Archive for the ‘Touareg’ Category

The 2009 Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI makes a lot more sense than the standard gasoline Touareg V-6 and V-8 models, but it's still a niche vehicle with niche appeal. That's an assessment that TheCarConnection.com couldn't quite steer around after a week and some 650 miles with the TDI.

To see why, it's worth diving into the numbers and sheer practicality first. Diesels are gaining a new reputation as clean, economical engines for the type of driving that Americans do, but in this respect the Touareg TDI just isn't that satisfying. In around 50 miles of around-town driving and short trips we averaged just 16 mpg in the Touareg TDI. Then...

Volkswagen has released a more efficient, eco-honed BlueMotion version of its Touareg TDI in Europe and the U.K.

The new Touareg BlueMotion employs a host of efficiency improvements, including engine optimization, better aerodynamics, a more efficient alternator, and low rolling resistance tires, and the body has been lowered by about an inch.

There's a significant difference at the pump. The BlueMotion gets an improved combined-cycle fuel economy figure (usually roughly equivalent to EPA highway numbers) of 28.3 U.S. mpg, up from 25.3 mpg—a difference that could pay for itself much faster in those markets, where fuel prices are...

While most automakers are recrafting their utility vehicle product plans, in the face of new fuel economy standards, Porsche's preparing to soldier on with its Cayenne SUV for at least a few more years.

The 2009 Porsche Cayenne is one of the more highly-rated sport-utes here at TheCarConnection.com. For 2011, Porsche's set to update the SUV, which was spotted in spy photos over at worldcarfans.com.

The updated Cayenne will take some cues, WCF reports, from the upcoming 2010 Porsche Panamera sedan. The new cabin gets sporty seats, a more refined control stack, and some new finishes and switches. Outside, as the spy shots indicate, the...