Volkswagen’s new 2009 Touareg V6 TDI is arriving at dealerships about right now. Offering a much less expensive diesel option than the previous Taureg V-10 TDI, the new V6 TDI “clean diesel” has a 3.0L engine whichs has 221 horsepower and 402 lbs-ft. of torque.
Utilizing third generation common rail injection and a highly advanced catalytic converter system, it meets Tier 2, Bin 5/ULEV II standards and will be available in all 50 states. That is huge news given that California has been a no diesel zone for some time due to their stringent pollution requirements.
This is in part achieved by a new DeNOx system which converts nitrogen oxide (NOx) in the exhaust gas into nitrogen and water without forming any undesirable side products. The system uses an aqueous solution of urea known as AdBlue. The urea-based solution is continuously sprayed into the exhaust gas stream upstream of the DeNOx catalyst. The urea is transformed in the hot exhaust gases upstream of the DeNOx catalyst, reacting with the nitrogen oxides and splitting them into nitrogen and water, reducing the NOx emissions by up to 90 percent. The AdBlue additive is nontoxic, odorless and biodegradable and has to be refilled at regular intervals by the owner.
The other part of the equation, is a new common-rail fuel injection system that uses fast, precise electronically controlled piezo electric fuel injectors, rather than a traditional mechanical system. This allows higher pressures which amount to better fuel atomization in the engine, which begats better power and fuel efficiency. It is a much qieter system than the traditional injector pump as well.
The Touareg V6 TDI delivers excellent fuel economy figures for the 5000 + SUV that it is. On the highway it is rated at 25 mpg with a city rating of 17 mpg by the EPA. This amounts to about a 600 mile fuel tank range.
Included is the nocharge “Carefree Maintenance Program”. Under this program all of the Touareg’s scheduled maintenance, as described in its maintenance booklet, is covered for the length of the New Vehicle Warranty — three years or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first. With a diesel vehicle that uses expensive synthetic oil, this is a major bonus.
For 2009 the Taureg also gets minor visual revisions as well as a few new creature comforts that help this SUV age well. An all new Taureg is coming in the next year or so.
