Petrol Tow Cars - Octavia or Superb?
I'm wondering if someone could help.
We currently own a 10 year old Skoda Octavia Estate 1.9 TDI PD Classic to tow our Adria Altea 542 DK with an MTPLM of 1300kg which according to the towcar outfit match website is a reasonable match.
However, due to recent press regarding harmful particulates from diesel engines and the fact that we live in London we would like to exchange our car for something more environmentally friendly while still being able to tow safely. We would also currently qualify for the scrappage scheme saving us £3500 of a new car so that helps in terms of cost.
We have been looking at petrol cars rather than diesel despite diesels being the more recommended type of car to tow with and the 2 cars we are considering are:
Skoda Octavia Estate 1.5 TSI DSG SE, Automatic, Petrol
- Kerbweight with Driver max - 1480kg
- Tow weight braked at 12% - 1500kg
Skoda Superb Estate 1.4 TSI 150 DSG SE Automatic, Petrol
- Kerbweight with Driver max - 1665kg
- Tow weight braked at 12% - 1600kg
Has anybody have any experience of towing with either of these models or could advise on which would be the most suitable? Perhaps you;re in a similar situation? Common sense says that the superb would be more suitable due to it's weight but it costs more and as we don't do a lot of driving in London it seems a bit excessive when it mostly sits outside our house and we only drive around 5-10 miles a week.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated
Comments
-
Cannot help with petrol engines; however, I am in no rush to change, will be keeping my Octavia Estate 4x4 2.0TDi CR (2012), the engine is Euro 5, with an efficient DPF and it has had it's emission 'fix' done!!!
Caravan mtplm is 1,318kg, get good mpg when towing, retired now so most of my mileage is towing, always going off.0 -
Don’t assume the scrapage deal is the best option financially. The deals available with finance are possibly even better but you cannot combine them. Even if you don’t want or need finance it is often better to go with the deal and pay it all off after 6 months. And, a 10 year old car is hardly scrap!
0 -
I'd immediately rule out the petrol Octavia and also have doubts about the Superb.
You can't beat a diesel for a tug and that's what I'd go for despite the current rumblings.
0 -
The Superb is a large car for such a small engine in my opinion.
Have you considered the bhp and torque for each, and where in the rev range the max is?
As I am sure you are aware, max torque at low revs is why diesel engines make such good tow cars.
0 -
Thanks to everyone who replied so quickly, all really useful comments and mirror my gut feelings (and the fact that diesels make better tow cars). I think my best bet is to find a more suitable second hand diesel tow car which has a better euro rating if we want to be more environmentally conscious...or stick with what I have for the time being and see what announcements regarding diesels are made in the coming months.
thanks again to all!
0 -
Any EU6 diesel is perfectly legal and unlikely to be affected by forthcoming legislation. In reality EU6 diesel is as clean as EU6 petrol but why let the truth get in the way of a good story. If unsure why not go used diesel hybrid with a Volvo V60 estate or E class bluehybrid estate? Best of both worlds! As an aside my EU5 VW is now using 10% more fuel after the emissions fix so how is it possibly cleaner?
1 -
We tow with a Superb, and also have a caravan which weighs 1300kgs. It tows very well and is perfectly stable, aided by the long wheelbase of the car.
However we do have the 170bhp diesel version, so I can't comment on the petrol version. The diesel certainly copes very well with the caravan on the back.
1 -
We have a van with a similar weight to yours - wouldn't want to risk towing with either of your suggestions. Last 12 years we've been towing with 2l TD Octavias. Now gone for 2l petrol Subaru, but still running in so no towing yet. If you're committed to Skoda (& can't blame you for that) Octavia vRS & top of the range auto Superb both come with 2l TSI engines.
0 -
I would recommend a Euro 6 diesel in either of your Skoda options. Obviously the heavier Superb will be the better towcar. The present diesel hiatus has been caused by journalists who cannot be bothered to gather the real facts and just reprint the garbage spewed out by other lazy colleges.
As has already been mentioned in a previous post the particulate matter & Nox of Euro 6 is now as clean as petrol and greenhouse gas CO2 is still much lower than petrol. Plus MPG will be much better with diesel.
1 -
Me too! I simply cannot envisage towing any caravan of any size with a 1.5 Litre engine. It might be OK, - just, on level roads, but you must always be prepared to restart on a steepish hill, or a ferry ramp! Be prepared! Only A Diesel will tow efficiently at the moment.
The Electric lobby is growing, and I suspect that at some point in the not too distant future they may be the answer. But again not yet!
As already said the Euro 6 Diesel is still the best bet at the moment!
TF
0 -
Having towed for almost 40 years with petrol cars we switched to a 2 litre diesel Kia Sportage 4 years ago. None were Skoda but even with the last two 2 litre petrol Mondeos it was not a good experience doing a hill start even on a moderate gradient pulling a lighter caravan than the Adria 542. The Kia has no problem with 1300 kg on the same hills. I know because we visited the same sites in recent years and had to stop at the same traffic lights on the approach.
We towed with 1.5 & 1.6 litre petrol cars pulling by today's standard small caravans in the 1990s and still had to carefully plan our route when visiting the Lakes of or the Dales.
0 -
Have only towed with diesel skodas but I had a serious problem with the superb. It became detached from the caravan in Abergavenny. I had travelled 25 miles from Brecon and going around a roundabout I lost the van. I am an experienced tower having had 32 years of towing prior to the accident. I know it was properly hitched up, and properly loaded (Coachman 520/4). I have talked about this to many people both private members/dealers/towbar fitters/garages etc. The conclusion I have drawn is whilst the superb is a fabulous ,luxury car its suspension is too light for towing.
0
