2004 Volkswagen Touran Reviews

Without going into detail - just to add another statistic on the gearbox issue. Mine "blew" at 80mph on a motorway - frightened the wits out of me. Very dangerous fault and expensive. Same details as prior posters - casing fractured, oil everywhere, car jerks violently - lucky to have been in the nearside lane and near an exit!

Cost of repair £1600.

Local engineers reported "common fault on these" - as is usual when you own one!

All the positive things about owning this car are negated by the major failure of a major part.

Therefore - advise anyone you know - do not buy this car!

Recall for flywheel (thankfully before it failed).

Three wheel bearings (I am sure the fourth will be soon).

Two electric fans (ran continuously and flattened the battery).

Indicator stalk - only indicated left, even when turning right).

Central locking intermittent.

Delicate interior trim - plastics had a feeble 'matte' finish, which just falls off.

CD mechanism.

Still drives really well.

For a decent sized car, it always gives me 50 MPG on real journeys.

Flexible seating has paid dividends over the years; uni trips, moving single beds and a book case. The seats are however a bit awkward to get in and out.

Radio and alarm turns on at random.

Valve body had to be replaced at 70,000km.

We got our Touran brand new, and has had all its services done at our local VW dealer ever since.

The car was spacious, and feels planted and well put together. The 6 speed gearbox and 2.0L engine combination was fuel efficient, and provided adequate power for a car of this size.

But not long into our ownership, we encountered constant little electrical problems, such as the window, stereo and alarm.

And most recently, at around 70,000km, we were experiencing problems with what we thought was the gearbox, as the gear changes have become very harsh. We took it to our local VW dealer, and found that it was the valve body that needed replacing. A job which will cost around $4,500NZ! And as we had full service history with them, they were willing to give us a discount, to $3,200. The gear changes have been fine since the repair.

Although I feel that this is a very good car when it is operating perfectly, the constant problems and cost of repairs for such a low mileage car, will make me think twice before I purchase another VW.

Minor stuff fixed under warranty:

1. Spring-return on the small flap that obscures the handle on the boot roller-cover.

2. Spring-return on the flap in the boot latch, which should come up when the boot is opened.

Overall this has proven to be a good all-round family car. My wife and kids are the main users and they all love it.

The 2.0 TDI (140bhp) has plenty of performance even with 7 people in the car and we are averaging about 46 mpg overall. The handling is pretty reasonable, but its obviously no sports car. I test drove a 'Sport' model at a main dealer and preferred the slightly firmer suspension on these.

The 2 rear seats are just about okay for adults to use, particularly if the passengers in the middle and front rows are prepared to move their seats forward a bit.

We managed to find an 11 month old 2.0 TDI example with 45000 miles for £14k, which I thought was much better value than the £20k+ when new. I think they are pretty expensive if you buy new.

One niggle is that the factory fitted satnav is not great and probably a waste of money unless it happens to already be fitted to a used car you buy. In particular, the system is REALLY sluggish - it takes about 2 seconds to redraw the map every time you press a button to change the view. If you have ever used a TomTom, you will be shocked at how old-fashioned it seems. Also, we found the supplied map disc was missing a couple of roads that were built 2 years before the car was first put on the road!

A final niggle is the seating position for tall drivers. With the vehicle being quite tall, I think the pedals have been positioned closer to the driver (presumably so that short drivers can still reach them). For me (at 6' 4" tall), I can never get truly comfortable - if I put the drivers seat right back so my legs are comfortable, I have to stretch my arms to reach the steering wheel. If I put the seat where it feels comfortable for my arms, my legs are scrunched up against the pedals. By contrast I have driven the MK 5 Golf (on which the Touran is based) and the seating & pedal positioning is fantastic.