Tow car advise for 1800kg+ Audi, BMW or VW

[Mr Plodd]

As does the Touareg. It’s worth mentioning the torque converter and flywheel lock up solid at a certain rpm so no continual auto slippage. A very clever system imo

That is, to the best of my knowledge, how all TC auto's operate these days, and they have done so for many years. Thats why there is now precious little, if any, difference in mpg between manual and auto versions of the same cars. A situation pretty much forced on makers by customers wanting the best possible mpg out of their cars.
It's the old Borg Warner type 35's etc that always had 10% slip (hence the worse fuel consumption)

 

[otherclive]

My Mondeo generation 1 had a lock up on its automatic TC gearbox. Circa 1995. Nice car and quite economical. Not many diesels around in those days for mainstream cars.

 

[Brian_374234561]

Have you considered the Audi Q5 or SQ5? Both tow 2400kg with 110kg nose weight and have an excellent 3.0litre v6 turbo diesel engine (SQ5 is twin turbo). Similar size to your XC60. I’ve had both and are excellent tow cars. Current SQ5 tows an Elddis 860 so similar size to you 840 and tows it stable and smooth With the auto 8 speed box.
I’ve also had an X5 which was very stable but I had the 25d engine which was a two litre twin turbo and for me was underpowered so if you go for the X5 I’d go for the 3.0l engine.

 

[RogerL]

Have you considered the Audi Q5 or SQ5? Both tow 2400kg with 110kg nose weight and have an excellent 3.0litre v6 turbo diesel engine (SQ5 is twin turbo). Similar size to your XC60. I’ve had both and are excellent tow cars. Current SQ5 tows an Elddis 860 so similar size to you 840 and tows it stable and smooth With the auto 8 speed box.
I’ve also had an X5 which was very stable but I had the 25d engine which was a two litre twin turbo and for me was underpowered so if you go for the X5 I’d go for the 3.0l engine.

The OP wants a bigger car than their present XC60.

 

[Brian_374234561]

The OP wants a bigger car than their present XC60.

That’ll teach me to read the post properly next time 😂.

On the X5 be aware of the fragility of the wing mirrors when putting on towing mirrors. I’m sure I’ve seen a post on here before about these. Mine cracked when putting the Milenco ones on, the BMW casings just aren’t strong enough

 

[Raywood]

I am afraid that the mirror housings on modern cars can be a problem. I am afraid I am now going back to strap on ones.

 

[Bluetonic]

BMW X5 M spec was without doubt the most uncomfortable experience I have ever had as a passenger.
Brother in Law currently has a VW Tuareg V8 Diesel. That thing is a torque monster and tows his Buccaneer T/A with ease.It's a lovely comfortable car too and will push you back in your seats when you stomp on the loud peddle.

 

[Buckman]

BMW X5 M spec was without doubt the most uncomfortable experience I have ever had as a passenger.
Brother in Law currently has a VW Tuareg V8 Diesel. That thing is a torque monster and tows his Buccaneer T/A with ease.It's a lovely comfortable car too and will push you back in your seats when you stomp on the loud peddle.

On the Buccaneer forum someone is towing a TA Buccaneer with a Q7 and they were pleased to get 17mpg? I thought that the newer Q7 would be more economical than my 2018 3L Jeep as we get average about 22mpg. I am not sure of the MPG of a Toerag?

 

[RogerL]

BMW X5 M spec was without doubt the most uncomfortable experience I have ever had as a passenger.
Brother in Law currently has a VW Tuareg V8 Diesel. That thing is a torque monster and tows his Buccaneer T/A with ease.It's a lovely comfortable car too and will push you back in your seats when you stomp on the loud peddle.

Sadly the Touareg V8 TDi was withdrawn from sale in the UK years ago - but still selling well in Australia - I'd have bought one if it was available here.

 

[RogerL]

On the Buccaneer forum someone is towing a TA Buccaneer with a Q7 and they were pleased to get 17mpg? I thought that the newer Q7 would be more economical than my 2018 3L Jeep as we get average about 22mpg. I am not sure of the MPG of a Toerag?

My onboard trip computer is wildly optimistic - I'm averaging just under 22 mpg brim-to-brim towing - that's at 60 mph GPS on motorways and dual carriageways and 55 mph GPS on single carriageway if traffic allows.

I don't think anyone should buy a 3.0 litre car and worry about fuel consumption!

 

[otherclive]

Sadly the Touareg V8 TDi was withdrawn from sale in the UK years ago - but still selling well in Australia - I'd have bought one if it was available here.

When the Touareg first came out we were thinking of changing our tow car, and my wife instantly fell for the V10 tdi when she saw one at a dealers. Fortunately common sense arrived rapidly.

Wrt the X5 and Q7 they say ‘ beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, but I think they wouldn’t have looked out of place at the Battle of Kursk. Now Allroad and Touareg have what I would call “ a good look back quotient “ after you park and walk away, then look back.

 

[Ukdave2002]

My onboard trip computer is wildly optimistic - I'm averaging just under 22 mpg brim-to-brim towing - that's at 60 mph GPS on motorways and dual carriageways and 55 mph GPS on single carriageway if traffic allows.

I don't think anyone should buy a 3.0 litre car and worry about fuel consumption!

I have a GLE 400d, (3L 6 cylinder diesel) its just coming up to a year old, on a recent 1000 mile trip towing a Sterling Eccles 586, with 6 people onboard, it averaged 27MPG, our average speed was 50MPH. Non towing, its not that difficult to get 50+MPG on a longish journey, I never use the Economy mode, its always in Comfort, I'm light on the brakes, through anticipation, good decent gap to the vehicle in front etc, which really helps, why burn fuel on heating up brakes?

 

[Hutch]

My onboard trip computer is wildly optimistic - I'm averaging just under 22 mpg brim-to-brim towing - that's at 60 mph GPS on motorways and dual carriageways and 55 mph GPS on single carriageway if traffic allows.

I don't think anyone should buy a 3.0 litre car and worry about fuel consumption!

I had a 3.0 V6, Vauxhall Vectra diesel. It had the Isuzu engine and on the German Autobahns would average 50 mpg at 80 mph. Towing a 1645 kg Coachman it would average about 30 mpg. And around Milton Keynes about 30 mpg.

 

[Bazzel33]

We went and test drove some cars yesterday.
My partner has fallen in love with the Touareg!

Thank you all for the advice it certainly has helped us with what to look for specs wise etc.

I think it really came down to the BMW X5 and the Touareg in the end.
Whilst the BMW is such a luxury drive, we felt the Touareg ticked those last few boxes of space etc.
We should be picking the new car up in the week.

 

[Buckman]

IMHO you have made an excellent choice.

 

[otherclive]

The only negative that I can see is that Jeremy Clarkson raved about how good it was 😂

 

[Dustydog]

👏👏Excellent choice👍

 

[Bluetonic]

We went and test drove some cars yesterday.
My partner has fallen in love with the Touareg!

Thank you all for the advice it certainly has helped us with what to look for specs wise etc.

I think it really came down to the BMW X5 and the Touareg in the end.
Whilst the BMW is such a luxury drive, we felt the Touareg ticked those last few boxes of space etc.
We should be picking the new car up in the week.

Your back will thank you

 

[PTA]

If deciding on a Touareg ensure it has air suspension. Towing with coil springs can/does deactivate the auto cruise control as the sensors at the front are raised beyond their ability to read the road.

 

[RogerL]

If deciding on a Touareg ensure it has pneumatic suspension. Towing with coil springs can/does deactivate the auto cruise control as the sensors at the front are raised beyond their ability to read the road.

The front sensors can be (should be) adjusted downwards by the dealer as this is now a known issue with coil-sprung Touaregs although some dealers seem to make a meal out of diagnosing the issue.

 

[PTA]

The front sensors can be (should be) adjusted downwards by the dealer as this is now a known issue with coil-sprung Touaregs although some dealers seem to make a meal out of diagnosing the issue.

I know,, there are several threads about this on the "My Treg" forum.
My dealer offered to adjust the sensors but warned that doing so could cause the acc to malfunction during unladen driving!
Still mulling it over.

 

[Martin81mk]

That’ll teach me to read the post properly next time 😂.

On the X5 be aware of the fragility of the wing mirrors when putting on towing mirrors. I’m sure I’ve seen a post on here before about these. Mine cracked when putting the Milenco ones on, the BMW casings just aren’t strong enough

Had this issues with our X5 with the Milenco mirrors but changed to the EMUK ones and made a world of difference and fit round the mirror rather then clamp so no risk of breaking the case