Potential next tow car...

Jul 16, 2019
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I’m sure there will be many different opinions on this one and it’ll be fun to spark a debate! So, I wanted to get feedback on any ‘real-world’ experience on any of these vehicles for day-to-day ownership and towing – BMW 5 Series Touring (530/535d) – Range Rover (4.4TDV8, 2012 run out year and full fat version, not Evoque, etc.) – BMW X5 (3.0d 2014+) – Discovery 4 (3.0TD)…

I’ve got itchy feet on our current BMW 520d SE which both the missus and I love but want to ‘upgrade’ ready for towing (budget roughly £15-18k). We’ve spent most of our life owning Vauxhalls but have really enjoyed the better build quality and experience from the 5 series, hence the list above being ‘premium’ brands as I just can’t see us being happy dropping our standards! We have towed with a Vauxhall Antara and I think it’s an underrated car for the money – however, progressively worse mechanical issues on what was a 5 year old car and the subsequent apathy from our dealer has put us off Vauxhalls for life!

Overall, our usage would roughly be – short daily commute/school run on local roads, regular weekend drives (50-70 miles largely motorway), occasional 150+ mile motorway trips and our annual summer hols to France (up to 2k on mainly motorway). Overall annual mileage is below/around 10k but longer trips would increase once we’ve also got our overall outfit sorted.

So, let me know your thoughts/experiences on the above vehicles or any blindingly obvious options I’ve not considered (I did look at XC90s but our budget won’t stretch to a new version and the better half doesn’t like the older version!)…

Or is the advice to fit a towbar to the 520d and stick to what we know!!

Cheers,
Barry
 
Mar 14, 2005
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You don't say what you would be towing, so replies will not necessarily be very helpful. You mention the BMW X5 3.0d. I have been towing an 1800kg single axle caravan behind my X4 with the same engine for 3 years now and cannot fault it. To my mind it would be a good choice. I towed the caravan down to Italy and Spain in the spring and again to the French Alps in August and it returned about 26 to 28mpg when towing that relatively heavy caravan. Solo it achieves about 32, but I don't hang about, regularly driving at 90mph on the German autobahns and right on the speed limit in town traffic when it's not too busy. I have managed to better that figure in the UK where I find I have to restrain my right foot, getting about 38mpg.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Give consideration to Lexus hybrid and Landcruiser. The Lexus models took top three places in the latest reliability survey.
 
Nov 16, 2015
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We tow a Coachman 560 at 1645 max weight with a 2014 Sante Fe. Max tow limit 2000kg it very good and for the money cheaper than an Discovery, If I could afford a Discovery I might be tempted but., my son works for JLR, and states they have a lot of returns with problems.
 
Mar 24, 2014
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While I note that your Senior Consultant Motor Adviser (SWMBO) doesn't like the old version XC90, we changed from a Nissan X Trail to the Volvo XC60 D5. It's a great tow car and I picked up a 3 year old one with just over 20k on the clock within your budget. It also already had a factory fitted detachable towbar fitted.
 

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