LR Discovery Sport towing at max weight
Having towed a caravan for many years, 5 years ago we switched to the dark side and bought a motorhome! Missing the flexibility of a caravan and car, we are now switching back and in a few months time we are taking delivery of a Coachman Laser (MTPLM 1734kg),
Having to now get a suitable tow car, I am looking at a Discovery Sport D200 (BHP 204) with a kerbside weight 2028kg., This puts the outfit match at 86%. On paper all looks OK, but having towed before with a Discovery 4 and then a Range Rover Sport, hills and steep hills were never an issue.
With the Disco Sport offering better value in terms of price and solo performance, my concern is whether it is up to the job? I would love to hear from any owners and thier experience of a similar outfit?
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It’s not the weight ratio as I am happy with that, it’s more a view on stability and power, as I have found a number of reviews use caravans 200kg lighter than the car.
As for maximum weight, I have no intention to get anywhere near car = caravan. Even for an experienced driver, taking any evasive action is bad enough without the ‘tail wagging the dog’.3 -
+1 TC I’ve seen a few people use it a lot. My only thought-
is used to denote the user is suggesting they know more but they’re not divulging, or they are covering themselves because they really have no idea so if someone tells them they are provably wrong they do the old-‘I did use as I wasn’t serious’. As a get out of jail free winky😂2 -
What about the second winking emoji?
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🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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Be careful how you use them. This is how many would interpret 'rolling eyes' as taken from Google
Rolling Eyes emoji
What does 🙄 Face With Rolling Eyes emoji mean? Face with rolling eyes is an emoji used to express disbelief, annoyance, impatience, boredom, and disdain. It can also be used to indicate sarcasm or irony.28 Feb 20181 -
Hi Martin,
We've been towing a Coachman Laser 575 (MTPLM 1800kg) with a Land Rover Discovery Sport D200 for 2 years in UK, France and Spain.
The Disco Sport tows very well. No issues on the hills in the Dordogne (or indeed driving up the hill out of Bath) and the car is stable when towing on undulating road surfaces of in cross winds. Hill hold assist is extremely effective and allows easy hill starts. If you have a factory fitted deployable towbar the navigation software will route for towing and the reversing camera has a single line guide for hitching up. One attribute we especially like is the ability to slide the second row seats forward which gives us an immense boot space in which we carry our awning and a folding electric bike.
Crossing Spain from Valencia to Bilbao we averaged 26mpg towing which was good considering the hills. Light running we regularly achieve 42-44mpg. Our car was excellent in the recent snow and ice.
Hope that helps,
Roger
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I want to know what people did before 'hill hold assist' was a thing .... Did we have so many vehicles rolling back at every hill that someone needed to invent something for it? Isn't that what your left foot or hand/parking brake is for?
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I have vivid memories of my Dad trying to do a hill start towing on a steep hill in the 1970s.
The car was a Volvo 145 estate and the caravan a 4 berth (converted to 6 berth) Europa. Volvos handbrake wouldn't hold the combined weight of the car, caravan and family of 6 + dog (plus 2 canoes on the roof of the car). Solution (after lots of stress) was to send me out to chock the caravan wheels so 1st gear could be engaged. Ironically, we got into this position because we missed the turning to a CL at the bottom of the hill....
Personally I'm delighted to have four wheel drive, a torquey diesel, auto gearbox and hill hold assist; not forgetting a good navigation system!!
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Roger,
Your response is exactly what I was after!
Thank You.
Martin
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I towed a Hymer Nova single axle caravan with a max laden weight of 2000 kgs. The dealer had stated it was 1650 kg but on the weigh bridge it was 1800 kg largely due to mine having its weight limit uprated for UK specification (motor mover, solar panel etc) .It ended up at 2000 kg when loaded for long continental trips and was loaded to that when towing to Southern Portugal. This meant I was towing at 98% caravan to car ratio but still less than Landrovers max figure. My D Sport was the 2 litre diesel. I found it very stable and the caravan ATC never once needed to activate. The caravan is 8 metres long so quite lengthy for a single axle but perhaps is helped by Hymers having a long A frame. I was very impressed with the D. Sport. On one site there was a lengthy and very steep exit road from which I had to start round a tight corner meaning a standing start. I used the hill start assist which provides a lot of pulling power. The site normally offered a tractor and driver to take caravans uphill on leaving but was not available for our departure. I only sold the Sport for a Discovery 5 to get more boot room when we got a dog. Otherwise the Sport was a superb tow car and I would not hesitate to have another.
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I’ve just changed to a discovery sport 2l diesel 180. I’ve been impressed with what a good tow car it is. As reviews and others have stated. It’s sure footed, caravan sits neatly behind and behaves impeccably. There is plenty of power when pulling my Valencia. Hills are not a problem, unless you are using cruise control. Even on slight inclines,it will drop 2mph before it changes gear and slowly increases speed. It then allows the speed to increase above the set speed by 1-2 mph at the brow before it settles itself back. It’s not due to lack of power as without cruise set, it pulls like a train and will easily run away if you aren’t paying attention to the speed. Very unlike my Navara outlaw 3l that it has replaced, set a speed and it never faulted.Unhitched, its fuel consumption is nearly double of the Nissan, but with the caravan on the back, it’s slightly more thirsty.
Another little quirk, I’ve discovered, is that with the tow bar closer to the rear wheels than I’m used to, I have to be more mindful that without the longer overhang, turning right angled corners will result in the caravan will cutting the corner a little.
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I need to correct my comment on fuel consumption. Please accept my apologies.
I meant to say that my Discovery Sport is so much more fuel efficient when solo and driving in town, but when towing, the bigger and more powerful Navara did return more miles per gallon. Possibly due to the Nissan cruising in top gear of the seven speed auto and the Land Rover only reaching six/seventh of the nine in its auto box, when towing the caravan.
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Thanks very much, really helpful!
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Thank you for taking there time to reply, its great to get a balance of views form different owners.
Martin
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Martin,
Sorry if this is obvious but can you confirm exactly what engine is your car (Diesel, Petrol or Petrol Plug In Hybrid). I suspect that D200 means that it is a Diesel but I wanted to check. I did try to find out on the net but couldn't manage it.
I'm thinking of getting a Petrol Plug In Hybrid and intended to post the same query as you have done!
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