Fancy A New Tow Car
- Thread starter Gagakev
- Start date
She was with me, I heard it before I saw it, sweet as a nut!!!
I used to tow with one of these and it was first class. A 2 litre turbo. Not as powerful as the Porsche. But not what most expect to see pulling a caravan so turned many heads. Heavy for a sports car with a very small rear overhang. And the library picture was the same colours as mine.
I genuinely looked at one 2 years ago but decided the job with the big salary was likely to kill me so jumped ship! The petrol and diesel Panameras are rated at 2200kgs towing limits, the hybrids are zero. The other issue is that “tow bar prep” is a cost option when new (£175 from memory) and not many folks opt for it so adding a tow bar as a retrofit isn’t easy. Fantastic cars though!!!!
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Oh believe me Woodsieboy it wasn't like that all the time, we still had our fair share, it teamed down on one night, it kept me awake!!
And that was it, perhaps my luck has changed 🤞
Hi Gary, son sent me this when I sent him the pic, not that it makes much difference, and converted into ton is just over 3.5t
EDIT: Just realised it may depend on the year
I think you will find that certain Land Rovers can legally tow a trailer up to 4000kg as long as the trailer has fully fitted brakes.
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The Panamera is such a good looking car in my eyes, very "Porsche" but also very practical, I was quite surprised when I discovered they were permitted to tow. Back when I was looking at one 2 to 3 years back they were expensive, (£60-odd K) but not as expensive as now. There were some keenly priced ex-demonstrators but unless "tow bar prep" had been ordered when new, they couldn't be retro-fitted with a tow bar and the hybrid models cannot tow at all. All immaterial now as I can't afford one anymore! 
The land rover and other large 4x4 are not always classed as cars, which is why I highlighted the word. And trailers that have MTPLM over 3500 are not classed as normal domestic trailers.
Never thought about this before, but on Goggling it appears to be far from straight forward. Tax, insurance and BIK can have differing views. This extract from Go-Compare seems to class it as a car if it is essentially used for leisure purposes.
4X4S AND SUVS
Provided your 4x4 or SUV was created for social, domestic and pleasure use, it’s classed as a car.If the manufacturer has classed it as a commercial vehicle, but you use it for family errands, it’s a dual-purpose vehicle and will be insured as a van.
Examples of this would be the Jeep Cherokee Pioneer and the Land Rover Discovery Commercial series.
So I gather that Land Rovers that are essentially the same except for seats and windows, might be classed as commercial. Otherwise they are cars. This can have an affect on the road fund, but also, it seems, the limit of what it can tow.
At first I thought it made no sense. But on reflection. If classed as commercial it would have to be insured as such.
John
My Pajero SWB. was incorrectly classified and I had to prove to DVSA that it was a car. WRT some Land Rovers and LEZ those with hard tops and no windows were banned, yet the same vehicle with windows and rear seats IE an estate variant were allowed. It happened with other makes too. Fiesta, Sorento being examples.
Same with our Toyota Hi lux Surfer. The VED dropped once it was classed correctly.
Here is an example of the car towing maximum.
* Requires braking on both wheels on at least one axle of the towed load.
| 1996 Land Rover Discovery | Specs | Braked capacity |
|---|---|---|
| ES (4X4) | 2.5L, Diesel, 4 SPEED AUTOMATIC 4X4 | 4000kg |
| TDI (4X4) | 2.5L, Diesel, 4 SPEED AUTOMATIC 4X4 | 4000kg |
| ES (4X4) | 3.9L, Unleaded Petrol, 4 SPEED AUTOMATIC 4X4 | 4000kg |
| V8I (4X4) | 3.9L, Unleaded Petrol, 4 SPEED AUTOMATIC 4X4 | 4000kg |
| TDI (4X4) | 2.5L, Diesel, 5 SPEED MANUAL 4X4 | 4000kg |
| ES (4X4) | 3.9L, Unleaded Petrol, 5 SPEED MANUAL 4X4 | 4000kg |
| V8I (4X4) | 3.9L, Unleaded Petrol, 5 SPEED MANUAL 4X4 | 4000kg |
Benny ,
I think the Prof was quoting the English Law rules not the manufacturers specification which are of course totally different. I have no technical data to say anything😉
Dusty is correct.
In the UK The law supperceeds manufacturers specifications. any trailer that exceeds 750kg MAM must have full braking. The maximum MAM of an 02 class trailer ( for towing behind cars with a MAM not exceeding 3500kg) in the UK.
Other jurisdictions may allow larger and heavier trailers.
In the UK The law supperceeds manufacturers specifications. any trailer that exceeds 750kg MAM must have full braking. The maximum MAM of an 02 class trailer ( for towing behind cars with a MAM not exceeding 3500kg) in the UK.
Other jurisdictions may allow larger and heavier trailers.
My 4 door A35 was the same, I changed it for a Hillman Imp compared to the A35 it was a luxurious sports car.
Nice car the Imp, we had a Singer Chamois, used regularly for weekend trips from Plymouth to Leicester with two children, the cat and Jack Russel. Leave around 0300 on Saturday morning arrive back in Plymouth around midnight Sunday. What it was to be young!
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The figures supplied by the manufacturers and printed on the plate attached to vehicle are the legal towing weights of that vehicle. The issue here is that the 3500kg trailer weight applies the trailers fitted with overrun brakes. Trailers over 3500kg with fully fitted brakes can be towed legally on the public road by a vehicle with a higher towing limit ( Landrover) as stated in my original post.
ProfJohnL stated (Legally in the UK and EU, the maximum towing weight of any braked trailer that is permitted to be towed behind a car is 3500kg,) which is incorrect.
A similar topic has arisen in another thread. and a contributor has pointed to this
www.smhtrailertraining-kent.co.uk
I find the document well written and explains the situation clearly.
Specifically it does state some Cat B Vehicles may be specially modified to tow more than 3500kg, but the driver would have to have a B+E driving licence issued before 1997 to be legally able to drive it as their combined MAM limit was 8250kg .
One of the modifications would require an alternative (and approved) non overrun braking system to be involved installed. Apart from a few vehicles that have high capacities for towing and have versions that appear as commercial vehicles, which are generally large 4x4's such control systems are not generally available for fitting to normal Cat B vehicles.
The fitting of a non approved braking system would invalidate the cars type approval and render it illegal on UK roads.
The fact these are specialist vehicles means they are not normal cars. The OP's picture of a Porsche Panamera. is an EU model and as such would be limited to a trailer not exceeding 3500kg.
Again I'll point to the fact the OP's posting referred to the towing weight in Lbs not Kg, and that almost certainly points to a vehicle sold in the USA, and its technical specifications concerning towin may be quite different to those in the UK and EU.
B+E Car & Trailer Towing Licences Explained
Do you know what trailer weight you can tow on a car or B+E licence? We explain the licence categories, restrictions and whether you actually need to pass a B+E trailer towing test.
I find the document well written and explains the situation clearly.
Specifically it does state some Cat B Vehicles may be specially modified to tow more than 3500kg, but the driver would have to have a B+E driving licence issued before 1997 to be legally able to drive it as their combined MAM limit was 8250kg .
One of the modifications would require an alternative (and approved) non overrun braking system to be involved installed. Apart from a few vehicles that have high capacities for towing and have versions that appear as commercial vehicles, which are generally large 4x4's such control systems are not generally available for fitting to normal Cat B vehicles.
The fitting of a non approved braking system would invalidate the cars type approval and render it illegal on UK roads.
The fact these are specialist vehicles means they are not normal cars. The OP's picture of a Porsche Panamera. is an EU model and as such would be limited to a trailer not exceeding 3500kg.
Again I'll point to the fact the OP's posting referred to the towing weight in Lbs not Kg, and that almost certainly points to a vehicle sold in the USA, and its technical specifications concerning towin may be quite different to those in the UK and EU.
If Iam not mistaken, if your vehicle is plated to tow over 3.5 tonne, and you wish to do so then your trailer and your tow car has to be fitted with "Close Coupled Brakes" these are similar to artic braking system, not sure if they are air or hydraulic. but basically all your brakes are linked as one unit, its not cheap, I do stand to be corrected.
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