Two decades ago, Volkswagen was a very different company than it is today. Instead of bloated crossovers, it wanted you to buy cars that sounded like Wookies and ridiculous ultra-luxury sedans built to fit an obsessive overlord. Then there’s the Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, an SUV that remains one of the wildest production vehicles to ever get the VW badge. This thing has a twin-turbo V10 diesel engine, incredible off-road prowess, and oh yeah, they can be found for peanuts today.
One of my favorite ways to pass the time is checking the Internet to see if I can find cheap versions of my dream cars. I still have to experience greats such as the Volkswagen Phaeton W12 and the BMW 850i, but it seems like good examples of those cars remain just outside of my preferred realm of sub-$10,000 hoopties. However, times appear to be changing. Some rides that used to generate headlines are now falling into the four-figure price range.
One of those cars is the infamous Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI. These were once SUVs that were advertised by pulling a Boeing 747. Now, even the Average Joe can buy one for under $8,000, including the one I’m featuring on your screen right now. But, of course, there’s a catch, so temper your excitement.
There’s so much buzz nowadays about burly off-road rigs. It seems like everyone and their grandma is excited about Scout and the Ford Bronco is ensuring Jeep is no longer the default answer for a trail rig. Even EVs are into the whole off-roading thing. A little over two decades ago, the shocking news was that Porsche and Volkswagen were dipping their toes into the arena and their off-roaders spat in the face of convention.
Off-Road Underdogs
Everything about these SUVs is alternative. Engineers liked how reliable body-on-frame SUVs were, but also liked the stiffness offered by a unibody platform, so they tried to make a chassis that was the best of both. As a result, the Cayenne and the Touareg utilize a unibody with an integral frame structure. Porsche and VW are so confident in the structure that they think you can lawn-dart your SUV into terrain without tweaking the unibody.
Porsche and Volkswagen then loaded their respective SUVs with real off-roading equipment. Both SUVs can get on their tippy toes thanks to air suspension, have nearly Jeep-like off-roading angles, and ford around 23 inches of water. Both were designed to conquer slopes as steep as 45 degrees and ride along banks as sharp as 35 degrees.
All of this was supported by a permanent four-wheel-drive system with an automatic center differential. You could also lock the power split to be equal between the axles or crawl your way around with the low range. The Germans were also super serious about limiting slippage, employing a combination of limited-slip differentials, off-road traction control, and ABS to limit unwanted wheelspin. It even had an early form of downhill assist. Volkswagen and Porsche then sold you a package that added underbody protection, sliders, and even a locking rear differential.
Both David Tracy and I can attest to how beastly Touaregs and Cayennes are off-road. They may look all soft like crossovers, but they’re far from it. The fact that both of these cars are filled with luxury features front and rear is icing on the cake.
Both SUVs also serve different roles. The Porsche Cayenne was the spiciest of the two. Here in America, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S had a 4.8-liter twin-turbo V8 making 550 HP. That thing boogied to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, or nearly a second faster than my Saturn Sky Red Line.
On the other hand, the Touareg better embraced the burly off-roader role. Its engines never got as spicy as the Porsche’s, but Volkswagen did give us something special with the 5.0-liter V10 TDI, sold beginning in 2004 and bowing out after 2008. This engine is a stupid, corrupting piece of engineering. It’s gear-driven and has two of everything. That’s two turbos, two air filters, two sets of piping, and even two ECUs. This beast sees itself as more or less two five-cylinder diesel engines, not one mean V10. It even sounds ridiculous, combining the best hits of a Cummins soundtrack with that of a Lamborghini.
The fascinating thing about this engine is that all of this complexity did not result in a huge power number on paper. This V10 diesel makes 310 HP and 553 lb-ft torque, or similar numbers to what a 6.0-liter Ford Power Stroke made. However, the V10 TDI’s power hits like a sledgehammer. The power comes on early and hard, putting your head into the headrest and keeping it there until you’re well above 100 mph.
The V10 TDI has a corrupting amount of power and it’s always there, regardless if you’re cruising down a highway or climbing a mountain. It always wants to go fast.
It’s also just nice to have this kind of power in a mid-size SUV format. Sure, its power output on paper isn’t impressive, but you’re getting it in a relatively small SUV and not the big trucks you had to buy to get a 6.0 Power Stroke. Sadly, I’m talking about small only in size here because a V10-equipped Touareg weighed 5,825 pounds before you added any passengers.
Still, this is a diesel SUV that can hit 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, conquer Moab, get 23 mpg, or tow up to 7,716 pounds. It does darn near everything you’d want an SUV to do!
They’ve Gotten So Cheap
I bought my 2006 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI in 2021 for $5,000. At that time, I thought I basically stole it. I saw similar V10 TDIs selling for around $15,000 on auction sites. How did I get mine for so cheap? Put simply, the lady selling it didn’t know what she had. I haven’t put a ton of miles on my V10 TDI, but it’s still one of my favorite purchases to date.
I’ve been monitoring the market for these SUVs and while I’ve yet to find a deal exactly like the one I got, I’m beginning to see V10 TDIs show up for sale in running and driving condition for under $10,000. I don’t know if the market is cooling or what, but it seems like now is a great time to get into these SUVs if you’re willing to roll the dice.
The white V10 TDI I’ve featured in this article is currently for sale in Evansville, Indiana for just $7,950. It looks pretty clean, doesn’t show any fatal errors on its display, and it even has what appears to be a Chinese-market VW stereo with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Is that not cheap enough? Alright, here’s another in Beaumont, California for the tantalizing price of just $6,800.
This one is said to run and drive well. It’s even had a common 2000s-era VW problem fixed. These cars get really droopy headliners, but this one has a new headliner.
If you’re feeling daring, there’s another V10 TDI for sale in Westminster, California for $4,450 (below). But it apparently leaks fluids and keeps falling into limp mode, so that’s a mystery for you to solve.
Finally, there’s one more V10 TDI for sale in Kirkland, Washington for all of $2,800. This one is described as “will run and drive but barely.” I like the honesty there. The interior is in pieces and something is causing a heavy leak and a misfire at idle. But if you can fix it, you will get to enjoy the rare rear-locking differential option this one has.
These things are all over America with lower prices, but I chose the West Coast here so you won’t have to worry about rust. German luxury car depreciation is real. These SUVs were at least $67,750 when new ($115,476 today), now they’re just a fraction of that.
A Cheap Down Payment To Future Misery
Over the past couple of years or so I’ve been seeing lots of Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDIs showing up with lower prices like this. Yes, all of these SUVs have well over 100,000 miles, but believe it or not, these old TDIs can last a while. But wait, aren’t these things known for hilariously expensive repair bills?
Yes, and that’s the huge catch that comes attached to vehicles like the Touareg V10 TDI and the Volkswagen Phaeton, which aren’t the easiest vehicles to work on. In the Touareg V10 TDI’s case, wrenching on the body and the suspension isn’t too arduous. The V1o’s body is identical to the other same-gen Touaregs, and similar to other VW products of the era.
What’s different is that powertrain. The 5.0-liter diesel fits so snugly in the engine bay that there really isn’t room to work on much. You could get to the diesel tandem pump through the top and you can get to the starter through the right front wheel. If you need to go any deeper you’re most likely looking at an entire drivetrain removal procedure. VW techs use special equipment to do this job and it automatically means that a repair like a turbo replacement starts at thousands of dollars before the actual repair is even conducted.
Oh, and that’s before you even get to the weirdness that is the parts for the V10 TDI. So, the alternator? Yeah, that bad boy is water-cooled, which means extra complications during replacement. Alternators for V10 TDIs cost hundreds and their fittings are also expensive.
So, before you buy a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI you need to know that it’s not for the faint of heart or light of wallet. Thus far I’ve been lucky. My V10 TDI hasn’t failed on me. I do baby it, however, and drive it like a stereotypical Corvette owner. It goes to the beach or does a highway cruise before coming back to a climate-controlled mini warehouse with two battery tenders. I don’t treat it like a real car.
Still, if you’re a bit of a masochist like I am, one of these beasts is waiting right around the corner, and they’re seemingly getting cheaper each year. Once you drive one, you’ll understand why weirdos like me even take the chance. The power is corrupting and, at the same time, it’s also a good representative of what used to be. I miss the days when Volkswagen was insane just because it could be.
What kind of crack was Piëch on?
I knew someone who had a V8 Touraeg. Even though they did their own wrenching, they eventually got tired of fixing shit on it and said the parts themselves were more expensive than they ought to be.
I think I’d much rather have a V6 Cayenne in the same price range.
Sure, the TDI is efficient and powerful, but diesel costs so much more at the pump.
And having those insane maintenance and repair costs hanging overhead like the Sword of Damocles would prevent me from having much fun offroad. I’d almost rather have a used Land Rover.