Honda CR-V or VW Tiguan
We need a towcar for our Sprite Major 4sb and have an order in for a Tiguan 2 litre TDI. Having been given a delivery date in April we've now been told it may arrive in mid June. We lease our cars and it is a good deal but my husband has just been told we can have a Honda 1.6-D-TEC 120PS SE plus 2 WD next week. We would be saving a considerable amount too!
We know very little about modern towcars as we are returning to caravanning after owning a motorhome for 8 years so would really welcome any advice from more experienced members.
The salesman tells us that he has many customers who happily tow with this model but he has his targets to meet.
It would be lovely to be able to tow the van throughout Spring but we don't want to lock ourselves into a lease and find the Honda not up to the job
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The VW every time, in my view.
The salesman really wants to shift that CRV.
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Another vote in favour of the Tig. If, like me, you use CLs and CS's, a 4WD is a must in my opinion, given the vagaries of UK weather. I tow with a Touareg - the Tig's 'big brother' and even though I've had a succession of Discos, the VW is the best tow car I have owned. Whilst I won't knock Honda for reliability, all I can say from my experience is that I'm now on my third VW - a Passat and two Tregs and none of them have ever been near a garage for anything other than servicing.
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Sorry can’t see the point of a 2 wheel drive CRV with a 1.6 engine. I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. I have a 2.2tdi CRV 4x4 and it’s a perfect. No experience of the Tig so couldn’t comment.
The real questions are do you van all year long. Can you wait till June, is there another dealer who can fulfill your order.
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Oh dear. No recommendations for the CRV. My husband has found a Practical Caravan Review on YouTube which says the 1.6 is a good but not exceptional towcar and he really likes the deal we've been offered, indeed it's such a good deal it would allow us to have a small car for us to use as a runaround as well, keeping mileage off the towcar.
We've tried lots of dealers re the Tiguan but all say there is a backlog of orders since they have developed a new engine.
We don't use CLs so a 4wd isn't essential, although I can see the advantages.
We really need to consider this carefully and I'm most grateful for your advice.
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Up until May last year I was towing our Sterling Eccles Sport 514 with a 59 plate manual Honda CRV 2.2 . I had no problems but decided to change the car to a 2013 VW Tiguan 2 litre TDI auto.
I by far prefer the Tiguan with it’s reassured handling/feel and having also the auto means the driving is far more relaxed. I would agree that the boot on the CRV was slightly larger but I can live with that. I have found the fuel return comparable between the two.
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My brother-in-law towed with the 2.2 CRV for many years and was very pleased with it. When it was written off a couple of years ago he purchased the 1.6 CRV as on paper the specs were quite good. Unfortunately the towing performance was nowhere near as good as the 2.2, especially when towing uphill.
With this in mind I would go for the VW but why not consider, Sportage, X-Trail or Kuga?
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Test drove the 1.6 CRV about 18 months ago. I had previously owned a 2.2 CRV, which I really liked, and was very, very keen on another CRV but wary of the much smaller engine when towing. The CRV is very good value, with superb specs, BUT having test driven it I walked away without a backward glance. I know that the salesman bangs on about hp and output, but driving it solo it felt slightly underpowered. One of those cars where you put your foot down for some extra power, the engine note rises and makes all the right noises, but you don’t actually get much oomph. Considering this was without a caravan on the back, I felt it would have been a terrible tow car. I ended up buying a Tiguan which tows my Valencia 1500kg without an issue. My advice, forget the CRV, because you’ll regret buying it.
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Definitely the 2.0 Tiguan. 1.6 CRV isn't even in the same league.
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Thanks for all your good advice. I'm pleased to say the CRV is no longer on our list.
Simon 100's suggestions led us to visit the local dealers and we are test driving a Mazda CX-5 SEL Nav. A more expensive deal than the Tiguan but we are now quite honestly wondering whether the VW dealer is procrastinating on our order because he regrets offering us such a good deal in the first place and hopes that we will drop out!
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I have recently swapped to VW Tig 2.0 TDI 4 motion manual myself and already its proven its self to be a great towcar on all roads and motorways, I tow a 1490 mtplm bailey and the car has no trouble with this,
I did look at a CX-5 but the finish and build quality of the VW is far better.
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