are mpv good for towing?

Jul 22, 2005
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We are thinking of changing our car next year to an MPV but doing his research my husband claims that What Car mag advises that they are not very good for towing. Does anybody have one and what is the general opinion?

the gardiners
 
Mar 14, 2005
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I tow with a Mitsubishi Outlander (is that an MPV?) it pulls 1300 kg like a dream. In the past Scenic, Zafira and Honda Stream have all been tow cars of the year somewhere or other. Like all other vehicles, it is essential to understand the limitations of the MPV before using it for towing. Scenics have, or had, a very low Max Towing Weight, 1000 kg if a passenger is carried. Current Toyota Corollas and Avensis' all have a low Max Tow Ball Limit, between 55 and 60 kg. Using the very rough 7% limit for tow ball weight this produces an advisable towing limit between 785 and 858 kg. Many Zafiras, including the diesels also have a surprisingly low towing limit. There is nothing wrong with an MPV but please choose one that will match your caravan weight.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Just a couple of comments to add regarding the towloads of MPV's. The Scenic has a relatively low max. permissible Gross Train Weight but the towload itself is a good average. That means the maximum that you may tow depends a lot on how heavy the car is laden. The Citroen Xsara Picasso is an alternative worth looking into that doesn't suffer from this restriction.

The only Zafira that really suffers from a low max. towload is the old 2.0 diesel. All the others have respectable limits.

Of course, if you go one up in size of MPV, like the Galaxy, Sharan, etc. you'd have a lot more room to manoeuvre regarding towing limits.
 
May 12, 2005
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I used to own citreon`s version of the peugeot 806 2ltr turbo HDI 110bh, max tow 1300kg went all the way to the med and back not a hicup, have a look at the KIA Sedona great value for money.

Tony a.
 
Jul 9, 2006
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We have a puegot 806 a Y reg and we tow a 1976 Sprite Musketeer

with it. This car tows it like a dream. Our caravan is considerably heavier than the newer ones, and our care never ceases to amaze us! There has been a great deal written about how poor MPV's are, but in our opinion and in the opinion of friends who also have MPV this is quite simply not true!

The wonderful thing about it is, as the mpv is moch higher than than a car we find we actually use slightly less petrol than when we had a volvo estate! We think it is makes a difference to get a diesel HDI engine, greater power! So go ahead and go for the mpv, you get a much better view from inside it aswell!

Good luck!
 
Mar 20, 2006
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Have a Kia Sedona and find it an excellent tow vehicle. Very stable and plenty of torque and power. Also extremely cheap compared with same size mpv's from other manufacturers - however this is reflected slightly in the interior - you gets what you pay for.

Mike
 
Apr 13, 2005
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Seriousley Yvonne, what would what car know about towing ? magazines like that are so far up sports car tailpipes that they cant see the light of day. I swapped my discovery which i absolutely loved for a ford galaxy as the galaxy was just as good weight wise but gave me double the mpg, most people on here will know that i have now swapped the galaxy for a seat alhambra and will never go back. it is without any doubt a very good alrounder, driven with care it will do 55 mpg solo and 35 towing a twin axle ace van. it is very very stable masses of torque from the engine and very comfortable. my alhambra has the 130 tdi engine and six speed manual box and i have also had sport susspension fitted as an option from new and this does seem to make it more stable towing than my galaxy was, i have also had the engine upgraded to 172 bhp and 384 puond torque which is belting as i never have to switch of the cruise control or change gear on motorway hills. mpv's are a superb choice of towcar if you dont want the fuel bills of a larger all wheel drive car.
 
Jun 23, 2006
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Re the original question.

There is subtle difference between MPV and People Carrier.

Pug 806 and its like, Alhanbra / VW / Ford clones, Toyota Previa, Viano and Sedona are realy in largish vehicle People Carrier Camp as opposed to

Citroen Picasso, Touran,Zafira and other medium sized sit up high and beg typs drives that are in the MPV camp amd often are on the border lines re pulling a reasonable heavy weighted van.
 
Apr 13, 2005
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I looked at the previa a few years ago and it is a very good car but i was adviced by the salesman that it only had a maximum tow of 1600 kgs which ruled it out of most 4 berth and above vans. he may have been wrong of course but if he was it cost him a sale. obviousley lunars are very lightweight so that is an option. the chrysler grand voyager is the same unfortunately at 1600 kgs max tow.
 
Apr 25, 2006
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Most single axle vans are under 1600kgs loaded so the limit isn't as bad as some posters will have you believe. My Chrysler Grand Voyager is an excelent tow car and so were the 2 Galaxy models I had previous.

My preference is for the Chrysler its spacious!
 
Aug 28, 2005
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Yvonne,

Not only is our VW Sharan a very capable and comfortable tow car but it is one of the cheapest cars I have ever run. 50 mpg (without the van) and the fact that it will swallow a 32 inch TV without having to convert the back is just great!!

Monkeys Husband
 
Jul 3, 2006
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The definition of mpv is critical here, the likes of the scenic and other small "MPV's" are little more than jacked up hatchbacks (though my old 1989 golf GTI was a very stable towcar for its 970 kg) larger mpv's such as the sharan are designed to carry relatively large loads at high speeds and make good towcars. We tow a lunar 615 twin axle with our 110hp tdi sharan stability is excellent but the 130hp 1.9 or 140hp 2.0 would be better. We also use the "Shaz" to tow a 1600kg boat trailer which was much more stable than our freinds discovery (even the golf towed this boat better than the discovery), You can even buy a 4 wheel drive Sharan if you are worried about getting stuck on wet fields, The Sharan is every bit as stable as heavier 4x4s and much cheaper to run
 

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