2008 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI

Holy second mortgage, Batman! $80K for this SUV?! Lorio is right: this thing just doesn't really belong. Other thoughts: That super smooth, growling torque is almost worth all that cash. This price tag reminds me of the other over-opulent VW, the Phaeton, with which the Touareg shares much of its circa-2004 switchgear. Also, the sideview-mirror-mounted blind-spot checkers are pretty nice, although I wonder how distracting they'd be at night. I do like the tough looks of the Touareg, but in this case, they've been undermined a bit by the white paint; the sharp interior hues make you forget about that once you're inside, however. Rusty Blackwell, Copy Editor