Need a budget tow car & a daily drive. Jeep???

Juramalt
Juramalt Forum Participant Posts: 55
edited July 2016 in Towcars & Towing #1

The car needs to get me to work through heavy urban traffic. Ferry the kids about often short journeys. Tow the van. And not require my own personal oil well. Low emitions might be an idea as well. Budget 8K tops....

Back to squre one.Looking at the following in no particular order. Kia & Hyundia dont get in as parts are dealer only & many are a bit scary.

Jeep Patriot, Subaru Forester, Shogun, Volvo S60 d5, Honda HRV2.2CDi, Mitsubishi outlander. Ford Kuga/mondeo

The Jeep is looking promising. 1600+kgs kerb wieght with decent brakes & stiff suspention. Good economy for a tow car. Not over big either.

Comments

  • madhouse4
    madhouse4 Forum Participant Posts: 129
    edited July 2016 #2

    Hi don't be lead into parts being cheaper for jeeps, they can certainly be very costly, as for hyundai aftermarket parts are available it's just knowing where to look

  • Paul Rainbow
    Paul Rainbow Forum Participant Posts: 129
    100 Comments
    edited July 2016 #3

    No issue with parts for my Santa Fe. Eurocar parts, Micks Garage, Jayar Spares all do everything I have needed in the last 50,000 miles.

  • flatcoat
    flatcoat Forum Participant Posts: 1,571
    1000 Comments
    edited July 2016 #4

    Struggling to work out what you really want given your list includes a Shogun (gas guzzling 4x4) , Volvo S60 (this is a saloon) and a Mondeo.......

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,142 ✭✭✭
    10,000 Likes 1000 Comments Name Dropper
    edited July 2016 #5

    I tend to agree, Flatcoat. The list is too varied. It would help as well to know the weight of the caravan.

    I completely agree with your comments re the Shogun. Whilst it is a superb tug it will be thirsty. We got 16 MPG when towing with ours and about 26 solo. Also of the age the OP is considering the Shogun had high emissions and road tax aroud £450 pa. Fortunately ours was later with lower emissions and was only half that cost.

  • Juramalt
    Juramalt Forum Participant Posts: 55
    edited July 2016 #6

    Simply a value tow car. I know the shogun shouldn't be on the list. They are too thirsty. Only suitible as a second car really. The Mondeo is there just because it's a good ecanomical tug. But I don't really like them. The volvo is just cheaper than anything
    else by a lot. Though it's a saloon its 140kg's heavier than my old Audi so it will pull. And the boots bigger. The Jeep would be the best compromise. But everyone I've looked at is rough so far. Off to look at another two today.. And a Volvo. They are usually
    in good condition just because of the people who buy them. Van is 1370.

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
    1000 Comments
    edited July 2016 #7

    If your van is 1370, then a Kuga will do the business and is reasonable as a daily runabout.

  • fur ball
    fur ball Forum Participant Posts: 155
    100 Comments
    edited July 2016 #8

    I have a Mondeo, I find it  averages 48 mpg solo and 32mpg towing 1350kg. Does everything I need and its cheap to run and repair with parts being reasonable and easily available.

  • Juramalt
    Juramalt Forum Participant Posts: 55
    edited July 2016 #9

    Mondeos are good tow cars. The dealer my caravan came from run a fleet of them and they swear by them.  Interesting you can get Hyundia bits from Euro car parts.

    Went to look at a Jeep today in Pontefract. All day of a job on the train but.... While looking at the Jeep that was quite tidy I saw the Volvo D5 for half the price. It looked like a new car. After a test drive I was hooked by the sound of the 5 cylinder engine and the mountain of torque. It's front wheel drive but the plate under the bonnet shows it's decently heavy. Should be a good commuter even if not quite so good a tow car as the jeep. The manual box a bonus as the auto is expensive to repair & they do break. Just need to order a tow bar & I'm ready for the school holidays.....A tow car to get excited about. Happy

  • Surfer
    Surfer Club Member Posts: 1,303 ✭
    500 Comments 100 Likes
    edited July 2016 #10

    Like any car check the servcie history and make sure that it is correct.  If not walk away no matter how nice the vehicle looks.  We have a Jeep and there is no issue with spares and the spares are reasonably priced.  We tow a twin axle caravan and have
    just come back from France.  Have you looked at the 3.0L Grand Cherokee as that has a Mercesdes drived engine which is very reliable.

  • Juramalt
    Juramalt Forum Participant Posts: 55
    edited July 2016 #11

    Jeep I looked at was the vw engined Patriot. Newer ones have the mercedes 2.2 lump in them. Good engines. They also had a Grand cherokee in which is comparable to the X-trail for size. Went for the Volvo as it had a full Volvo history. Clearly it hadn't
    been used a lot & drove like a new car. It's a Yorkshire thing. Why spend 6K when you spend 3 and get something in similar or better condition. Will see how we get on with it. But may swap again for a Jeep later if it doesn't work out. The car is cheap enough
    to be easily traded in & there arn't many good ones of these left. Same engine as the XC90 but much more frugal in the smaller S60. My mechanic when asked said that Jeep were ok. (High praise from him.) And Volvo's pretty decent as well....

  • jennyc
    jennyc Forum Participant Posts: 957
    500 Comments
    edited July 2016 #12

     

    Back to squre one.Looking at the following in no particular order. Kia & Hyundia dont get in as parts are dealer only & many are a bit scary.

     

    Write your comments here...

    We have a Kia Sportage and have never had any difficulty obtaining after market parts. In our experience Kia original parts can be competitively priced too. Servicing by independent garages isn't a problem, though once again our local Kia dealership is competitive,
    undercutting private garages on occasions. 

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