Petrol towcars
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I currently tow with a Jeep Grand Cherokee and it tows beautiful however, I have been thinking about changing having had this for 5 years and was wondering about the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Has anybody any experience of towing with one of these?
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I would happily get another one but having recently retired I am more conscious of running costs than perhaps I used to be!!
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I am still waiting to hear of an ordinary reasonably priced petrol car that can pull my 1600Kg caravan with effortless ease, under all road conditions. It must be able to pull away smoothly from a halt on a steep hill or ferry ramp, without requiring high engine revs. Until then I'll stick with my smooth as silk V6 Diesel.
No smoke no smell, and running on ad blu, very little pollution. More than happy to choose petrol next time, but it has to do all of the above without revving its heart out. Oh and I want a torque converter auto box not a DSG.
TF
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Before I returned to towing, My 3 ltr V6 twin turbo Peugeot 407 coupe was smooth as silk and acceleration was enough to hurt your neck
Same engine in the Jag XF, Disco 3 & 4, again very smooth and a good traffic light drag racer engine. Driven both so speak from experience.
I'd have one now but not keen on paying £500 VED
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I agree, but having changed my 2011 ML300CDI for a late 2014 ML350 Blutec running on adBlu I have reduced my annual tax from £520 to £280, have increased my power and Torque and reduced my diesel consumption . So whats not to like?
OK I will admit it, I'm a Torque addict. Not a Diesel addict. So when a Petrol engine comes along, that will give me the power and the Torque that my Diesel gives me now, at lovely low engine revs, so that I can power my rig away from a standing start without really having to increase my revs, Yes! I will happily buy that. But until that day comes about, don't bother me!
TF
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I have a BMW X4. Comparing the most powerful 3 litre diesel with the most powerful 3 litre petrol, the petrol already develops maximum torque at 1350rpm whereas the diesel needs 1500rpm to do the same. Admittedly the diesel has a higher absolute value, 630Nm versus 465Nm, but then the diesel only has 313PS against 360PS for the petrol. It seems a sort of swings and roundabouts thing when comparing the two.
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I had my tongue in my cheek
Modern or not, you don't have more cylinders than doors. My V6 red lines at 4500 rpm (the engine itself is modern enough for Mercedes to still be using it)http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201706306934668
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Range Rover Sport 5.0 V8 Supercharged
OK it will only do 18mpg solo but you'll have a lot of fun doing it. The power and torque meet your requirements for towing and the acceleration is frankly, intoxicating
As your a Merc man, then a ML63 AMG will do similar things, to both your heart, and your wallet
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Back to original post...last petrol towcars I had were a couple of Rover 800s...yes, that long ago. They did the job but not a patch on the grunt of the diesels we drive today. It is going to be an interesting year or two for all involved in the leisure industry with this current 'anti diesel' feeling.
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And the cruise ships that burn the most polluting heavy fuel oil, then there's the diesel electric trains..............
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My ML350 AMG will happily do 35MpG solo and tow my heavy 1600 Kg van at 24 MPG. Plus it will do it with absolute stability and total reliability. I don't need 5 Litre plus V8's, but if thats what floats your boat, who am I to say that you are wrong?
What I am saying though is that I will not risk my families safety, or my blood pressure, by towing long distances over difficult terrain with a marginal tower fitted with a toy engine that seems popular these days!
Give me a tough V6 turbo diesel any day!
TF
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Talk about bringing a pistol to a knife fight, 1600kg isn't heavy TF, you can afford to step down to something Korean or Japanese and still comfortably pull your caravan.
I thought from your earlier posts, that you needed some serious grunt.
Big 5.0L V8's aren't my thing either but I was suggesting something with equal torque to what you're used to, as you requested, though I do drive a RRSport, the V8 diesel version so I stop at every other petrol station... not quite every petrol station I pass
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I pull my 1636kg caravan re plated to 1700kg with a Mazda cx-5 at 1703kg. rated to tow 2000kg.
And have zero issues even with a rear bike rack at a total load of 40kg.
Some people must have problems sleeping at night if they seriously think they need an ML for such a weight.
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Not everyone is happy towing at 100% though and prefer a margin of safety.
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I have never towed with a diesel always had petrol. Last two towcars have been Subaru Forester 2.0l Turbo and then 2.5l turbo. No problem towing a Bailey Pegasus 534 more than capable. However fuel consumption is less than 20mpg and road tax is £500, but not really a problem as overall my annual mileage is only around 6000p.a.. Ideally I would now like a hybrid but I don't think there's anything on the market that can do the job. Maybe the club can do some research into the hybrid market.
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NigelAsh, I dont intend to bring a pistol to a knife fight, but I do intend to win that fight!..
Ive towed all over the continent with my vans, all at the top end of the single axle weights. I've towed over mountains and some pretty daunting terrain and in all weathers. But I have NEVER had a moments concern that either I or my rig could do it. For me caravanning is, and always must be, stress free. So I have a strict Policy, and that Policy is, don't take risks, and always be confident that you will overcome any little problem, or even a big one! Yes my ML is more than capable, but that is exactly the way i want it!
TF
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In case anyone's interested, we've decided to go for the Subaru Forester 2l petrol - tight call with the C-RV but what swayed it was getting a very good deal from our local dealer, plus the free towbar & full size spare wheel for Club members. Won't be towing with it till Spring 2018 tho' so won't have any info till then. As others have previously mentioned, we didn't have diesel alternatives way back, so had to tow with petrol - indeed I only went to diesel in the mid 1990s when I ended up with a diesel company car, so am not anticipating major problems.
Thanks to all who responded to various Qs during my ponderings!
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All this talk about diesel or petrol, it was't long ago that the manufacturers used to increase the engine capacity on the diesel variant to compasate the loss of power over petrol,then the turbo arrived..... the increase in mpg with a turbo on diesel is the only reason the became popular no other reason, smelly horrible things vibrate so much they have to fit dual mass flywheels,DPF filters to stop us suffering early death, stick with good old petrol,with a proper timing chain and old fashioned torque auto box, oh and petrol engine you cannot hear.😀😀😀😀😀😀
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Interesting to read all the comments especially about putting turbos on diesels - my first company car was an Escort 1.8D - 0-60 in a week! =Fortunately we'd kept our 2l petrol Volvo 240! Cont. towing with that till given a1.7turbo diesel Astra. Gem of useless (perhaps not) info - told by my Subaru/Suzuki dealer today that their petrol car sales are up 36% on last year!
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And that is the real truth,their eye bulge wide open when the see the mpg, and then rumble on about low down torque,pulling power,when in reality it is the petrol engine that powers up hill when the diesel starts panting and running out of breath.
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Iv'e been saying this for 30 yr's: My Audi 2.0 coupe was one of the best tow cars iv'e ever used: Deisels are pants, always have been: If they were any good they'd race em. They were absolute shocking till they turboed em. & even then they struggle on hills compared to petrol:
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