's is a ULEV unit. And I think that the 3.0 litre I6 in BMW's X3 and X5 qualifies as a LEV engine. But these vehicles are car based. Steve Grauman

That's a pretty crappy thing to say, no matter what you think of SUVs.

-- Mike Smith

The fact that most of its owners probably don't use it for either "sport" (i.e. offroading) or "utility" (i.e. hauling large amounts of people of stuff). A CJ, or a Defender, is a "sport" vehicle. A Suburban is a "utility" vehicle. The Touareg is neither. It's a nice, comfortable, expensive road vehicle. Nothing wrong with that, but it ain't a Sport-Utility Vehicle.

-- Mike Smith

Actually, I deleted that post soon after posting it and replaced "nice" with "interesting". That seemed more appropriate.

I'm satisfied with "Rolled over smashed SUV's, involved in single vehicle accidents, are always interesting to see."

And, yes, it is "crappy" that dolts buy those SUVS, falling for the marketing pitch that they are safe...

There's nothing unsafe about the vast majority of modern SUVs. It's the way they're DRIVEN that's unsafe, more often than not. Steve Grauman

Most people don't use most SUVs for offroading, but we know the Toureag is capable.

It certainly has the space. We've just test driven a V8 model and it's certainly roomy.

But the vast majority of people who own them never go offroad. At least not to the extent they were designed for. So I guess that defeats the "sport" part.

Funny, the only thing I regularly see Suburbans hauling are the butts of upper-middle class mommies and their kids. None of these vehciles are any more or less sport utes than the VW. Steve Grauman

Follow the links I posted earlier in the this thread to get the FACTS about SUV safety, Stevie Boy. And, yes, often the dolts make it worse by their driving.

...

Um, did you regret your original post, or not? Based on this last bit, it doesn't really sound like you do...

-- Mike Smith