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Diesel cars & SUV

Redowl

Redowl

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Does anyone here have any good or bad experiences with small diesel SUVs?
We are in need of a tow vehicle, but don't want to add a third car to our stable, nor do we want to add a lumbering gas-hog, as we will be using it as a daily driver.

We've heard good things about some of the new turbo diesels, but they are pretty foreign to us.

Any advice/knowledge would be welcomed!

Thank you.
 
I have nothing to offer but will be all ears. We are in the same position. Need a tow vehicle to pull the boat and haul the family but also would love to gain some MPG's over the Jeep Commander we have now.
 
It depends what you mean by small.

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[video=youtube;-0nl8r-odSM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nl8r-odSM[/video]
 
I have a 2008 VW Touareg TDI. I love the vehicle and have been driving it for 6+ years now and have no plans to get rid of it. It gets 25 mpg on the freeway if I keep it about 60 and has more than enough HP and torque to tow pretty much anything. The newer Touaregs have a smaller engine which should get better fuel mileage but can still tow 7700 lbs.
 
JB said:
It depends what you mean by small.

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BeQ7J69IEAAaV5B.jpg


[video=youtube;-0nl8r-odSM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nl8r-odSM[/video]
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SOLD
I'll take the THP van!
 
SaskeyInWash said:
I have a 2008 VW Touareg TDI. I love the vehicle and have been driving it for 6+ years now and have no plans to get rid of it. It gets 25 mpg on the freeway if I keep it about 60 and has more than enough HP and torque to tow pretty much anything. The newer Touaregs have a smaller engine which should get better fuel mileage but can still tow 7700 lbs.
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Thank you very much for your reply. We've seen great reviews about the TDI platform, but it is only available from VW, Mercedes and BMW (European manufacturers). We're not opposed the country(ies) of origin, but never considered ourselves 'luxury car' owners. How have your repairs been on the engine and car in general?
 
Redowl said:
Thank you very much for your reply. We've seen great reviews about the TDI platform, but it is only available from VW, Mercedes and BMW (European manufacturers). We're not opposed the country(ies) of origin, but never considered ourselves 'luxury car' owners. How have your repairs been on the engine and car in general?
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You can also add Audi and Porsche to your list of germans that make TDI's. For repairs in the 6 years have only been brake pads and rotors, both batteries and last month I had to replace the prop/drive shaft. Maintenance is a little on the pricey side as the V10 TDI engine I have take 18 quarts of synthetic oil but only needs to be changed every 10K miles.
 
I'm a big fan, they get great mileage and are infinitely more enjoyable to drive than a comparable gasser.

If you aren't thinking German, what vehicle are you considering.
 
Wake said:
I'm a big fan, they get great mileage and are infinitely more enjoyable to drive than a comparable gasser.

If you aren't thinking German, what vehicle are you considering.
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There's the rub.
We were considering a Chevy/Ford/GMC Tahoe/Expedition/Yukon until a close friend told us we were crazy not to look at the German diesels.
I have done quite a bit of research on them and the transmissions and engines seem great, but it's such a great unknown for us. We've never owned a luxury/German car, nor have we owned a diesel.

Intellectually, we're intrigued/serious, but at the same time intimidated by the brand(s) and fuel.
 
Redowl said:
There's the rub.
We were considering a Chevy/Ford/GMC Tahoe/Expedition/Yukon until a close friend told us we were crazy not to look at the German diesels.
I have done quite a bit of research on them and the transmissions and engines seem great, but it's such a great unknown for us. We've never owned a luxury/German car, nor have we owned a diesel.

Intellectually, we're intrigued/serious, but at the same time intimidated by the brand(s) and fuel.
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I purchased my first German car this year, and an equally nervous. I plan on buying the 100k warranty and dump it St that point. I've had good luck s far. My mom recently turned in her leased Mercedes diesel and had 0 problems.
 
The Germans know how to do small diesels well really well as they produce a tone of them for the euro market.

You couldn't give me a new(06 to now) powerstroke or a ecoboost motor, powerstroke is built with inherint flaws IMO the ecoboost are having issues at 100,000 with heads from what I understand.

Do not be intimidated by the brands all are great vehicles and I don't think they quite hold the clout/snobiness they used to. The fuel is just fuel change oil when recommended and use high quality oil you'll be good to go.
 
golfinFF said:
The Germans know how to do small diesels well really well as they produce a tone of them for the euro market.

You couldn't give me a new(06 to now) powerstroke or a ecoboost motor, powerstroke is built with inherint flaws IMO the ecoboost are having issues at 100,000 with heads from what I understand.

Do not be intimidated by the brands all are great vehicles and I don't think they quite hold the clout/snobiness they used to. The fuel is just fuel change oil when recommended and use high quality oil you'll be good to go.
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Thank you.
I feel like we're suffering from reverse-snobbiness. Everything we read seems to bode well for these small German SUVs, it's just the thought of buying a 'luxury' vehicle to tow, haul, and handle the dirt roads seems so backwards from the way we've always thought.
 
Haha I got the same thing when I rolled into deer camp in a loaded diesel crew cab truck after bouncing it down the mountain and through the woods "umm that's a nice vehicle to be using in the woods" me yep but it's still a 4wheeldrive truck regardless of sticker price.

Would you have a problem taking a Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini to the race track and driving it as hard as you were capable and comfy? Probably not cause it was built to do it right.

So why worry about using a SUV to pull/haul with and for the sake of man actually use the 4wheel drive?

One of the most expensive if not the most is a Range Rover and it is the most capable off road machine I know that is built on an assembly line
 
golfinFF said:
Haha I got the same thing when I rolled into deer camp in a loaded diesel crew cab truck after bouncing it down the mountain and through the woods "umm that's a nice vehicle to be using in the woods" me yep but it's still a 4wheeldrive truck regardless of sticker price.

Would you have a problem taking a Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini to the race track and driving it as hard as you were capable and comfy? Probably not cause it was built to do it right.

So why worry about using a SUV to pull/haul with and for the sake of man actually use the 4wheel drive?

One of the most expensive if not the most is a Range Rover and it is the most capable off road machine I know that is built on an assembly line
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Muddy & snowy roads are one of our top obstacles to tackle. Heavy loads to tow are just below that on the priority list.

If these European diesels are as good/strong as they appear to be, why is it that American or Asian manufacturers haven't come out with competition? Is it due to R&D costs, govt. red tape, lack of consumer interest, etc?
 
a word of caution - the small diesel SUVs and the like are not really designed to tow. Many people think that the word diesel automatically means it will tow well, but that's simply not the case. While the engine will certainly make more torque than its gas counterpart, it's really about the rest of the drivetrain and the chassis. Usually when a car is built for MPG it's not built for heavy service. It won't be any more capable in the towing department than say a 1/2 ton chassis with a gas engine. Probably less capable if it's not a 1/2 ton chassis (most smaller SUVs aren't).

I agree that the '06-'10 powerstroke had some major issues, but the '11 and up is a really solid engine. I have one myself. And yes, I think my 35' fifth wheel counts as heavy towing :D. I have only put about 57k miles on my '11 6.7L, but know of quite a few in the 250k+ club that are doing great. That is mainly service vehicles that see some really heavy use. The ecoboost is a different story though, at least the way people are using it. It's probably the most misused engine made today... people treat it like a beefy v8 (it's nothing like that) and then wonder why it doesn't last as long as a beefy v8. Anyway, that's not what this thread is about :)

If you want a tow vehicle, look at a tow vehicle. Get the right tool for the job and you will be more than happy. The smaller chassis smaller diesels are *awesome* at what they do... but a diesel jeep liberty or something like it is not designed for towing.
 
I would LOVE to own a Touareg V10 TDI someday, just a really cool truck!

Just a few other diesel ideas as I am thinking of that market as well. Jeep now makes a Cherokee with a diesel in it (v6 i believe). I haven't seen too much press on it, but it's another option if you're looking for one. I don't think you can go wrong with the Audi/VW V6 TDI platform though.
 
I know Jeep borrowed Mercedes' V6 diesel in 2007-2008 for their Grand Cherokee. I just recently heard that they're re-releasing a diesel this year but using a different engine mfg. I will definitely be taking one for a test drive.

We realize that a small SUV isn't the ideal tow vehicle, but we also realize that a 3/4 ton truck isn't an ideal daily driver. We can't/don't want to swing a third vehicle at this point. We will tow roughly 2,500 miles a year, and put approximately 18,000 miles on as a daily driver.

The more opinions/experiences we can gather, the better our decisions can be.

Thanks again everyone for the insight!
 
What kind of weight are you towing? That factors in as well.
 
American/Asian manufacturers haven't jumped on board IMO because there has been no need to do so. We in the states don't require enough fuel economy out of vehicles to force them to offer diesel engines especially in cars, cost is also a factor when you are looking at the diesel option being 2-3K minimum more for a diesel people aren't gonna spend it when they aren't keeping the vehicle long enough to break even.

Initially build quality IMO is a huge factor in why you don't see the big 3 using diesel engines, cars built by the big 3 are built to go 100K and then be traded in for someone else to deal with the problems that will pop up and this has been the case for a long time. Take almost any big3 car at 200K vs a foreign made vehicle at the same mileage the big #3 car will look worse and will have had more issues than a foreign that has been treated the same way.


What are you looking at towing weight wise? what is the average distance of each tow?
 
Our towing is broken up into two distances. Distance 1: 5 miles from our house, no speed limits over 50. Distance 2: 250 miles, all highway & interstate driving.

We will be towing a utility trailer and a ski boat. The trailer isn't a concern (it weighs in at less than 2,000 lbs when loaded). The ski boat & trailer combo weighs around 6,000 pounds.

We would also like the ability to move a pontoon boat around from time to time, but it would be rare.
 
I just bought a 14 X53d 3 weeks ago, so far so good. Runs great and clean, power is more then I need and the towing capacity is perfect for a small ski boat I occassionally tow.
 
New Jeep Grand Cherokee says up to 7400lbs when properly equipped, doesn't say if it's the ecoboost diesel engine or not though...
 
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