Does any one know if a tow car test has been done with the Orlando. We have pretty well made up our minds to get the 2.0L auto LTZ` version for towing our caravan Two issues though. Not sure on colour which is very limited and getting a tow bar fitted! Tow bar is the biggest concern. We have read a post by Bo Peep about the caravan riding nose hig behind the vehicle. What is the optimal height for the tow bar to prevent a nose high position?
Chevrolet Orlando tow car test?
- Thread starter Surfer
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- Mar 14, 2005
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The towbar height is covered by regulation which specifies a height of 350 to 420mm when the car is fully laden. However, as the same regulation specifies a coupling height of 395 to 465mm when the caravan is horizontal, a slight nose up attitude is possible under adverse tolerance conditions (car at 420mm, caravan at 395mm).
The Orlando has no problem at all towing I towed with it from England to Spain and I have just been on a 500 mile trip to check things out with no problems. all the power in the world.
Mine is the LTZ auto, I would have liked a bit better consumption I only ever managed to get 25, a manual would of course be better, but I think my wife stirring 6 gears is a no no.
Do check on the tow bar as I have reported here the ball is too high and I am in continuing discussion with Chevy but nothing is solved yet, they just keep quoting figures at me, I have sent pictures, but they see what they want to see. Chevy customer service will no longer talk to me but the dealer is helpful, living so far away does not help my case.
Mine is the LTZ auto, I would have liked a bit better consumption I only ever managed to get 25, a manual would of course be better, but I think my wife stirring 6 gears is a no no.
Do check on the tow bar as I have reported here the ball is too high and I am in continuing discussion with Chevy but nothing is solved yet, they just keep quoting figures at me, I have sent pictures, but they see what they want to see. Chevy customer service will no longer talk to me but the dealer is helpful, living so far away does not help my case.
Chev quoted as just short fo £800 for the towbar. Another supplier has quoted £384 for a swan neck as a flange one is not available. We have a concern about the height of the tow ball as we don't want the caravan riding nose up. Strange that the Insignia has a braked towing weight of 1600kg but the Orlando has 1500kg, but they both use the same engine and transmission except the bhp on the Orlando is 3bhp higher.bopeep said:
The other thing we noticed is that on the auto the gear indicator is on the left hand side intead of to the right of the lever an the lever obscrures them. Seems Chev are penny pinching and don't want to have a UK one done with the gear indicator on the right side of the gear lever.
not sure I have noticed anything different about the gear lever I just pull it back to the end and it works, the manual side is a waste of time it will not override the auto.
I have chosen the silver because there were none in the country when I ordered mine I had to have what was on the docks, I saw them in Spain, because I had the first car before they were launched I had to go with the chevy towbar, there was another company in the north selling the bar but it was the same bar imported from germany.
It does ride high but I am hoping to get it sorted
I have chosen the silver because there were none in the country when I ordered mine I had to have what was on the docks, I saw them in Spain, because I had the first car before they were launched I had to go with the chevy towbar, there was another company in the north selling the bar but it was the same bar imported from germany.
It does ride high but I am hoping to get it sorted
Thanks for updating me. The wife really wants the Orlando whereas I prefer the Insignia. I am a bit concerned about it having no spare wheel pus as a couple in our sixties how often will we use all 7 seats. Wife says that at least I can get a mobilty scooter into the rear but on the Insignia it will need to be lifted in. At least with the Orlando when driving you cna see further ahead which is handy as we live down some country lanes where 4 x 4s dominate. I am also concerned about fuel consumption on the Orlando as living rural a lot of driving is at low speeds close to urban driving. I don't want to make another mistake when purrchasing the car. Getting a test drive in an auto Orlando is liek tryingt o find hen's teeth in a desert.bopeep said:
Hmm I wonder who is going to win this round!
I too have been concerned about no spare wheel and I also will never use the rear seats, so I undid 4 nuts and they slipped out, I have also just bought a tyre for £175 pounds and I am looking for a wheel, the tyres on mine are on 18 inch wheels so are a touch more expensive, it fits in the space of the rear seats.
The sat nav disc is for the UK and ireland only and discs for other countries are £100 each.
The car is a nice height for us in our 70s no bum scraping on the floor, it seems to do what I ask, the auto I cannot feel change.
Solo It ticks over on a motorway at 65 at 1200 revs and at 75 at 12 hundred revs manual would be cheaper to run but auto is comfortable and 163 hp I have never yet got it over 2,000 revs
The sat nav disc is for the UK and ireland only and discs for other countries are £100 each.
The car is a nice height for us in our 70s no bum scraping on the floor, it seems to do what I ask, the auto I cannot feel change.
Solo It ticks over on a motorway at 65 at 1200 revs and at 75 at 12 hundred revs manual would be cheaper to run but auto is comfortable and 163 hp I have never yet got it over 2,000 revs
- Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Surfer,
You comment regarding the differcne in availabe towing weights of the Insgnia and the Orlanda even though the they use the same engine and transmission.
The towing weights are not simply calculted on engine power, but on a range of tests where a whole host of other criteria are considered . These are model specific. A classic example of this was the Zafira Mk1 diesel where the power train was shared with other Vauxhall /Opel models but towing limit was drastically reduced. I belive the reason was the Zafira's inability to cool the engine under heavy load.
Even though the same powertarin may have been used another factor may be the choice of gear ratio's.
You comment regarding the differcne in availabe towing weights of the Insgnia and the Orlanda even though the they use the same engine and transmission.
The towing weights are not simply calculted on engine power, but on a range of tests where a whole host of other criteria are considered . These are model specific. A classic example of this was the Zafira Mk1 diesel where the power train was shared with other Vauxhall /Opel models but towing limit was drastically reduced. I belive the reason was the Zafira's inability to cool the engine under heavy load.
Even though the same powertarin may have been used another factor may be the choice of gear ratio's.
could the fact that you have fitted 18" wheels in place of the 16/17" standard size have a bearing on towball hight.
- Mar 14, 2005
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Overall tyre size should be about the same regardless of whether you've got 16", 17" or 18" wheels. The tyre aspect ratio should compensate for the wheel size.
Besides, even if this weren't the case, Bopeep mentioned something about the towball being 520mm above the ground instead of 420mm maximum. That's equivalent to an increase in diameter of 200mm or almost 8" bigger wheels!
Besides, even if this weren't the case, Bopeep mentioned something about the towball being 520mm above the ground instead of 420mm maximum. That's equivalent to an increase in diameter of 200mm or almost 8" bigger wheels!
Dear All,
Sorry to interupt, but the Orlando is featured in this year's Towcar Awards which appears in the August issue of the mag and some details will be available online in mid-June. I can't divulge the results but the car impressed the judges and looked great value.
And in case it matters to anyone, ours was white...
Sorry to interupt, but the Orlando is featured in this year's Towcar Awards which appears in the August issue of the mag and some details will be available online in mid-June. I can't divulge the results but the car impressed the judges and looked great value.
And in case it matters to anyone, ours was white...
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