Oops. I guess the newer Jeep has a slightly longer wheelbase then the old one. My LR3 WB was 114 and it towed an open trailer fine.

I also vote for the VW and you should also consider resale on the Diesels is very strong compared to the Jeeps. I know it is more expensive, but you will keep more value in it over the long term.

Not to mention diesel torque is just so much fun, gas mileage is nice too!

I've used my V10 TDI for 5+ years as my tow vehicle and have been very happy with it. Why not look into a used one of those? They have really tanked in value.

VWD, much better tow rig.

Having been through this a couple of times pulling horse trailers with SUV's, I can tell you that the three with the best overall stats are the Escalade, Navigator, and Sequoia. I kid you not. Do not discount wheel base length for stability. I have purchased an SUV with plenty of V8 power and been thrown all over the road. We chose the Sequoia, and have never looked back. It is perfect. Our horses are big...

The longer wheelbase, will give you stability. Be sure to compare this feature on the MB.

Look at the comparison of power, wheelbase, price, etc. of the Porsche, VW, and Sequoia.
http://www.carsdirect.com/research/c...,USC20VWS011E0

I went through the same debate last year - and ended with the '11 Q7 TDI Prem - and could not be happier. Fantastic mileage (up to 32mpg on the highway), great torque, extraordinary ride - and a very capable towing vehicle. I also bought it with the wife in mind - and she could not be more happy. And like the others have said - resale on these clean diesel SUV's is fairly solid.

touareg for sure. I've had two and if you're used to German fit and finish you'll only be happy with the VW. I remember going to the dealer in 2004, looking inside it, and saying "THAT's a VW?!". best interior of its time outside of Audi

I remember looking at the Treg back then and saying the same thing about the interior. The new interior is nice, but I don't think it's as nice as the original.

I own a 2011 Cherokee and couldn't be happier. I have only towed short distances with it and am quite impressed. 15grand price difference makes it a no brainer. The diesel may achieve better mileage but it's a wash with the added cost of diesel. Not to mention not every gas station carries it. I have owned a duramax in the past and absolutely loved the endless torque so gas bias is out the window. I have a 4x4 hemi and on the highway it gets an honest 20mpg at 85 extremely stable, I tend to forget I'm in a 5000lb suv. 4 cylinder mode is a life saver. As far as towing goes there'splenty of low end grunt. The chassis feels stable and is not upset by bumps. The item towed is a 6500lb boat. The back up camera is good enough to use as a guide for hooking up the trailer solo. Only gripe I have so far is the 5spd auto. Poor granny gear ratios. I believe the 12 model gets a new 6speed. Good luck with your purchase, you'll enjoy either vehicle. And as a suggestion I'd look into trailer sway bars for added safety.

Thanks for the info. The jeep is very nice, no doubt. The price difference was definitely something to consider.

I was able to find a dealer in PA that offered a ridiculous discount on the Treg - almost double the best offer I was able to find anywhere else. He also matched the best trade in on my wife's ML. Tough to argue as it's now cheaper than the jeep

glad to hear your having no problem towing a 6,500 lbs boat. My 4K rig should be no problem at all for either vehicle.

Did you add sways? I know the jeep has "sway control" - not sure exactly what that is, or how it works though.

I too have a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland (Stone White with Saddle interior{V6})that my wife drives during the week, I use it on the weekends to pull a trailer to Northeast PA. It has no problems even up some pretty steep hills with a full trailer (3k lbs) Even pulling the trailer in that freak snowstorm in October was no big deal.

The Build quality is much improved over previous GC's. No squeaks/noises, Only issue with the Jeep to date has been a stiff left rear window lift switch on the drivers switchbock.

I have a 2004 VW Touareg V8 and use it to tow my Mastercraft skiboat and I can honestly say this has been the best tow vehicle I have ever owned. I now have 79k miles on it and it has been trouble free.
What ever you decide to buy make sure it has the air suspension to level the back end of the car when hauling the trailer.
Since this will be the wife's daily driver be sure she enjoys the vehicle because a Happy Wife = Happy Life..lol

There are other members here that have Touaregs such as Northvan who tows his GT3 on a 18' Aluma Open Trailer . I'm sure he could answer any questions that you might have about towing with the VW

Good luck and have fun with the search

Well being that the price has been thrown out the window enjoy the new treg I looked at them as well but couldnt get the dealers to work with me on a decent discount. I ended up leasing mine because of the rediculous interest rate and residual value.

I did not add sways, my trailer set up has close to a 1000lb of tongue weight. I also have a 08 tundra that would be better suited for towing a distance, but i actually preffer the jeep for short distances. I believe the sway control is all electronic and mimics stability control with slighty different peramiters. Trailer sway is usually a product of not enough tongue weight. When trailering a vehicle its a little hard to gauge how much tongue your going to get once the car is on. Shifting the car forward or backs on the trailer can have a huge affect. Trailer sway bars just help balance the load out. There is less variablea on a boat trailer, the boat is always going to set in the same spot on the trailer. And towing a vehicle with a whole lotta junk in the trunk may make it a lil tougher to get that tongue weight spot on. Trailer sway has turned my knuckles white before...

Post pics of the rig when its all loaded up. That will be a whole lotta fine german engineering cruisin down the highway

A new development. As fskof mentioned above - "a happy wife..." well, went for a test drive of the Treg today and she really didn't like it. I guess i'm lucky in that she has NO interest in cars, or getting something new.

I was thinking of the jeep/Treg because I thought it would be good for her as her DD and be sufficient as my tow vehicle. She said i could get it if I wanted to, but given her druthers she would rather keep her ML and in time, get something that she liked a bit more than the T-reg.

She said if i wanted to go ahead and get the t-reg it's fine with her (she is awesome - pretty much let's me do whatever I want), but she would rather not trade in her ML.

Since I have a company car, i don't think it's very smart to spend 50K on a touareg to keep it in the garage most of the time.

I need something to tow with so I guess I can do one of two things. First, attach a hitch to her ML500 and just use that. Like I said before it's capacity is 5K and i would be getting pretty close to it's max. I also don't particularly enjoy driving it all that much. radio sucks, nav sucks, etc.

Second, get a pickup. I know as much about pickups as, well - I don't know anything about pickups. All I know is Ford F-150 or Dodge Ram 1500. Looking at Ford and Dodge's web site it looks like there are as many versions of the F-150 as there are 911's. Same goes for Dodge.

Ecoboost Ford engine has quite the buzz. Lot's of towing capacity, that's for sure. cab size? got me. Geez, can't believe i'm thinking pickup LOL.

wondering if I should lease it? Probably wouldn't cost much more than 15K over 3 years or so. Could I even buy something used, that's in good shape for that?

finally, are these things at all comfortable to drive LOL. Boy, things have gotten complicated with this track stuff!

Ok, so you pickup experts please let me know what type of spec I should look for and what it should cost.