Passat / golf / leon

[Jono]

I’m looking at changing our tow car - currently a 2011 Audi q5. It’s been a great car and very good to tow with, but I’m needing something I can fit longer lengths of material in as I will be using the next tow car for work reasons aswell.

I’ve been looking at the vw passat / golf or the seat Leon - all estate, has anyone used these to tow with? If so what were they like compared to a larger suv type vehicle like the q5

 

[otherclive]

Don’t rule out the Skoda Superb estate. I had a 2014 4WD version and tge internal space is enormous. I’m 6ft 4 in and could sit behind the drivers seat even when it was fully back. Same running gear as your other options. Octavia too ?

 

[Jono]

Had thought about an Octavia vrs estate , but I think that’s possibly not really thinking with me head…

Never thought about the superbs but will look into them

 

[ProfJohnL]

If size is important then I doubt the Golf/Leon even in estate form will be big enough, but the Passat/ Audi A4/ Superb, are all just a bit bigger. They have a lot of common mechanical parts which have a good history of being better than average across all brands.

The Passat and Superb have both been celebrated as good tow cars in the past, and I suspect Audi would have received very similar results but may not have been given top spot becasue of the higher cost Audi tend to have.

Obviously which ever car you choose, it must be capable of towing the caravan or trailer you want, but then the question then is diesel or petrol, and really you need to consider how much solo driving you do compared to towing.

I would suggest if you 70% or more of your mileage driving solo with only 30% or less towing, I'd suggest consider a suitable petrol engine. But if you do more than 30% long distance or towing, then Diesel might be a better.

 

[Raywood]

Frankly the VW group have a very good reputation for tow cars and you are unlikely to be disappointed by any on that score. The real question is what suits you better on a day to day basis, as most of us do far more mileage on day today running than towing, so that is the more important issue. Provided the model has the power and weight you need choose which suits your everyday life best as none oof the cars should be a problem towing.

 

[trevormonty]

Friend has Octavia estate in 2.0T 2wd and gets 16-18km/L at 100kmhr.

 

[Woodentop]

Also don't overlook the Kodiaq which is the same chassis as the Superb - indeed as all of the others mentioned are.

We've had three Passat estates and we only changed this time to a Karoq as we are aging a bit you step in and out of a Karoq rather than climb in and out of a Passat! Make sure to get the 2L 150TDi (minimum) diesel though, as the EV is only 1.6L on petrol and the electric part is a bit underpowered.
A friend has got a RAV4 Hybrid with a 2.5L petrol engine. He's getting in the low 20's mpg towing against the 32-ish that we used to get in the Passat, and about 40 solo against 48 or more in the Passat. For the record, our 2L 150 Sportline Karoq does 34-36 towing, 48-54around town and has down well over 60mpg on a longer run!

 

[RogerL]

If you're happy with the Q5 but need more space, what about the Q7 - they're both based on the same platform with proper 4wd, not a part-time jobbie - if the Q7 is too big, the VW Touareg sits between the Q5 and Q7 on size and also shares their platform.

 

[Dustydog]

The Audi A6 estates are cavernous and the Audi A6 All Terrain is a brilliant tug. Is a double cab pick up suitable for your work?

 

[Beachball]

Golf estate 2.0 TDI would be my choice because it got a big boot and a great tow car

 

[RogerL]

Golf estate 2.0 TDI would be my choice because it got a big boot and a great tow car

The OP needs longer length, not necessarily more volume.

 

[otherclive]

Golf estate 2.0 TDI would be my choice because it got a big boot and a great tow car

Passat and Suberb have even bigger boots. The OP has to decide what percentage of driving might be towing cf solo driving and how much space or length is required in order to whittle down choice.

 

[MattNorthway]

Don’t rule out the Skoda Superb estate. I had a 2014 4WD version and tge internal space is enormous. I’m 6ft 4 in and could sit behind the drivers seat even when it was fully back. Same running gear as your other options. Octavia too ?

Great car

 

[Deejuk]

Read this with interest, I've had nothing but VAG brand cars for the last 20 years but recently went back to my first love Japanese cars so got myself a 2.2 litre diesel Honda CRV, I don't do many miles so bought one around 100k miles but wow what a difference to the VAG cars. I have to say it's brilliant, I forget the caravan is on almost.

I've owned an Octavia, Touran and Passat and we had an Octavia Estate 1.9 VRS (quick car) but the loading space of the CRV seems much better and much more usable somehow. I have the Mk2 CRV and my better half has the more modern Mk3, personally I prefer the MK2 it's more erm agricultural somehow. But hey good luck with it all.