Galaxy

[scottironsbtinternet.com]

Hi Guys,

does anyone tow a twin axle with a Galaxy(not the bar of choc)?And what mpg do you get?

 

[Icemaker]

Hi scott, I have left loads of posts on this forum regarding the galaxy and the alhambra as i have a considerable amount of experiance with both cars.

We had a galaxy 2003 tdi 115 manual and found it to be a fantastic car in all ways it never ever let us down it was very comfortable on long journys and returned around 55 mpg solo and 40 + towing although i do drive quite efficiently, not slowly efficiently. the galaxy towed our coachman laser 590/4 fairly competently but i did find that i was changing down gear from six to five on hills which although not a problem it started to get me thinking about the higher output engine that was now available. anyway to cut a long story short we got the chance to buy an alhambra 130 tdi manual off a dealer that was going bust and i jumped at the chance due to the extra power, what we actually got was a car exactely the same as the vw sharran/ ford galaxy but with loads more spec and considerably cheaper, the equivalent vw sharran would have been 6 grand more expensive and on checking residuels the seat alhambra is better than the vw since people have come to know you get more for your money. any way as a tow car the 130 is far more suitable for a large twin axle than the 115, it pulls with ease lots and lots of low down torque and you never have to rev over 2500 rpm so fuel economy is superb, we get about the same mpg as the 115 but have all that extra power as an advantage. the cars are very comfortable and you get a big advantage being sat so high up, most come with seven seats but mine came with six seats and a fridge which is great for the long trips to site.

overall a very very good tow car and better than my past discovery in every way (except muddy fields)do not even consider the petrol version, it is horendous on fuel i have been told stories of 18 mpg towing and no better performance over the diesel, the tiptronic auto is only available in 115 bhp due to the gearbox not being strong enough (apparently)and chipping it will just destroy the box so go for the 130 tdi manual if you can or if you are buying new the seat alhambra stylance is now fitted with the 2 litre tdi 140 engine which is even better.

 

[scottironsbtinternet.com]

Hi scott, I have left loads of posts on this forum regarding the galaxy and the alhambra as i have a considerable amount of experiance with both cars.

We had a galaxy 2003 tdi 115 manual and found it to be a fantastic car in all ways it never ever let us down it was very comfortable on long journys and returned around 55 mpg solo and 40 + towing although i do drive quite efficiently, not slowly efficiently. the galaxy towed our coachman laser 590/4 fairly competently but i did find that i was changing down gear from six to five on hills which although not a problem it started to get me thinking about the higher output engine that was now available. anyway to cut a long story short we got the chance to buy an alhambra 130 tdi manual off a dealer that was going bust and i jumped at the chance due to the extra power, what we actually got was a car exactely the same as the vw sharran/ ford galaxy but with loads more spec and considerably cheaper, the equivalent vw sharran would have been 6 grand more expensive and on checking residuels the seat alhambra is better than the vw since people have come to know you get more for your money. any way as a tow car the 130 is far more suitable for a large twin axle than the 115, it pulls with ease lots and lots of low down torque and you never have to rev over 2500 rpm so fuel economy is superb, we get about the same mpg as the 115 but have all that extra power as an advantage. the cars are very comfortable and you get a big advantage being sat so high up, most come with seven seats but mine came with six seats and a fridge which is great for the long trips to site.

overall a very very good tow car and better than my past discovery in every way (except muddy fields)do not even consider the petrol version, it is horendous on fuel i have been told stories of 18 mpg towing and no better performance over the diesel, the tiptronic auto is only available in 115 bhp due to the gearbox not being strong enough (apparently)and chipping it will just destroy the box so go for the 130 tdi manual if you can or if you are buying new the seat alhambra stylance is now fitted with the 2 litre tdi 140 engine which is even better.

Hi Icemaker

Thanks for the info,I have a Galaxy tdi 150bhp,I only get 44mpg on motorway (solo) and 2 weeks ago when I last towed(Bailey Arizona(with caravan mover))I got 24mpg.Its a new car with 4000miles,is there somthing wrong with my car?Or does it need run in?

 

[ianand]

I HAVE JUST TOWED MY 1300KG ELDDIS TYPHOON 230 MILES IN TOTAL WITH AN 05 GALAXY 130 .MY MPG (ACCORDING TO THE COMPUTER) WAS 25 TO 27 MPG TOWING , SOLO AROUND 43 MPG .THIS IS SIMILAR TO SCOT ,MINE HAS 12000 ON THE CLOCK.BY THE WAY IT IS AN EXCELLENT TOW CAR, THE VAN WAS ABSOLUTELY STEADY ON THE BACK AND I FOUND MYSELF DOING 70 UPHILL ON THE M6 OVERTAKING LORRIES IN 6TH GEAR.ALSO ACCORDING TO THE FORD BROCHURE THE 115,130 AND 150 ALL HAVE IDENTICAL TORQUE FIGURES , I THINK AROUND 230 LBFT .IT COULD BE ALL THE GEARBOX CAN SAFELY TAKE.

 

[Icemaker]

Scott / Ian, I do appologise i forgot to mention that i have got a dual system engine re-map module for my car which upgrades the 130 tdi to 172 bhp and over 300 pound of torque but best of all i get round about 10% better fuel economy due to not having to work the engine so hard. Scott the same module will put your 150 engine up to 200 bhp. I must admit i do drive very efficiently i dont drive slow i just dont bury my foot to the floor all the time so i do get good mpg, also i never trust the onboard computers, mine also said i was doing 28 mpg towing but i got to newquay 365 miles away on 3/4 of a tank wich worked out at 40 mpg. the engines and gearboxes are fine for the power and torque as vw sell cars in other countrys with outputs as high as 200 bhp i am led to believe that the weak point is the dual mass flywheel which can only take the torque for limited periods as vw only spec tolerances of 10%, so for the odd time you need to use maximum torque whilst towing i cant see any harm being done.

 

[simon_5104965]

i towed with a galaxy for 4 years. the only problem i found was on wet grass there was little or no grip. appart from that it was a fab car

 

[Edward_5065872]

I,ve been towing an ace award tristar for a year now with a Galaxy 115 T.D.Auto and on a run to Cornwall it returned approx; 30m.p.g.Solo on a run I average approx 40ish.As for a tow car, I can only say I can't fault it at the present time,but I've only been a caravan owner for a year, and this is the only car I've towed with. Best wishes to you all. Edward

 

[giovanni_5060838]

Scott / Ian, I do appologise i forgot to mention that i have got a dual system engine re-map module for my car which upgrades the 130 tdi to 172 bhp and over 300 pound of torque but best of all i get round about 10% better fuel economy due to not having to work the engine so hard. Scott the same module will put your 150 engine up to 200 bhp. I must admit i do drive very efficiently i dont drive slow i just dont bury my foot to the floor all the time so i do get good mpg, also i never trust the onboard computers, mine also said i was doing 28 mpg towing but i got to newquay 365 miles away on 3/4 of a tank wich worked out at 40 mpg. the engines and gearboxes are fine for the power and torque as vw sell cars in other countrys with outputs as high as 200 bhp i am led to believe that the weak point is the dual mass flywheel which can only take the torque for limited periods as vw only spec tolerances of 10%, so for the odd time you need to use maximum torque whilst towing i cant see any harm being done.

Big fan of the galaxy, and i am considering buying one.

Those mpg figures ? from what i know, and i havn't checked they

have large tanks at least 15 gallons, so 3/4 of a tank would

mean 12 gallons to do 365 miles. this is 30 mpg, which makes

more sence to me than 40mpg towing!

Yes trip computers are no that accurate, but they are not 45%

pessimestic. ie reading 28mpg when doing 40mpg