Tow car advice Jeep Grand Cherokee / Disco 4 / X5
Hello,
I haven’t posted before but been a member of the club for over 30 years. We have had a 2.0l Mitsubishi Outlander, year 2008 for the past 10 years and tow a Lunar Lexon DS.
We are now looking at changing the tow car and would like something a bit more substantial and capable, preferably with low ratio for pulling out of CL fields etc.
We would be looking at the used car market with a budget of around £15 - 21k.
The cars that we are interested in are:
Discovery 4 - post 2014 facelift with the better fuel economy and cheaper road tax
Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0d 2014 onwards
BMW X5 30d around 2014
Please can anybody who's had experience of these cars give any advice?
Particularly interested in reliability (heard quite a few negative stories about Land Rovers), real world fuel consumption and towing ability.
Thank you very much
Dennis
Comments
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Well what can I say, just take a look at my avatar and says it all. Brilliant towing and very comfortable. Descent fuel consumption for a vehicle nearly 2.5 ton. Loads of extra's as standard on the Jeeps. Hope to change next year for a newer Jeep GC.
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I'm on my 6th Landrover stretching back 25 years and all have been superb tow cars. Currently I have the 3-0ltr Discovery 5 which does 34 mpg solo on mixed running but very little Urban. Towing a large caravan at 1950 kgs I get about 25 mpg. I had the Discovery 4 but a 2010 model which did 31 mpg solo and 25 mpg towing a 1750 kg twin axle. I sold it at 7years old with 85.000 miles on the clock. All have been totally reliable and the only non standard repair was to replace the front shock absorbers after 5 years on a 1993 TD300. Incidentally. Most large, sturdy 4x4s have been designed to take the stress of towing heavy trailers in a way traditional cars could well struggle. Certainly they have towed over steep mountain passes over long distances home and abroad without any effort and kept the caravan very stable. The Discovery has air suspension which is a great thing to have, keeping the car level when heavily loaded and allows for a very heavy tow hitch weight allowance. I don't know if the Jeep has air suspension but otherwise expect they will also be very capable tow cars.
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Trouble with this sort of question you always get the same sort of answer. Which is I tow with an xxxxx and to be honest mate I can’t fault it.
I tow with a 2015 Touareg which is Euro 6 it has marginally more power and marginally less torque than a D4. It has lower emissions, and tows our 1900kg van easily up and down hills and out of muddy fields with ease. The problem I can see with it, is it doesn’t have the correct badge on the front.
Ps. I was talking to an US colleague a couple of weeks he has just bought his first Caravan (trailer). He was concerned that his tow car wasn’t going to be up to job. I asked what he had. He told me that it was a 5.7L Grand Cherokee. I think he is wrong btw, it just amused me.
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+1 boff, I’d seek out independent reviews from trusted sources not ‘I drive’ types as not many will admit to spending silly money for a dog of a tugger👍🏻. Plus it usually ends in bickering & a P’ing contest🙄
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I'm another fan of the Touareg and have been towing with one for about 6 years. I'm a bit surprised you haven't got that on your list. The current one is the Escape model - which was discontinued in 2016, and has raised and stiffened suspension, diff locks and low ratio box - so it will go almost anywhere. Indeed, it has pulled a very large motor home off a very muddy CL in the past.
But - I was a Landrover 'fanatic' -as my wife described me - having had 4 Discos in the past and into serious off-roading. There probably isn't a better vehicle in terms of the compromise between comfort and ability. However, I did have serious reliability issues with the Disco 4 which seemed to spend as much time with the dealer as it did with me - something I haven't experienced with the Treg. Most problems were electrical and the most annoying one was when the electronic parking brake locked on and the car just couldn't be shifted!
The VW falls down a lot, in my opinion on load space since it simply doesn't compare with the huge amount in the Disco - but I live with that and can still get a fair amount of gear, including the awning, table and chairs - and all the other junk in it.
That said, as a tow truck, it is every bit as good as the Disco - stable, comfortable and with an incredibly smooth engine and drive train - but like all big 4x4s - heavy on tyres.
Although I'm slightly reluctant to admit it, I don't think I would ever go back to another Disco - and certainly not the latest ugly monstrosity to come out of the Disco stable!
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I'm a Disco fan, although I don't always understand why - they can be costly to repair. The torque converter is going on my Disco 3. Do I bite the bullet and get it repaired or bite another bullet and replace it. Common sense says replace it, so I'll probably keep it going for a while and then look for a Disco 4 or 5.
David
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Mine happens to be an Escape. To non Touareg people, these are quite rare. Approximately 5% on them were Escape’s. We have had ours for 18 months and we haven’t used the low ratio or the lockers in anger yet. However leaving a very wet Bristol ballon festival due operator error ,mine. It managed to tow the 1900kg van from a standing start through a 105 degree right hand turn followed by a left hand hairpin. It was in off road mode and much to everone’s Surprise especially my own. The electronic trickery it chugged us through the mud and on our way. Compared to the previous Pajero and Landcrusier it is much more like driving a (very) large hatchback, rather than a white van.
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I would try and drive some examples of what’s on your wish list. Possibly make two other provisos in terms of must have features, and would like features, and then see how your budget stacks up.
We have only ever towed with either LR models (Defenders, Disco’s, Range Rover, Freelander) or Jeeps (Wrangler TJ, Cherokee 4.0, Grand Cherokee, Patriot, now a Wrangler JK)
All the above (except the Freelander, didn’t put a towball on) have had fantastic towing capabilities, plenty of torque, excellent at maintaining power up big inclines etc... and differing levels of comfort and gadgets.
We like LRs, but switched to Jeeps because they gave us better value for money, and better reliability. The one car we should never have traded in was our old Cherokee 4.0, the boxy type. It was dual fuelled with LPG, so despite that big engine, the fuel price differential gave us good MPG figures. And it went like a Bansheee......
Keep an open mind, try out what you fancy.😁
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We found the perfect Xmas present for OH’s LR loving brother😂
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Land Rovers are great, providing you get a good one; Jeeps are great too, but don't have the highest safety ratings; BMW's don't have indicators (seemingly) and are prone to being creative with the truth.
Having said that - any of them will tow your caravan easily. The choice is yours.
Other models are available 😀2 -
Well my X5 has indicators and they work!
It also tows like a dream and up to now (6 months from new) has been 100% reliable.1 -
Unfortunately no where near that. Got 29 mpg towing on a trip from Bolton to isle of wight and back which i was pleased with. 35 - 45 mpg solo depending on the journey and my right foot.
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For what its worth, my opinion.
Disco 4 had real reliability issues, if you get on make sure its main dealer with a watertight warranty and full service history. Before the LR fanatics call foul just type Disco 4 crankshaft in a search engine and read.
X5 is a bit marmite, average reliability and loved a lot or not loved at all by owners in equal amounts.
Jeep is a damn site better than they used to be and seem to be loved by their owners. Fit and finish not up to european quality but perfectly good.
You have overlooked the popular choice of Santa Fe/Sorento. Proper 4x4 and excellent build and reliability. Yes, I have one of them.
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trouble is the new land rovers ,you dont need to be a mechanic .,but an electronic wizard . after disco 2 even simple things like starter motors , its body of to get at it .
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I bought a jeep grand Cherokee overland 2016 model sixteen months ago to replace my 2013 freelander 2 due to reliability issues.
The overland and the summit models are the ones to go for as they have the automatic and adjustable air suspension.
The jeep is obviously bigger and heavier but I am getting 25 mpg towing a coachman with loaded weight of just under 1600kg the freelander managed 24mpg,
Solo on a run the jeep will do 35mpg short and cold journeys it does around 28mpg and It has a nice smooth drive with or without caravan on and is well equipped throughout and you'll pay a lot less than other so called high end 4x4s.
Detachable tow bar cost me £550 fitted with dedicated electrics.
Hope this helps
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I'm on my 3rd X5 which says it all! But as with anything you need to keep a few things in mind with the X5:
- If it hasn't got a factory tow bar already fitted your BMW dealer will advise that it needs a cooling fan with increased capacity. That can be costly. I'm not convinced of the need although my previous 2 had it fitted.
- Towing mirrors can be a problem. On the model you're looking at the mirror housings have been changed and the gap between the housing and the mirror is so small that the standard UK towing mirrors are difficult to fit! I imported mine from Germany (EMUK) - a bit costly at £120 but much better quality than any you can buy here!
- BMW used to have a site on which you could plan your own routes and download onto your vehicle. I had a couple of close calls relying on the car's sat nav. They have now closed down that site and you cannot download any routes to the vehicle. Not sure any other cars allow that.
- Having said all of that, I will probably go with another X5 when I have to replace again!
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Thoughts on Volvo cars
I have been a Volvo owner since 1978 in October 2019 I took delivery of a Volvo XC 60 Inscription Pro after only having the car car for nine days it developed a fuel leak. Dealer said after looking at it it had been attacked by a rodent chewed fuel hose/cables/cover over engine etc
I maintain that attack took place in dealer compound as I nor any of my neibours have had any props with rodents but dealer would not accept this but my main gripe about this is it took over three months to repair the car as they could not get parts (on a new car???)
Volvo would not give a car to use while mine being repaired but when car repaired they would look into compensation
So when car finally was repaired I contacted Volvo to ask what their compensation would be £25 in vouchers I told them to stick them where the sun not shine & this will be my last Volvo car
What would other club members do in same situation???
I have problem with dealer as well but that another story
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she has now got a Sportage
she has forgotten the way to the Kia dealer which with the Landy knew all the LR staff 
