Best Tow Car - Help Please!!!!!

[Sam_374394490]

Hi

As most of you will know we have to sell our Peugeot 307 SW due to suspension problems. We have been researching all week a) what cars we like and b) what car would be best to tow our caravan (Adria Altea 542DT mtplm 1300 kg.

The shortlist is as follows:-

Ford Galaxy/Seat Alhambra - Very practical with 3 kids, but could only afford 53/54 plate.

Vectra 1.9 cdti/Mondeo - could afford 06 plate at a push, (only problem is with the 3 kids, is getting all car seats in the back)

**Dilema is should we go for a newer car, and the kids will have to put up with being a bit squashed or get a 7 seater **

Please please help!!!

 

[Guest]

Having brought up two children and with grandchildren now, having them cramped together if you are doing long caravan trips does little for a peacefull stress free journey.

Three rows of seats if you can get the right deal will probably give you more enjoyable journeys.

Your children may always be perfect little saints of course so a smaller car might be OK.

If you can get a good Alhambra I think you'll find servicing and parts a little cheaper then the Ford

 

[Sam_374394490]

Having brought up two children and with grandchildren now, having them cramped together if you are doing long caravan trips does little for a peacefull stress free journey.

Three rows of seats if you can get the right deal will probably give you more enjoyable journeys.

Your children may always be perfect little saints of course so a smaller car might be OK.

If you can get a good Alhambra I think you'll find servicing and parts a little cheaper then the Ford

Thank you

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

sam as you know we now have a 7 seater santa fe. we dont use seat 6 or 7 because we only have 2 kids and the dog and awning go in the boot. inside our santa fe its more like a car size inside not the usual 4 x 4 space if you know what i mean. we only had the santa fe because the kia sedona had a fault that wasnt found until the car had been in the garage for 6 weeks and we couldnt wait that long.

i am being honest now as much as i love the santa fe its comphy, tows the wyoming fab and its an auto cos im lazy and cant multitask when towing lol. i really do miss the sedona it had bags of room and huge seats and so much space inside and someone down my rd has bought one and i miss it even more now lol.

kids will be happy of there comphy. i know that my friends have a renault scenic and they struggle with 3 seats in the back of that. i think galaxy, alhambra, sharan is the way to go for comfort and space.

hope this helps

jo-anne

i want another sedona

 

[Guest]

Another advantage with people carrier layout is that you can move the seat layout and have the option of the moving cars load foward to centre of the car rather than all the load weight at the back.

Children love having their own individual seat as well.

 

[JulieT1]

Hi Sam

I would go for the car that is the most practical and suits your needs even if it means buying an older one.

We have a Mondeo which is fine for our 2 teenagers but I think it would be a squeeze in the back with 3 car seats.

Its a "53" plate and its done 38k, we bought it when it was 14 months old at 14k - I daren't look what the value of it is now but we've probably lost alot of money. You'll probably loose less of the value on an older one.

Julie

 

[Sam_374394490]

Hi Jo

I like the Kia Sedona very much, but what worries us is the safety record. On the Parkers Guide which I have been referring to, for all the info on the cars. It gets only 2 stars on safety. It also doesn't have airbags in the back. I am in right in saying that!!!

The best reviews are for the Alhambra, but we are struggling to find anything more than 04 model with low mileage.

 

[Marcus_5113048]

Hi Sam

Don't know what your budget is but have you looked at the newer Sedona (2006 onwards). It has a 4 star NCAP rating and a good diesel engine.

The Alhambra hasn't been NCAP tested. Also the Alhambra and the Galaxy have no NCAP rating, although the VW Sharan gets 3 stars.

Also bear in mind that the Alhambra etc will return over 40 mpg solo whereas the Sedona will be in the low 30's.

Despite all this, in my opinion the Sedona is more likely to get the thumbs up from the kids.

Marcus

 

[Mel]

Hi Sam. We had 3 children (all grown up now). We have had seven seaters for years. We found that sooner or later one or other wanted to bring a friend out with them. Then my mother would come and stay for a week. Then we started fostering. Then my daughter had a baby. One way or another seven seats have been jolly useful over the years. We have had a renault espace, a shogun, zafira (twice)a sedona and now a Sante fe. IMHO an older car, as long it is in good nick, is worth it for the extra seats.

mel

 

[DeliDave]

we have 04 Galaxy,NCAP is same for all threee alhambra and sharan,only minor differences in spec/trim,very good on fuel over 40mpg solo,25/30 towing good road tax,

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

sam, it was the new shape sedona we had. on autotrader the other day i seen a private sale 06 or 07 new shape sedona yes it had 80,000 on the clock but it was 6K. i would have thought it had service history most new cars do. as long as a car has had regular service history and that continues especially a diesel it will go for years. go onto the kia website and order a brochure on a new sedona and also go and have a look at one aswell i dont think you will be dispointed at all and the new one is ncap 4 stars.

good luck

jo

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

sam just been on auto trader that sedona is an 07 plate its

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

sam just been on auto trader that sedona is an 07 plate its

 

[Sam_374394490]

its an auto

Thanks Jo ;-)

I will have a look.

Our budget is

 

[valeter]

have you looked at the volvo estate,great for comfort,good for room,great for towing and best of all great for safety features,Have had a couple cannot fault

 

[Garfield]

The problem with most 4x4s that claim to be 7 seaters is that they are more like 6.5 seaters in that the 2nd row of seats is shaped for two and although there are 3 seat belts, the person in the middle is sat on the "hump", most saloon and estate cars have the same problem if you are regularly carrying three in the 2nd row. We crossed the Mitsubishi Grandis MPV off our shortlist for this reason. We did over 100000 miles in our VW Sharan, it wasn't the most reliable of vehicles but it was a number of small faults easily fixed, rather than big things untill the head gasket went at 110000 miles, but I expect that if we had kept it it would have continued to give better reliability than the brand new Ford S-max that replaced it - fantastic car, clever design but built by complete wan**rs!!!.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi sam have you deceided yet?.

jo

 

[Sam_374394490]

Hi Jo

We have still not sold our Peugeot, although we had the first viewing on it last night which was very positive so I will see if anything happens today.

Still, not sure about the car we are going to buy. I like the Sedona, hubby doesn't. Hubby likes the Mondeo, I don't. Practical wise, it looks like hubby will win because we can get a low mileage 2006/2007 reg for the money we have got to spend. I think what it is with the Sedona is the fuel consumption, being a 2.9 engine he is worried that our fuel bill every week will double. I keep looking and looking and still haven't found anything that I like as much as our Peugeot. We have the Quiksilver model too, and I feel I am going from owning a car which I love to just having a car to tow the caravan.

I will keep you informed if we get a call today to say they want the car. The guy who came to view it was actually a policeman viewing on behalf of his friend in Ireland. He was a lovely guy and it certainly got the neighbours curtains twitching as he came in his uniform

Sam x

 

[Jaydug]

If you were satisfied with your Peugeot 307, towing wise and fuel consumption wise, then I would suggest that you look at a Citroen C5. It's virtually the same car except that it has hydropneumatic suspension. That means that however much weight you put on it, the car will level itself and remain so. I have towed with these several of these Citroen since 1990 and in my opinion, they can't be beaten.

 

[gary_374453681]

Myself and my wife have a Hyundai Terracan 2007 model, Its a great car, superb for towing with that 'proper' 4x4 feel to it. I would recommend one to anybody. It also pulls like a steam train (2.9ltr diesel) and manages our 23 foot Abbey Expression 550 easily.

 

[Mikey1]

I think you mean a peugeot 407 is the same as a C5?

307 focus size etc.

What do people class as a 4x4 feel?is it the large proportions,the elevated driving position or the wallowing round corners?

 

[Brent_374427565]

Hi,

What is important is the kerb weights of your shortlist of vehicles. getting an 85% match when everything is loaded up, both in the 'van and the car, may pose a problem and watch out for low hitch rates, idealy you'll want a 7% ratio, but this may not be possible with some of your choices. Good luck, Brent

 

[Sam_374394490]

Hi

Thank you for all your advice.

We did make a very big costly genuine mistake with our peugeot, as we went with the kerbweight and how much the car was capable of towing (1400 kg). Being new to caravanning what we didn't take into consideration was the max ball weight (hitch) which is 60kg.

We have sold our car today for

 

[Tapestry]

Hi

I drive a Mondeo 1.9 tdi estate, it towed our previous caravan really well. We have 3 kids, tall 10, 11, 12 year olds. they have never complained about space in the back and they would!! Plenty of space in the boot area. We also have an S Max. I agree with others comments on how useful a 7 seater can be. The 7 seater does mean there is even more room in the back and came in useful when our dishwasher recently broke and we could put a new one in the back of the 7 seater without any problems.. We'd have both cars again.

Good luck

Annette

 

[Sam_374394490]

Hi

I drive a Mondeo 1.9 tdi estate, it towed our previous caravan really well. We have 3 kids, tall 10, 11, 12 year olds. they have never complained about space in the back and they would!! Plenty of space in the boot area. We also have an S Max. I agree with others comments on how useful a 7 seater can be. The 7 seater does mean there is even more room in the back and came in useful when our dishwasher recently broke and we could put a new one in the back of the 7 seater without any problems.. We'd have both cars again.

Good luck

Annette

;-) You made me laugh about the dishwasher Anette. A typical woman always being practical. Thank you for your advice x