I have never towed anything before and would like to know if my car is up to it . I have a 2001 2 lt dti zafira and would like to buy a Bailey ranger 470/4 ,i have been told i can only pull 1050 kg and the unladen van is 975 kg which dosnt leave much over to fill it up . Any help would be great ,thanks Graham .
CAN I TOW ANYTHING WITH MY ZAFIRA ?
- Thread starter graham_374324980
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Mel
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We had a Zafira. Great MPV but rubbish kerb weight. You probably can tow something but if you have an MPV, you probably, like us, have a large family. It restricted our choices of family sized vans so much that we swopped it for a Kia Sedona. Not such a good MPV, but great kerb weight and pulling power.
Apparently the 2.0DTi Zafira has lower towing weight capability than a 1.6/1.8/2.0 petrol versions although you would think with being a 2.0DTI it would make a better tug, from what I`ve been told it has something to do with the cooling system. My Vectra 2.0DTi has an 85% recommended towing weight of 1207kg
Hello Graham,
Sadly the Mk1 2.0Dti Zafira does have a dismally low maximum tow weight, for the engine and vehicle size, and whilst the unladen weight of your caravan may be only 975kg, the regulations do not use that figure but the MPTLM of the caravan which must be no greater than the maximum permitted under the type approval figure of 1050Kg.
The calculation of the maximum permitted towed mass for any car is made by the manufacture and is model specific. It is based on a combination of tests, and engine-cooling capacity is only one of the many factors considered. The fact that the same engine is used in a different model and is allowed a greater towing load cannot be used to ignore the manufactures limit.
Other engine variants of the Zafira do have a greater towing capacity, as does the MK2 Zafira diesel.
Sadly the Mk1 2.0Dti Zafira does have a dismally low maximum tow weight, for the engine and vehicle size, and whilst the unladen weight of your caravan may be only 975kg, the regulations do not use that figure but the MPTLM of the caravan which must be no greater than the maximum permitted under the type approval figure of 1050Kg.
The calculation of the maximum permitted towed mass for any car is made by the manufacture and is model specific. It is based on a combination of tests, and engine-cooling capacity is only one of the many factors considered. The fact that the same engine is used in a different model and is allowed a greater towing load cannot be used to ignore the manufactures limit.
Other engine variants of the Zafira do have a greater towing capacity, as does the MK2 Zafira diesel.
Correction here to John's statement:
The maximum permissible towload is not the MTPLM of the caravan but its axle load. The MTPLM is the sum of the axle load and the noseweight. Therefore, if the noseweight is 75kg and the maximum towload 1050kg, you would still be legal so long as the MTPLM does not exceed 1125kg.
The maximum permissible towload is not the MTPLM of the caravan but its axle load. The MTPLM is the sum of the axle load and the noseweight. Therefore, if the noseweight is 75kg and the maximum towload 1050kg, you would still be legal so long as the MTPLM does not exceed 1125kg.
Am i missing something here?
Graham, I tow a Bailey Ranger 470/4 MTPLM 1172kg with my Citroen Picasso. The Picasso has a kerbweight of 1300kg.
Now i know iam towing at approx 93% laden which is fine because i am a competent caravanner and tow within my limits. The ranger tows a dream and is very stable indeed.
The kerbweight of the Zafira 2.0 dti Mk1 is (according to towcar.com) 1503kg which gives you a 78% match. the Towcar site says that the caravan is too heavy by 67kg. is this because the weight of the Zafira has 250kg ballasted?
Graham, I tow a Bailey Ranger 470/4 MTPLM 1172kg with my Citroen Picasso. The Picasso has a kerbweight of 1300kg.
Now i know iam towing at approx 93% laden which is fine because i am a competent caravanner and tow within my limits. The ranger tows a dream and is very stable indeed.
The kerbweight of the Zafira 2.0 dti Mk1 is (according to towcar.com) 1503kg which gives you a 78% match. the Towcar site says that the caravan is too heavy by 67kg. is this because the weight of the Zafira has 250kg ballasted?
Hello Andrew,
The maximum permitted tow load for any vehicle is set by the vehicle manufacture. It is not a simple calculations based on a percentage of the cars kerb weight, but a far more complex calculation that takes a range of characteristics into account.
Vauxhall have assed the Zafira Mk1 diesel and conclude that it is only permissible to tow 1050kg with this particular model.
The reasons for such a low figure are not published, but it is suggested that the 2.0L Dti engine in this model has cooling issues when worked hard, and thus to prevent such problems the maximum towed weight should not exceed 1050Kg.
Other models from the same range do not suffer this problem and thus are rated to a higher load.
The maximum permitted tow load for any vehicle is set by the vehicle manufacture. It is not a simple calculations based on a percentage of the cars kerb weight, but a far more complex calculation that takes a range of characteristics into account.
Vauxhall have assed the Zafira Mk1 diesel and conclude that it is only permissible to tow 1050kg with this particular model.
The reasons for such a low figure are not published, but it is suggested that the 2.0L Dti engine in this model has cooling issues when worked hard, and thus to prevent such problems the maximum towed weight should not exceed 1050Kg.
Other models from the same range do not suffer this problem and thus are rated to a higher load.
Hi Lutz,
Yes I know I did not allow for the tow hitch load, mainly because it clouds the core issue of the low limit for the Diesel Zafira.
with hind-sight this could be a significant amount for Graham.
Towload is axle load, so actual towload is actual axle load and maximum towload is maximum axle load.
Nothing is ballasted. The maximum permissible towload specified by the manufacturer has nothing to do with weight ratio.
Hi all graham here,just to say thanks for replying to my post.I think i shall have to get rid of the zafira if i want to join your caravaning world ,something nice and heavy with a 3.0 engine ha ha
Something nice and heavy with a 3.0l engine............thinks, that could be an Audi A6 allroad with the 3.0l diesel engine. I road tested one in December last year and was very impressed with the power delivery and the auto gearbox. In the end, I bought a Mercedes 4*4 because I could carry the bikes upright in the back and still have room for the dogs, but the Audi was very nice..
Hi John,
Interesting this. If it is just a matter of a poorly designed cooling system, surely there are modifications available to combat this problem? Maybe not. I was gonna buy a Zafira dti when i bought my Picasso. So glad i didn't.
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