Anyone towed with one of these?
Hello
We are looking to change our current car early next year and would appreciate your views and experiences.
We have decided to have a change of style so are looking at automatic SUVs ideally around 18 months to 2 yrs old
In order to future proof our next choice of caravan the car must easily tow a caravan with an MTPLM of around 1500kg, so lets say minimum Kerbweight of 1700kg
Following our visit to a Car Supermarket last week we have added/ Deleted User cars to/from our list:
YES - Volvo XC60, Hyundai Santa Fe, LR Discovery ( nice but expensive)
NO - Nissan X-Trail ( didn't like the fiddly boot floor and 7 seats), VW Toureg ( nice but seems too big)
Also our our list is the BMW X3 and Audi Q5 but we have yet to inspect either in the flesh
Thanks in advance for your suggestions
Comments
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I used to tow with a Volvo XC60 D5, as a tow car it was good (once I'd ditched the OEM tyres).
As a regular car I didn't really get on with it, it was cumbersome and not that great to drive. Others rave about them but I only kept it about a year.
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I'm surprised you have discounted the Touareg because "it is too big". when in fact, it's quite a bit smaller than a Disco which was on your 'Yes' list.
I'm now on my second one, having owned four Discos in the past and regard it as the best towcar I have ever owned - particularly from a reliability point of view. Smooth, quiet and comfortable and the newer ones have so much power and torque that it will tow any caravan with ease.
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If you like the Hyundai take a look at the Kia model
Also the Hyundai and Kia have 5 or 7 year warranties which mean a 2 year old with still have either 3 or 5 years left.
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Surely the Tiguan, not the Touareg, is the size you would want. I had a Touareg, that I towed an 1800kg TA with. Towed like a dream, but expensive on fuel, tyres, servicing and was a bit like a ship as far as solo driving goes. I now have a Tiguan that I tow a 1550 kg van with. Good to tow with and great as a solo drive. IMHO a much better vehicle, unless you really need a big towcar.
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if you go on towcar/info you can put what the van is and then put the vehicle details in and get weather it is a good match or not. just keep changing the car with the ones you like and hey presto as they say. gives you a indication what you would like to tow your van with,
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I had an XC60 and towed a caravan with MTPLM of 1500 with no problem. Be careful as the D4 has a known fault where the engine goes into limp home mode. Mine did it 5 times. There is a dealer fix for it which would of cost £900 if it hadnt been under warranty. However even after they fixed it mine still went wrong again - lost confidence in it and sold it.
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Have a look at the Mercedes M class. I bought one new in 2011 and kept it for 6 years and 72,000 miles. A truly superb tow car. Good on tyres and fuel and I didn't find the servicing any more expensive than my previous big Toyota's. The only problem was the annual road tax at £520 which make my eyes water a bit.
But the M class also comes in a 4 cylinder 2 litre engine which is also a good tow'er! In the end after trying lots of small engined cars, I changed for a used ML350AMG which has the big 3 litre V6 and stacks of power. But it also runs on AD BLU in addition to the diesel, so annual tax was almost halved to a more acceptable £280. Tows my 1645kg van with ease.
TF
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We have been towing with a LR Discovery Sport (2.0ltr Ingenium engine) for nearly two years, including six weeks last year travelling through Swtzerland to Italy and back through Germany. It is an excellent towcar, much improved over our previous Freelander which was itself pretty good, and a very comfortable car solo. We initially towed a Bailey Unicorn series 3 with it but since the start of this year have been pulling a Coachman VIP replated to 1700kg. This latter caravan is above the 85% match with the car (probably around 91%) but it is no problem. Fuel consumption averages around 43mpg solo (up to 48 on a long run) and up to 28/29mpg towing. We have had the odd teething problem because it was a brand new model when we bought it but LR have been beyond reproach in dealing with issues and lending me cars. For example, I complained of brakes sometimes squeaking first thing in the morning and they recently fitted new rear brake discs and new pads on all wheels.
Finally, I admit to being a bit of a car nut (we also own a Saab 9-3 convertible, a Jaguar XK8 and an MGF) and when I bought the Freelander, I missed the `feel good' factor of the Mercedes E-Class which we traded-in. The Discovery Sport has given me that back.
I am sure there are other decent tow cars but we are very happy with the DS.
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I may get shot down in flames for this, but don't discount the Ssangyong Rexton W auto. I have just bought one new, picked it up on a Friday afternoon, towed our twin axle caravan 300 miles on Saturday morning with three adults and three children, and in two months and 5500 miles it hasn't missed a beat.
A Volvo it isn't, but it tows our 1555kg twin axle very well, has a 3,500kg towing limit with 128kg nose weight and I thought my Volvo V70 was good at towing but this is on another level. It is a bit old school, but has Mercedes running gear. I had reservations, but I'm glad I bought it and with 176hp and selectable 4wd, including a low range gear box, it is great in slippery situations too. The Mercedes 7 speed auto box is smooth and always in the right gear.
We love it anyway, and you could buy two for the price of the Discovery and it will probably be more reliable.
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Hi, I had a D4 XC60 Geartronic AWD, for three years, excellent towcar and completely reliable for the 50,000 miles we covered. About 24mpg towing and 38 - 40 solo.
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Forgot to add, changed XC60 for V90 Cross Country, good so far, towed 500m recently, averaged 29mpg, does about 41mpg average solo, will do 48 on long runs. Too soon to assess reliability but local dealer very average,
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