Favourite towcars
following discussions on tow-car of the year set me off on a nostalgia trip which I thought might start a fun item, what is your current tow-car and what was your favourite oldie?
I currently drive a Santa Fe (which I love) and my favourite oldie was our faithful old Volvo 740,2.0l petrol, an estate, with oodles of boot space which one TCOY judge wisely noted was very good indeed for our old German Shepherd!
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I suppose most will say their current tow car. Mine currently is a used previous generation Volvo V60, until i give up caravanning i have no idea if it will turn out to be my favourite. My aspirational ‘favourite’ tow car is probably an Audi Allroad or Q7 PHEV.
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As Flatcoat suggests, my current ML350 is a brilliant tow car (as long as fuel economy is ignored 🙄) but it should be considering its size etc But I've never been unhappy with any of my previous tow cars ... Carlton Senators Omega & R Class
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Like Wherenext our best oldie was our Isuzu Trooper. At 3.0 ltrs it was quite thirsty but an unbelievable tow vehicle. As it was a works vehicle running costs generally were not an issue for me.
After subsequently having a couple of L.R. Discoveries and a Nissan X Trail we decided that we would like to go to a more conventional car, almost just for a change. We opted for a Mondeo estate and currently have a 2 ltr auto 180bhp. It tows our 1350kg Lunar like a dream, has bags of space in it (shout into the load area and you hear an echo
) and it is great for solo driving. 0 -
I suppose my original 56 plate Kia Sorento auto would take the award. It wasn't as powerful as the 59 plate it was replaced with but because it had SLS it was more stable. An honourable mention should also go the the Peugeot 405 diesel which I owned for six years and towed us down to the South of France quite a few times trouble free.
David
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Our current tow car is a 2009 Volvo V70 2.0 diesel. We have had it over 3 years now and so far it’s been a excellent tow car and generally all round great car tows well and is reasonable on fuel although parts can be expensive. Favourite tow car would probably be our old Isuzu Trooper 3.0 diesel it was an 04 plate so one of the later ones we had it 5 years was an excellent tow car pulled the caravan as if it wasn’t there loved it although. It did cost a lot of money as it went through 2 sets of injectors but when it was running well it was excellent o still miss that car even today. Other good tow cars we had were a 2004 Mondeo hatchback and a 1999 Peugeot 406 saloon both of these were 2.0 diesels and were very good and gave many years good service.
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This has to be my favourite car - towing or not. Was it the best towcar - probably not - I think the current Touareg has that distinction. (I do like my toys though
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My favourite type of towcar is an estate with 4wd, auto, V6 or V8 engine. Something like an Audi RS6 or Alpina B5..... in practice happy to settle for the estate, 4wd and auto but forego the engine for a diesel. Must also be a decent drivers car, good seats, quality sound system. In reality i find estates are generally roomier than an SUV (luggage especially) more economical/lower running costs, better to drive enthusiastically, and many are available with 4wd option. Think various Volvo, Audi A4/6 Allroad, Passat/Golf Alltrack, Skoda Octavia/Superb, any Subaru, Vauxhall Insignia, Mundaneo, Jag XF, and probably one or two i have overlooked.
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has this not been discussed before?My towcars have been.....morris 1800,wolseley 18/85,austin 3 ltr,2 mark 1 granadas,2 mark 2 granadas,2 scorpio 2.8,2 scorpio 2.9 4x4,vauxhall senator 24 valve, isuzu trooper 3.5,vauxhall monterey 3.2,and 4 kia sorento,s. and my favrite has always been the one i am using at the time and all for different reasons.
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I’m sure it has been discussed before but these topics all go around and repeat and it gives newcomers the chance to have a say.
There's nothing new, Nothing New, not even your name😂😂
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First towcar Austin 1800,drove better with twin strombergs fitted replacing the su carb.In Aug 1973 got me back from Girona to Calais in 24 hours with one stop for fuel.Yes I was in a rush,!Wife with severe stomach pains (a spanish bug),April 1974 saw our first born delivered.
Second car a Wolseley Six Auto flash and towed well.
After a break from caravaning next towcar Rover 620 2 ltre with manual box.Followed by another Rover 620 2,3 ltre with auto box both first rate Honda engines.
Then went back to my roots having passed test in 1966 in a Land Rover defender LWB.Bought my first Discio 2.5 lir with manual box followed by another Disco 3.0 litr with auto box.Finally and the best to date Range Rover Sport 3.0 litr with auto box.I am now spoilt I can't look at any other.(I lie,I have been eyeing up a newer model)Information not to be disclosed with her indoors.!
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I wish I still had mine too! It was white and my son ln law gave me a bright yellow hi-viz jacket to hang in the back (I managed to resist the fitment of blue lamps behind the front grill!). It had to go after getting stuck in the mud on a c.l. and was swapped for a mark 1 trooper 2.6 auto which was way underpowered but did not get stuck in mud!!
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Had a chat to OH re this thread and said all his 4x4's all the best for him, so Vauxhall Frontera 2.8 diesel ok but not the best for towing then series 111 Landrover 2.5 petrol then 4 classic range rovers 2 3.5 petrol 3.9 petrol soft dash then 2.5 diesel , then discovery 300tdi 2.5 diesel manual not a good tow car then Izuzu trooper 3.0 diesel a very good tow car and currently toyota landcrusier also very pleased with that but what next he does not do new vehicles but may be a smaller engine 4x4 as the French are trying to get folk to drive smaller engine vehicles, when you look on the local Le boncoin site there are loads of big engined 4x4's for sale as a eco tax is slapped on when you buy the big engine ones ie a new range rover can add 10,000 euros plus to your car price and some big vehicles now get an annual tax ie like the road tax in UK.
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Presently have a 2017 Volvo XC90 which is a superb tow car, plenty of room and at 2.0L not too heavy on fuel. I've had 3 Isuzu Troopers (all were excellent but a bit thirsty at 3L plus), An MG Montego (nice car in its day) and my original 33 years ago was an Austin Maestro which was excellent but then we had a lighter/smaller caravan. Not sure what my next car will be, probably another Volvo but unsure at the moment about electric and hope technology makes advances so that they become a realistic tow car.
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My current Discovery 4 is probably not as good as its predecessor, a Discovery 3, as there are too many unused gizmos and gimmics to go wrong and it is automatic. It does depend on the needs at the time, of course.
The one that ever best fitted that requirement was my Land Rover 101 - a forward control model designed for the army to tow two tons of field gun across country at 40 mph, whether there was a road or not! Just needed a long drop plate to get down to the civilian tow-ball height, but never noticed that there was a caravan involved. Also had a huge load area to fit four children seated around a camping table and pile of chairs, bikes, and things - and an Olde English Sheepdog as well.
Thinking back - ALL my tow cars have been Land Rovers, starting with a Series I.
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Current Santa Fe is the best tug in terms of stability and capability it is just so good with a van on the back.
Favorite were my 3 previous Shoguns. Yes the only vehicle I have owned more than 1 of. Bemoaned the day they stopped making them. Big brute of a thing but just loved em.
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Anything Land Rover. We have towed with a Series 2a, Series 3, Defender, Discovery (good tug, but a slug solo), Range Rover. Freelander one was a nice car, some great features, but seriously dodgy transmission, ours never towed, it spent it’s relatively short life with us in two wheel drive only.
Then came the Jeeps.... 4.0 Wrangler, 4.0 Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Patriot, new Wranglers.
Of them all, the Jeep Cherokee was simply awesome. As good as a Land Rover, but much more sophisticated and comfortable. Haven’t towed with our current Wrangler yet.........
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Currently tow with a 2019 Volvo XC90 light hibrid diesel which is great but in years gone by when we had a smaller and lighter caravan, I loved our Saab 9000 which really flew and was extremely stable.
Worst were the first car we towed with: a Vauxhall Magnum (Viva with an 1800cc engine) and a Vauxhall Carlton 2200 which had a lock-up device on the auto gearbox which kicked-in at about 50mph and wouldn't drop out until it got below that speed, hence you lost all your speed on hills before it would change down a gear.
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We have a Cherokee, I just love it. Would definitely have another and no plans to change this one yet.
my second favourite was a 54 plate 2.0 D Mazda 6 TS2 tourer, just loved it but alas hubby’s company car so had to go back when he left 😕
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cripes Cherokee - do you shares in BP?
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