Tow car advice

[Steve1962]

Hi all,
New here and looking for some advice ( I see there is already some newbie advice but wanted to post my own thread) about suitable towing cars.

Am planning to look for a 4 berth caravan and as a result will need to swap out one of our cars ( Jazz 2011 and Suzy SX 4 2014).

Have been eyeballing a Kia Sportage KX 3 on a 16 plate which has 134 bhp but am not sure if it would tow a caravan up to 1600 kg which is the maximum I'd want.

Also in the running is a 15 plate Sorento which I know will tow with ease but my concerns are:

I need it to be reasonable economical as it won't just be used for towing, but also as an everyday car mainly with only one person in it - concern is that currently my wife and me both do low mileage for work and I know that diesels don't like short journeys - also AWD or 4WD would be nice as we live in a rural location.

Thanks all.

Steve

 

[Jcloughie]

Hi all,
New here and looking for some advice ( I see there is already some newbie advice but wanted to post my own thread) about suitable towing cars.

Am planning to look for a 4 berth caravan and as a result will need to swap out one of our cars ( Jazz 2011 and Suzy SX 4 2014).

Have been eyeballing a Kia Sportage KX 3 on a 16 plate which has 134 bhp but am not sure if it would tow a caravan up to 1600 kg which is the maximum I'd want.

Also in the running is a 15 plate Sorento which I know will tow with ease but my concerns are:

I need it to be reasonable economical as it won't just be used for towing, but also as an everyday car mainly with only one person in it - concern is that currently my wife and me both do low mileage for work and I know that diesels don't like short journeys - also AWD or 4WD would be nice as we live in a rural location.

Thanks all.

Steve

Welcome.

I tow 1500 kg with 135 hp diesel without any problem. Yes I would like more power but as you already realise, it’s a compromise.

John

 

[Steve1962]

Welcome.

I tow 1500 kg with 135 hp diesel without any problem. Yes I would like more power but as you already realise, it’s a compromise.

John

Thanks John,

The Sportage also comes in at higher spec with 185 bhp but the trade off is worse fuel economy so if I can manage with 135bhp I'd be prepared to lose a little power overall considering the daily use it will have to do as well as towing.
Steve

 

[JezzerB]

We happily towed a 1400kg caravan with a Dacia Duster 1.6 4wd-petrol with 109bhp and a lot less torque than a diesel-it was fine if you anticipated hills with a down change. Great car-24mpg towing too!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Steve.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for giving us the year, Model, Trim, and engine power, but to be able to determine its legal capacity we also need to know:-

Kerb Weight ( usually from the manufacturers specifications)

Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW the same a Maximum Authorised Mass MAM)
Gross Train Weight (GTW)
Both from the vehicles data plate or manufacturers specifications

Actually it's not difficult to work some of the basic calculations.:

For example the maximum axle load for a trailer is the GTW - GVW will tell you if the vehicle is rated to tow 1600kg.

Power divided by the GTW (usually divide by 1000 to get it into HP/Tonne)

Tow vehicles Kerb Weight ( usually from the manufacturers specifications)

The UK caravan industry advice suggests as a novice the MTPLM of the caravan should be no greater than 85% of the tow vehicles kerb weight. And ideally you should be aiming for about 40HP/Tonne. Though with modern Turbo Diesels a lower Hp/Tonne can work equally well.

Edited to clarify the point Otherclive makes.

 

[otherclive]

Hello Steve.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for giving us the year, Model, Trim, and engine power, but to be able to determine its leagal capacity we also need to know:-

Kerb Weight ( usually from the manufacturers specifications)

Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW the same a Maximum Authorised Mass MAM)
Gross Train Weight (GTW)
Both from the vehicles data plate or manufacturers specifications

Actually it's not difficult to work some of the basic calculations.:

For example the maximum axle load for a trailer is the GTW - GVW will tell you if the vehicle is rated to tow 1600kg.

Power divided by the GTW (usually divide by 1000 to get it into HP/Tonne)

The UK caravan industry advice suggests as a novice the MTPLM of the caravan should be no greater than 85% of the tow vehicles kerb weight. And ideally you should be aiming for about 40HP/Tonne. Though with modern Turbo Diesels a lower Hp/Tonne can work equally well.

Kerbweight has no bearing on a cars legal capacity to tow, but it is helpful in determining the ratio of kerbweight to MTPLM which is used in the 85% guidance for new caravanners.

 

[Raywood]

The power rating is not the top priority for me when towing, it is torque. This is what you need for starting from rest, particularly uphill and for hill climbing. Without knowing the weight you will tow it is difficult to set a minimum figure, but the higher the torque figure the better, and if lower revs needed this also helps. This is something where diesels are better for towing and more fuel efficient, although for other reasons you may go for a petrol model and many of them are quite capable.
Do remember that the towing you do will be limited, and most important is to find a car you like for everyday use.

 

[RogerL]

The power rating is not the top priority for me when towing, it is torque. This is what you need for starting from rest, particularly uphill and for hill climbing. Without knowing the weight you will tow it is difficult to set a minimum figure, but the higher the torque figure the better, and if lower revs needed this also helps. This is something where diesels are better for towing and more fuel efficient, although for other reasons you may go for a petrol model and many of them are quite capable.
Do remember that the towing you do will be limited, and most important is to find a car you like for everyday use.

The use of a turbo is the main reason for high torque at low revs - some modern turbo-petrol cars are just as capable as their diesel-turbo siblings.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I totally agree that torque is the grunt that get you going, but most people don't look at torque figures, or necessarily understand what it is and how it affects performance.
The most common reference is to Horse Power or even kW these days.

With type approval process that allows the car manufacturer to determine the maximum towed weight limit, as has been discussed several times before on the forum, includes repeated starts on a hill. Clearly that means if a vehicle is rated to tow a particular mass, it has achieved the test and therefore must have enough torque to pull the trailer up the test hill.

The fact that more often than not the advisory mass of a caravan is somewhat less than the car's rated towed weight limit means it will have more than enough torque to to pull the caravan.

The problem is expectations, and these days we have come to accept cars to have very rapid acceleration times, which requires torque and power, but in the reality of normal driving such capabilities are rarely used, and in fact most drivers would manage the same journey's with considerably less powerful and torquey engines.

1983 Vauxhall Carlton 1.8GL, (naturally aspirated petrol)
90 PS / 89 bhp / 66 kW @ 5200 rpm
148 Nm / 109 ft.lb / 15.1 kgm @ 3400 rpm
loaded car pulling caravan

Total outfit weight circa 3000kg giving a power to weight 30bhp/Tonne .

2000 Renault Grande Espace 2.2Dt (turbocharged diesel )
115 PS / 113.5 bhp / 85 kW @ 4500 rpm
255 Nm / 188 ft.lb / 26 kgm @ 2000 rpm

Total outfit weight circa 4000kg giving power to weight ratio 28.3bhp/Tonne

These were tow vehicles that I have used and I never had any trouble keeping up with traffic.

 

[Beachball]

Hi all,
New here and looking for some advice ( I see there is already some newbie advice but wanted to post my own thread) about suitable towing cars.

Am planning to look for a 4 berth caravan and as a result will need to swap out one of our cars ( Jazz 2011 and Suzy SX 4 2014).

Have been eyeballing a Kia Sportage KX 3 on a 16 plate which has 134 bhp but am not sure if it would tow a caravan up to 1600 kg which is the maximum I'd want.

Also in the running is a 15 plate Sorento which I know will tow with ease but my concerns are:

I need it to be reasonable economical as it won't just be used for towing, but also as an everyday car mainly with only one person in it - concern is that currently my wife and me both do low mileage for work and I know that diesels don't like short journeys - also AWD or 4WD would be nice as we live in a rural location.

Thanks all.

Steve

Hi Steve i know someone who look at the same car Kia Sportage he took it out for a test drive it didn"t meet his needs and he now brought this a 2015 65plate Audi Q3 Quattro 2.0 TDI S-Line it for towing and for every day use and it very economical He just brought a 4 berth from Mansfield caravan Ltd

 

[Steve1962]

Hi Steve i know someone who look at the same car Kia Sportage he took it out for a test drive it didn"t meet his needs and he now brought this a 2015 65plate Audi Q3 Quattro 2.0 TDI S-Line it for towing and for every day use and it very economical He just brought a 4 berth from Mansfield caravan Ltd

Interesting, and thanks for letting me know - I'd really like the Sorento but have to weigh up (forgive the pun) the running costs and daily use when we are not using it to tow against smaller vehicles that will still do the towing, and I'd also really like 4 x 4 or AWD.

Thanks.

 

[Beachball]

Interesting, and thanks for letting me know - I'd really like the Sorento but have to weigh up (forgive the pun) the running costs and daily use when we are not using it to tow against smaller vehicles that will still do the towing, and I'd also really like 4 x 4 or AWD.

Thanks.

Hi Steve i think it 4x4 and Braked Towing 1800Kg because he like going off grid at the end of the day it your choice what you want

 

[Steve1962]

Hi Steve i think it 4x4 and Braked Towing 1800Kg because he like going off grid at the end of the day it your choice what you want

It is indeed......having the views of those with experience is worth it's weight in gold.

Thanks.

Steve

 

[Beachball]

It is indeed......having the views of those with experience is worth it's weight in gold.

Thanks.

Steve

Hi Steve no problem if you like the Sorento take it for a Test Drive

 

[Hutch]

It is indeed......having the views of those with experience is worth it's weight in gold.

Thanks.

Steve

Hi Steve, I have a Hyundai Sante Fe, ( 2.2 ltr ) towing a Coachman 560 at 1645kg max. It is a front wheel drive with an automatic 4 WD and 4 WD lock when needed.
On a run we can get 45 mpg on the motor way. Towing we get anything from 25 to 30 mpg. Around town , Milton keynes, 25 mph. The last 4 years we have done maybe 7k miles a year, no problems, It has done now 75 k miles, we have had it since new. A nice tow car, comfy and roomy and a good weight. Just slightly smaller than the Sorento.
Good luck.

 

[Steve1962]

Hi Steve, I have a Hyundai Sante Fe, ( 2.2 ltr ) towing a Coachman 560 at 1645kg max. It is a front wheel drive with an automatic 4 WD and 4 WD lock when needed.
On a run we can get 45 mpg on the motor way. Towing we get anything from 25 to 30 mpg. Around town , Milton keynes, 25 mph. The last 4 years we have done maybe 7k miles a year, no problems, It has done now 75 k miles, we have had it since new. A nice tow car, comfy and roomy and a good weight. Just slightly smaller than the Sorento.
Good luck.

Hi Hutch,

Thanks for the info.........food for thought - can I ask what servicing costs are like?

Steve

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Steve.
Like Hutch,I also have the Santa fe.
Can't remember how much I paid for a full service at an independent garage,but think it was around £250.
It has a huge boot,especially with the 2nd row of seats down and as ours has the 7 seats,comes with self levelling suspension.
Best tow car I've had.

 

[Hutch]

Hi Hutch,

Thanks for the info.........food for thought - can I ask what servicing costs are like?

Steve

Two weeks ago I had a full service at a local garage, plus an MOT it was £263, 20k between servicing, But I tend to give it an oil change at 10 k miles. Tyres, are anything from £118 for original Hankooks. Tyres have lasted about 35 k. On Nokian Weatherproofs. I have the Premium, 5 seats, as I wanted the extra storage under the boot area for travelling to France.

 

[Steve1962]

Great info,
Thanks again.
Will keep you posted on my choice.

Steve

 

[Beachball]

Great info,
Thanks again.
Will keep you posted on my choice.

Steve

Hi Steve when you have took some cars out for a test run let us know good luck in your search

 

[Steve1962]

Hi Steve when you have took some cars out for a test run let us know good luck in your search

Will do.
Some really good input from folk on here, thanks to all.

Steve