Suitable tow cars for Sterling caravan

[Surfer]

My sister in law has bought this caravan. Currently they tow with a 2004 Xsara Picasso diesel. I doubt if this car is suitable for towing their new caravan. They are thinking for trading in for a 3 -5 year old Ford Mondeo 2.0L diesel manual. My BIL is a bit of a stickler for guidelines having served in the RAF and the police and although an experienced tower prefers a car that can tow around the 85% guideline. The MTPLM of the caravan is 1470kg and the approximate kerbweight of those years Mondeo is about 1570kg, however the Mondeo can tow up to 1800kg max braked weight.
I am saying to him that as he is an experienced tower, if he factors in the weight of their luggage, their weights, fuel etc that they will then be probably very close to the 85% guideline. He is well aware that it is only a guideline, but prefers the car to be a lot heavier than the caravan for emergency situations.
I don't think there are any other suitable cars within their budget and they have no interest in a 4 x 4 at the moment or a fancy car like a BMW although I am trying topersuade them to look at a Toyota Surf as they do very low mileage every year. He walks to work and she gets the bus. Any other suggestions please?

 

[ProfJohnL]

The accepted way of declaring the "towing ratio" is to divide the caravans MTPLM by the car's KERBWEIGHT. As these two criteria are fixed values, the outcome of the calculation will always be the same regardless of how you load the outfit.

It is recognised that this calculation uses the two worst extremes of values, and as such represents the worst case scenario, which is very very unlikely to occur in real life, but regardless of that the towing ratio remains the same.

Without wishing to kick start the debate again, this is one of the reasons why the current method and the advice surrounding it is difficult to accept at face value.

In reality, yes as you load the car and caravan the actual weights will change, but unless you measure them you cannot produce an actual ratio - but it will be lower than the worst case scenario.

For what its worth, the Mondeo has garnered a very good towing reputation, and personally the proposed combination seems a good prospect, but as with all driving - good habits and care are essential.

 

[Surfer]

Thanks John for the support!