"Of course, this meant taking the central dual exhaust pipes and routing them toward the corners of the bumper, but the rear end still maintains a clean, sporty look."

What about the BMW X5 xDrive35d (diesel)? 6 speed, how does it tow?

 

I think my F150 IS refined.

 

2 events a month is a lot. that's more than most of us do, unless you're only referring to season.
Can't tell where you are, but if you're doing close to or upwards of 20 events a year, then take the plunge.

 

I have a 2010 Touareg TDI which I bought new. I've put 24k miles on it without a single warranty issue. Beautiful vehicle, wonderful daily driver, and it pulls my car/trailer like a charm.

 

996-3 driven to track on street tires
Bought track wheels and drove to track with mpsc and R888
Stranded 1 time
Then f150 and open featherlite and r6s
Now 3500 diesel Denali (my dd), 24ft 3 axle TPD, and slicks, 3 sets of wheels

Go for it

 

I'm aiming for 2 events a month, so far at least once a month.
I have been studying resale values of 2008 MY 3.6L cars, help me pick.

VW Touareg w/ 32K miles goes for $23K
Audi Q7 w/ 50K miles goes for $27K
Porsche Cayenne w/ 50K goes for $29K

All of them have navi/parking sensors/other amenities.

I'm leaning towards the Q7 cause it looks so darn good and its massive (talk about going car camping). It would be nice to have a Cayenne as my DD but its seriously an over-glorified Touareg. The interior looks very sub-par, definitely loses to the Q7. The VW is the most economical but it has one of the worst reliability scores I found on JD Power and other websites (edmunds, consumer affair, etc). Prudent thing to do is buy the Touareg and with the savings, buy a 3y/36K mile extended warranty.

I sold my Avant today, need to get a replacement quick.

 

Having owned two of the above (Toureg and current '06 CS) and driven the Q7 on several occasions (it's the lowner we get from the audi/porsche dealer), there isn't even a close comparison in my mind. In no way is a CS "an over-glorified toureg". Both are fine cars, but the driving experience in the Cayenne is on another plane. Just get in all three cars and drive them for at least 30 min each... the difference is not subtle. I'll also have to say that the overall service experience at our local porsche dealer is night and day from what we experienced at two different local VW dealerships. All three will two your rig fine... but as a daily driver, I think you will appreciate the Cayenne and your commute much better. Also keep in mind that if you're comfortable working on your 911, pads/rotors and general service on the cayenne is a snap. Looking at the spec sheets, you may have a hard time justifying the extra cost... but I think once you actually drive all three, you'll see why.

 

Glen is right, drive all three before you make any decision based purely on resale numbers... then go buy a Chevy 2500 Duramax diesel and a 24' Vnose aluminum enclosed trailer.

 

If you go the tow/DD route test a Mercedes GL320 (or is it 350 now?). It tows well and is a very pleasant place to spend time. Not as pretty as the Q7 but bigger inside.

As to inefficiency, it gets better fuel mileage than my current DD (Infiniti G37). I assume the Audi Q7 diesel would also get good fuel mileage.