Pros: Solid, luxurious, advanced technological functions, feels like a luxury sports sedan, excellent off-road capability.
Cons: minor bugs, VW service dealing with bugs and luxury customer expectations
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend this vehicle to anyone who desires a luxury SUV with true sports and offroad ability. Must be willing to deal with a few initial minor bugs.
V8, Reed Green with Beige Interior, with Premium Plus package, including NAV system and Premium Plus package.
Have owned a Treg for 2 months as of writing this review. All in all, I'm extremely satisfied with the vehicle. There are some minor bugs but these are totally outweighed by the overall quality of the vehicle.
The 310 hp Audi A8 engine has fantastic power; basically the SUV flies. The ride in comfort or auto setting is very smooth and tight at any speed and is essentially quiet, with the exception of occasional wind noise at speeds around 80mph and above. In sport setting, it is even tighter with more sporty throttle response. With air suspension, the vehicle continuously adjusts ride height and tension based on driving conditions/style. There is very little "roll" when going around corners at high speed as compared to other SUVs. Basically, it has that European sports sedan feeling. The tiptronic shifter is also great for those who want to easily control the shifting of the transmission, such as for fast maneuvering on the freeway.
The interior is totally luxurious with very comfortable leather seats. The interior design is flawless in my opinion, with very easy and well positioned controls. That said, many people might be overloaded at first with the functioning of the car. It is very sophisticated with lots of functions that you can't possibly learn all at once. Give it a month to really get to know what the car can do. I am still discovering neat things that are included. Some great features include keyless access, programmable comfort settings that activate for different key fobs (users), defrosting side mirrors, automatic variable adjusting wipers based on rain intensity, weight sensor in passenger front seat to automatically turn on and off air bag, and much more. Options such as 4zone climate control enhance the comfort of backseat passengers, but they have a good amount of control over airflow even with the dual.
The car is very heavy and solidly built. The weight may be an issue for the V6 engine, but rumor has it the 2005 edition V6 will be significantly more powerful (270hp). I love the exterior design. It looks a bit funky, is elegant but rugged looking. I put optional spoiler, step bars, and mud flaps on which add to the offroady look. Speaking of off road, you may be reluctant to take such a glorious vehicle through the mud and over rough and tumble landscapes, but rest assured it can hold its own with other legendary off-roaders including Jeep Grand Cherokee 4X4 and any Range Rover. The air suspension enables you to raise the vehicle to 11 inches clearance and the water-proof doors enable a fording depth of 22"! I can't wait to go through 2 feet of water with it. . . Rear differential lock and automatic down hill decent can get you out of very tough situations. I'm not sure what the inclines are that it can handle but they are significant.
Okay, so there are a few issues. A lot of people complain about VW dealerships not being ready or adequately trained to handle the luxury auto consumer. This may be true on average, but there are great dealerships out there, you just have to choose wisely. Hopefully, these issues will be resolved over time as VW is new to the luxury segment. Early editions of the 2004 had lots of electrical issues, but it seems that these have mostly been worked out. The only bugs I have experienced are: whining sound with my PhatBox MP3 player, rear fader on the radio not working properly, seat memory not working, key fob range issue especially in the rear of the vehicle, and a rattle from the rear passenger seat belt mechanism. I haven't taken any of these into be fixed yet, but they will ball be covered under warranty and are so minor that I am waiting until an ultra-convenient time, such as at the first regular service interval.
Overall, a tremendous achievement for VW. Highly recommend it!
For the most detailed information, visit the VW Vortex forums: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeroforum?id=39
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 54,000
Condition: New Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: V8, Premium Plus, Comfort packages, Reed Green/Beige
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