Kerbweight required for Ford Focus 2.0 Petrol.

[TheTravelMan]

Hi there,

Can anyone let me know what the kerbweight of the both a NEW Ford Focus 2.0 Petrol Manual 5 speed, 5 door. as well as say a 1 or 2 year old model.

Both internet and Brochure show a Gross Vehicle mass of 1895kg and Max Towing of 1400kg, however do not show kerbweight.

I have rang Ford , who i beleive wrongly told me that to get the kerbweight is to subtract the tow limit from the gross vehicle mass this leaves about 495kg!!! when i queried this further they told me I had to purchase a car 1st then go back with a chassis number and reg number for them to try and work out the kerbweight. I have never heard anything so daft.

Also anyone who uses one of there cars to tow with i would be interested in hearing your comments on how they perform while towing as well as there stability, also as to what type and size of caravan you tow.

Here hoping you can help!

Many Thanks

Andrew.

 

[PaulHull]

Try whatcar.com

or here to be more precise

http://www.whatcar.com/car-review-performance.aspx?RT=692&ED=53672&U=0

 

[howiet]

hi a website i find useful is what towcar.com its got loads of data you can cross match your car caravan and you also normaly get some owners reviews of car caravan combinations .h

 

[GillC1]

Andrew

This site may be of some use http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/ford.htm#focus506

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Andrew.

I am disappointed with Fords response, but I can understand their dilemma. The kerbweight cannot be accurately predicted, because of the range of engineering tolerances that go into all the parts that make the car, and a list of factory fitted options, which may be specific to a particular car or batch of production. Hence the need for the VIN to enable Ford to specifically identify the model and its factory fitted options.

Even if Ford give you a KB for the model you are interested in, it is unlikely to be accurate, as the supplying dealer may add certain features that are classes KB items, which is why the vast majority of cars actually weigh more than the published figures the manufacturers sometimes give.

What weight a car can legally tow is established by tests the manufacture carries out for its type approval. The results are model specific so even a different body style can affect the permissible towed weight. Some cars cannot tow anything, whilst others can tow trailers that are heavier than the car. These weights are not simply determined by the weight of the car, but as a result of evidence based tests.

KB only has a legal implication for drivers who passed their test after Jan 1997 where they are only accredited with category B which limits the driver to an out fit of maximum gross train weight of 3500Kg and the trailer is not more than 100% of the cars KB. For older drivers or those who have the B+E category, the KB is not used in any legal calculations for normal combinations.

It is good sense to keep any trailer as light as possible, as this helps to keep an outfit as controllable as possible. In the spirit of this the UK caravan industry recommends that the trailers MTPLM should be close to 85% of the cars KB. This is not a legally enforceable limit, though some insurers may refuse to insure some outfits based on past claims history and ratios above 85%. There is a debate about this figure, as no other EU country makes the same suggestion.

By all means use the other web sites that have been mentioned, but do bear in mind that all these sites have to enter their data about cars and caravan by hand, and that mistakes have occurred. It is always better to use data from the manufacturers, or from the data plates on the vehicles involved.

Provided the trailer is within the cars towing limit, the you should have adequate performance both for acceleration and braking, But stability is not just to do with weight ratios, its as much to do with the way a car and caravan is loaded, and the driving style.