A subwoofer and 300-watt power amplifier will cost another $750, while OnStar fetches help if you need it, but before you do
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| Despite the badge on the grille and rear liftgate, the Touareg is every bit as good as any premium rival. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
$950 on top of the price of your Touareg. In order to help yourself in finding your way around the city VW's optional navigation system costs a cool $3,500. Want to find that address in the dark, Bi-xenon headlights will do the trick at $1,100. Oops, wrong driveway. Now you've got to back up without hitting that rock wall. The electronic parking aid you'll need will tack an additional $900 to the window sticker, tallying up to a significant $65,395! And that's without the V8! That one will force $74,550 out of your bank account, or more with interest if you plan on financing or leasing. The top price tag will increase even further if Volkswagen ever gets around to offering a dash-mounted multi-CD changer or a DVD entertainment system.
While none of the prices for any luxury add-on is outrageously high, and each will be appreciated by the customer that wants or needs the convenience a particular feature offers, the final price is steep for a Volkswagen. But the car itself, despite the badge on the grille and
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| The big concern I have with the Touareg is Volkswagen's dependability rating. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
rear liftgate, is every bit as good as any premium rival. So I suppose what is needed is a paradigm shift with regards to exactly what the letters VW stand for.
But other than that I love it right? Exactly! Well, that and Volkswagen's deplorable reliability rating. Depending on which online forum you visit or what third party survey you read, VW products get more rants than raves, rating somewhere below mid-pack or near last place in initial quality, dependability or customer satisfaction. One example, J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), has Volkswagen only managing to eke past Isuzu, Daewoo (which doesn't exist anymore), Kia and Land Rover to take 33rd place out of 37 brands. Its position remains constant at least, having achieved 33rd in 2003, and it does improve its problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) ranking by 5 points, from 391 to 386.
