Choice of vehicle for towing

[scott.parker]

Right everyone, I am asking everyone what sort of vehicle I should, or others would consider for towing with.

Preferences:
Must be a car/estate/mpv (may consider 4x4) with very good boot space and 5doors.
Diesel engine around or above 1.9/2.5
(Need some idea of power/torque output for towing)

And my price range would be from ?2000-?4000

So start the recommendations people!

Scott

[Ernie]

trooper

[scott.parker]

Though dar or chris would be first to say that,lol.

But yeah i have though about them, but would like to try and keep to a car of sorts, my passat is too underpowerd and i think the size/wieght is too low for the wieght of a tralor and car.

Scott

[Welsh Dan]

Omega 2.5TD.

EDIT: Discovery?

[nova ste]

land rover defender it can pull and go absolutley anywhere

[Philsutton]

what ever you do dont get a diesel corsa, they cant pull themselves let alone a trailer

[scott.parker]

what ever you do dont get a diesel corsa, they cant pull themselves let alone a trailer

LOL why the feck would a even think of a smaller car then the Passat! lol

[Philsutton]

i dont know but i felt it was some that needed to be said, dont want you falling into this trap that nova/corsa diesels are some kind of intergalatic space ships in terms of speed an power.

[scott.parker]

land rover defender it can pull and go absolutley anywhere

Sod that! i want some comfort, and some reliability! My mate had a landy 90 and i don’t think i would touch one, saying that though i do know someone who works for land rover/jag

[Philsutton]

landys are cool, but get a V8 one an drive it round until the exhausts fall off

[scott.parker]

i dont know but i felt it was some that needed to be said, dont want you falling into this trap that nova/corsa diesels are some kind of intergalatic space ships in terms of speed an power.

LOL no dude you know im not a "vauxhall are the best and only car" person,as all my second cars have been non vaux.

Scott

[Dave.]

id suggest a tow truck lol

[scott.parker]

landys are cool, but get a V8 one an drive it round until the exhausts fall off

Hummm is that V8 deisel? lol

[Philsutton]

no yuo'll have to pretend im afraid, just carry some cooking oil with yuo an spill it al inside so it smells of burgers, then you will think your drivnig a diesel

[scott.parker]

no yuo'll have to pretend im afraid, just carry some cooking oil with yuo an spill it al inside so it smells of burgers, then you will think your drivnig a diesel

My passat smell that way, as its running on Bio! lol

[stuartyj21]

audi a4 avant m8 practial but still looks cool...:thumb:

[scott.parker]

audi a4 avant m8 practial but still looks cool...:thumb:

Nice cars, though i would be better with my original though of a Passat B5.5 estate for the money
.:thumb:

Scott

[db_1.2]

Discovery, towed/ been towed plenty of times in ours, only problem is the hitch is too high really for using a towing bar

[d171jvf]

yeah buy a v8 landy :eek: like to see your fuel bills in that, esp towing lol

[BIGS]

I would have to say a frontera and see if you can get the 4x4 one

[CP]

Here's what I've learnt:

- get a decent trailer - the better ones like the Brian James purpose built car trailers tow easier and straighter at speed and are generally much more stable without any of the weaving nonsense that you can get with others.
- whatever you tow with will be better with a longer wheel base and at least a 2.0l engine and be pretty heavy. Light short vehicles are unstable,get pushed about by the trailer and braking with them in slippery conditions is pant wettingly dangerous.
- RWD or 4WD are a distinct advantage
- a turbo can be advantage but depends on gearing and torque spread.
- decent brakes and ABS are a must and the trailer brakes must work well.

Generally speaking you are better off with a large saloon, or a LWB 4*4, or a medium to large van. Turbo diesels should be king but not always.

Howabout something like Merc 300D - you can get them for about ?5k. There are plenty of long wheelbase Nissan/Mitsubishi 4*4's about which are fine for towing on the road. You can get 2.4 Duratorque transits and Merc Sprinters at that kind of money as well which have the advantage of loads of space for tyres and tools

[nova ste]

landy all the best for pulling

[Ernie]

My omega Elite 3 ltr tows like a dream. But does like feul a bit and you get all the toys for bugger all money.

[db_1.2]

Defender 90s arnt as good as a thought, so i would say no for that

[Jcb]

If you get a landy try find a LPG converted one (good luck!), I've seen a few, and LPG at 35p litre makes it as cost effective as hmmm... a Nova! (Probably)

Failing that... I'd get a Skoda Octavia 4X4
IIRC: 2.0TD and obviously 4x4... Plus good economy and luxury.

EDIT: 2.0 Petrol @ 150BHP

[ANDYRACER]

Volvo 850 2.5 td would get my vote. :thumb:

[tom_beverley]

My dad has an A4 avant and at the weekend towed a car from down in Basildon and said it did it no problem.

Also my g/f dad has just got one of those new Isuzu Rodeo 4x4 and he can't speak highly enough of that, a second hand one of those must be around ?4k.

[Jim Mcrae]

A6 2.5TD is good, massive, looks nice and goes like stink

[Riggy]

on the same topic and to help me and scotty boy out, what does the average trailor , just big enough to fit a nova on weigh , and what would we place a xe nova, with cage and buckets in at

been looking myself lately and my max towing weight on the astra in 1400kg ,so does it stay or does it go lol

[nova---chris]

i tow with me 3.0 omega elite auto. TBh tows fine.
Trailor i use is twin axle and just big enough for the car.

Only issue is fuel consumption is mad. But this shouldnt be an issue next year as i intend on doing my more local places such as donnington / rockingham ect.

Although a newer omega in the TD range might be worth a look if you fancy staying with a car. The other side of the coin is the car can be used daily without issues. and will have all the gadgets you want.

Audis and passat tdi's ect look good. but you get what you pay for i think along them lines. :)

[dannyb]

BMW 525td/530td. Its RWD, got the heavy teutonic build quality and will return fairly good economy, plus its good fun when the trailers off. Buy with leather and A/C, make sure its a decent colour with FSH though for a bit of resale. As good as Audis and Passats are, they tend to be wrong wheel drive, or if they are 4wd, they tend to be larger petrol engines - not what you need.

[chrisdovey]

well we used to have a 4.0 limited jeep cherokee for towing

[Ash]

as danny said, BMW 525td ticks all the boxes. I believe the engine is the same used in an Omega as well. Only common fault I can think of is the indictors keep failing.

[garyc]

I trailer my nova on the back of a 1.7 TD astra estate. Try a woodford trailer , they tow better than brian james

[scott.parker]

I trailer my nova on the back of a 1.7 TD astra estate. Try a woodford trailer , they tow better than brian james

1.7td astra! :eek:

Well if that can do it,maybe i dont need to change from my passat,might just get away with a remapp on it for more torque!


Thanks though to everyone for your views,it's helped alot,and i can have a flick through some cars in the trader and see whats around.

Scott

[Cormac]

I use my grans (yes 83 year old gran lol) 2.0 tddi mondeo for all my towing work, very torquey engine with loads of power most jobs most jobs..

[kevster]

i have a cav with a 1.7ts izu engine !!!! cost me ?90 and tows like a gem :)
not to bad on the old jungle too , its up to you mate with that sort of money you find some think :)
good luck chap

[chris gsi]

i would say a trooper is good for towing as mine feels like it could tow 4 novas but on the down side the fuel is bad on mine 23mpg normaly but it make's no diffrance if your towing of not but i did look at a volvo t5 est as when your not towing its more pratical

[craig green]

I'd have said a BMW 5 series TD or Volvo or an Omega for cheap.

JEEP Cherokee 4.0 jobs are damn cheap on the used market. ?2000 gets you a V8 4x4. The tax changes only affect them after/later than 51 plate.