Seat Tarraco and Power to Weight

Oct 8, 2019
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Hi all, new to the forum though had my Abbey Vogue 620 for approx 10 years now.

I am looking at a Seat Tarraco as my next tow car primarily because it is the best I can get on the Motability scheme.
The engine would be a 2.0d 150 PS and is specified at Max brakes towing weight of 2300kg.
My concern would be if this is powerful enough to reasonably tow the Vogue which has an MTPLM of 1635kg but is not usually loaded up that much.
Can anyone offer any advice on whether the Tarraco would be a good to car for the Vogue?

Many thanks.
 
Jan 19, 2002
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According to 'Carleasingmadesimple.com' website the Tarraca weighs between 1559 and 1770 kg which should be regarded as the suitability for towing - not the 2300 which relates to specific restsrting on hill testing I think. Clearly you are an experienced caravanner, but still the adage of 'the biggest car you can run and the smallest caravan that meets your need' is a good one - and aiming for somewhere between the 85% and 100% of kerbweight makes your caravan between too heavy or very heavy in comparison depending on the car model specifics.
 
Oct 8, 2019
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Thanks for the reply Audiorob. I am comfortable with the weights of the car and caravan and don’t believe that will be a problem.
Where I am less comfortable with is the engine power to weight ratio of the combined unit and whether the 150 PS (148BHP) is sufficient to pull the unit.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Throughout the mists of time, the industry has suggested power to weight ratio of 40bhp HP per Ton, and that was in the days when petrol engines needed lots of revs before any useful torque was produced.

These days the majority tow vehicles still have diesel or turbo assisted petrol engines, where the torque band comes in at lower engine revs, so its my guess that a power to weight ratio of nearer 35bhp per Ton will be more than adequate to tow with.

Seat use VW group engines and the 2.0D series have always faired well in towing tests, so I don't think you will lack power with 150.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Jazzhands said:
Thanks for the reply Audiorob. I am comfortable with the weights of the car and caravan and don’t believe that will be a problem.
Where I am less comfortable with is the engine power to weight ratio of the combined unit and whether the 150 PS (148BHP) is sufficient to pull the unit.

My Sorento (2004) and Disco 2 only had 138 bhp but were able to pull trailers heavier than yours. It’s not just power but the torque developed and the vehicles powertrain gearing. I suspect being a car derived SUV the Seat has higher gearing than my two beasts above. But as Proj John says VWG engines are well regarded. You could try Towcar.info to see what the predictions look like.
 
Nov 16, 2015
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ProfJohnL said:
Throughout the mists of time, the industry has suggested power to weight ratio of 40bhp HP per Ton, and that was in the days when petrol engines needed lots of revs before any useful torque was produced.

These days the majority tow vehicles still have diesel or turbo assisted petrol engines, where the torque band comes in at lower engine revs, so its my guess that a power to weight ratio of nearer 35bhp per Ton will be more than adequate to tow with.

Seat use VW group engines and the 2.0D series have always faired well in towing tests, so I don't think you will lack power with 150.

Its not so much the Horse power, it's the torque that the engine is producing which is more important.
10 Shetland ponies as against 2 Big old Clydesdales.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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EH52ARH said:
ProfJohnL said:
Throughout the mists of time, the industry has suggested power to weight ratio of 40bhp HP per Ton, and that was in the days when petrol engines needed lots of revs before any useful torque was produced.

These days the majority tow vehicles still have diesel or turbo assisted petrol engines, where the torque band comes in at lower engine revs, so its my guess that a power to weight ratio of nearer 35bhp per Ton will be more than adequate to tow with.

Seat use VW group engines and the 2.0D series have always faired well in towing tests, so I don't think you will lack power with 150.

Its not so much the Horse power, it's the torque that the engine is producing which is more important.
10 Shetland ponies as against 2 Big old Clydesdales.

I made that point in my second paragraph.
 
Oct 8, 2019
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Is there a torque number that I should be looking at to give me comfortable feeling?
The spec on the Seat site says the 150PS diesel has 340 Nm / 250 lb/ft / 1750-3000 rpm.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Have you looked at Towcar.info as when you put outfit details in you get graphs of revs power and torque and an estimate of how well the outfit will perform on motorways and hills as well as stability guidance. Obviously it may not be fully 100% accurate but I’ve found it the best of the matching sites.
 
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Nov 16, 2015
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I would think the car is slightly underpowered and a little light but I suppose it depends on how often you will tow and for how long. My Sante Fe as a comparrison is 436 nm of torque / 322 ft. Lbs of torque which is very adequate for a 1645 kg caravan.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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My definition of adequate, is when an outfit can keep up with traffic around it on normal roads. 350NM and 150bhp is in my view more than adequate for virtually all outfits.

Others may disagree, but I don't need sports car acceleration when towing.

Just for information I have regularly towed an outfit of about 4000kg weight with a 115bhp turbo diesel with no big issues of performance, and I have kept up with normal traffic ahead.
 
Nov 16, 2015
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ProfJohnL said:
My definition of adequate, is when an outfit can keep up with traffic around it on normal roads. 350NM and 150bhp is in my view more than adequate for virtually all outfits.

Others may disagree, but I don't need sports car acceleration when towing.

Just for information I have regularly towed an outfit of about 4000kg weight with a 115bhp turbo diesel with no big issues of performance, and I have kept up with normal traffic ahead.

Prof , no point of yourself and myself stating yes or no on the suitability of Jazzhands choice of car, by bickering, at each other. The towcar.info Has a good overall look at the car and will give a better idea than you and myself. .
 
May 7, 2012
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The engine looks to have enough power, but the cars kerb weight could be a problem if the figures quoted are correct. The lower figures are too low, and the highest borderline in my view.
 
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EH52ARH said:
Its not so much the Horse power, it's the torque that the engine is producing which is more important.
10 Shetland ponies as against 2 Big old Clydesdales.

It's still power, not torque, that gets you over the hill. Power is basically torque times engine revs so one can make up for lack of torque by increasing the revs, hence the reference to gearing in one of the previous replies. High torque at low revs is just a bit more relaxing, that's all. It's not vital, though, so long as you're not scared to use a bit more revs.
 
Jan 31, 2018
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Given this is s diesel and have lots of torque it'll be fine-if it is the 4x4 version it'll put that power down well too-more of an issue I would expect. If you are really worried they do a 190bhp version too, for more cash of course. This is basically the same car as a Skoda Kodiaq and VW Tiguan/ Audi equivalent and gets great towing reviews.
 

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