Who tows with petrol?
and what do you tow with?
Comments
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I tow a 1200kg Eriba Triton pop-top with an Audi A3 1.5 petrol. 150bhp and 250N/m torque. It tows better than my previous tug, a 2L Diesel Skoda Yeti with 110bhp and 250N/m torque. The torque is available across a wider rev range, the engine very flexible and she will sit happily in cruise control in 6th on all but the steepest of inclines.
On a good long motorway run at a true satnav 50/55mph I usually see 37/38 mpg, 40mpg occasionally and a low of 34mpg on a 2,500 mile trip through France with car and van fully loaded in 2019 when the car only had a few thousand miles on it.
Colin
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That's impressive. The last petrol I towed with was a 1994 Mk1 Mondeo 1.8. The figure you quote are what I got solo. Towing was in the mid to high twenties.
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I think the developments in petrol engines over the last 10 years or so have been immense. The technology and development that had gone into diesels seems to have been directed towards petrol engines with the result that economy figures are now nearly the same. In everyday non rush hour driving that 1.5 engine achieves 48/52mpg and on the same slow speed 50/55mph run as above recorded nearly 70mpg when the tank was re-filled. My wife's 2014 VW Up does no better.
I think with lighter weight caravans a petrol engine really is a viable option. You are also not stuck with a large and heavy everyday vehicle or the need for a second runaround at home. Once weights increase and/or you are in the realms of a twin axle a diesel is still the way to go.
Colin
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We have a Seat Arona with a 95bhp 1litre turbo triple and on a long fast motorway run is no better economy than my almost 2 tonne Volvo diesel hybrid. Around town both are also similar…. Our caravan is just on 1500kg which is the limit of only a few hybrids although disappointing to find the Kuga hybrid tow limit is only 1200kg’s. A lot of petrol cars are too light and many hybrids have a tow limit below 1 tonne, indeed some cannot tow anything…. and yet their petrol or diesel counterparts can…. Bizarre.
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We are reverting to one car. I will be wfh more or less permanently until I retire and some weeks my car doesn’t move. the boss is already retired and it is too much dead money having 2 cars. However the boss has a perception about car length (and by her own admission not the most confident driver) so compromise we must! Happy wife = happy life and all that…. However I may have found that compromise in a Cupra Formentor. just have to convince the wife now…. If not it is new Hyundai Tucson, MG HS or Tiguan - all plug-in hybrid versions save for the Tucson which is self/charging.
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I tow with a jaguar xe 2.0 petrol auto with 250bhp engine and to be honest towing our sterling elite emerald is pretty much effortless, last time we were away coming out of dundee there is a long hill heading out of dundee and i was in the left lane towing the caravan and i wasnt pushing hard on the throttle and i was out accelerating a golf in the outside lane until we reached 60mph and then he was away
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Well the shortlist is Tucson Hybrid (self charging) or plug-in Tiguan. Tucson has incredible spec and controversial looks, Tiguan is more staid, less kit (albeit has adaptive suspension). Both same colour. Looked at various others especially the MG HS PHEV but despite incredible value and spec it simply has too many quirks. Also Considered the new 2021 facelift Santa Fe hybrid however no one yet makes a towbar for it….. very odd. Left field choices along the way were a Volvo XC40 diesel with all the gizmos possible and a Q7 diesel PHEV. If it hadn’t been black I would have discussed a bit further.
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Is the 1.4 petrol Tiguan Hybrid worth the extra £6K [looking at whatcar prices] over the 1.5 petrol. Towing economy and performance will be no better. I've just got my negative hat on and wondering how long it will take to save that £6K in furl costs.
Colin
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My previous towcar was an Audi A4 estate - a 1.8. To be very honest, at 20mph+ it was a absolute dream - very composed and solid, you could fat times forget the caravan was on the back!
I did however find it to struggle sometimes pulling away on inclines as it simply didn't have the bottom end torque.
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just had a first tow with a T5 Volvo XC60, absolutely awesome tow car. No lack of torque and was never ever in the wrong gear, in fact I never felt it change gear if it needed to. I love petrol and have no love of diesel and the Volvo has delivered it in spades with a massive cherry on top. Don't be sucked in with the must have a diesel tow car, MPG is slightly less but not that big a disparity as much as you might think.
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I tow with a Mazda CX7 manual which is great for towing a Bailey Pegasus 554 which has a 1500kg max weight
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Thats good to hear I just bought a 2019 XC60 T8 PHEV to replace my Toyota Avensis D4-D as tow car for my Explore 546.
The Avensis did 1500 trouble free miles over the summer hauling the family to Fort William averaging 28mpg towing and 40-45mpg solo.
I expect the XC60 should have plenty of power (310bhp + 87bhp from electric) and options for AWD. The Avensis has about 130-135bhp with a tune box on.
With today's announcement from the government, that I no longer need to take a B+E test, I'm looking forward to putting the XC60 to the test soon!
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@ rich1ell ... With today's announcement from the government, that I no longer need to take a B+E test, I'm looking forward to putting the XC60 to the test soon!
This passed me by today. It's about time they did this ... IMHO of course. I bet that'll please all those who recently forked out to take their B+E .....
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I can see why people might be annoyed however I'm sure if they consider carefully they can see some value in the course and examination they completed.
My wife and I both completed CC&M towing course a couple of years back and it covers a good portion of the skills required to pass. At around £500 I don't think that was wasted.
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