Towing car

[Benny123]

Can anyone help i want to tow a caravan that is 1250kg and i need to get a car thats suitable for towing it but i need minium litre as possible as im only 20 and need to keep insurance down.
What car do you think thatll be ok for towing
Thanks ben

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi welcome to the forum.
sorry this may not help much but I think you need to do some more [much more] research before going any further. afraid this towing lark is far more complex than you may think it is.
for starters. being 20 you will have a limited B licence so cannot tow a combination of more than 3500 kg.
the van is 1250 kg so the maximum weight of the tow car cannot be any heavier than 2250 kg MAM, [maximum authorised mass] ie total maximum weight. this limits the cars to use to medium sized ones. but these may not be powerful enough to tow the van. as each individual model will have a maximum weight limit it can tow.
added to this new to towing drivers are recommended not to exceed A 85% tow ratio.
so getting tow car that is not too heavy yet big enough to tow the van may be more difficult than you expect.

 

[Hutch]

Benny , welcome to the forum, as Colin states, licence limits, but at times an older car with a larger engine is sometimes a better insurance bet. An older 1.8 litre Vectra or mondeo make good towcars, and can be cheaper to insure than say a 1 litre, fiesta or renault. L
Lets see what other can say. To help you.
Hutch.

 

[SamandRose]

We tow the same weight with a VW Passat 2.0 TDI estate (kerb weight 1541kg, max laden weight 2191kg) so we stay within the restrictions of my wife's Category B licence with 59kg to spare.

I don't know what the insurance costs are for young drivers but the car has been around since the mid 2000s and the same engine is fitted into the Audi A4 and Skoda Octavia (which you could also consider) so you should be able to find something that's cheap to buy. The engines are good for huge mileages if serviced on time, spare parts are easy to find and running costs are good.

I would imagine that the weights and towing capabilities of similarly-sized cars such as Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Vectra/Insignia, Toyota Avensis etc would also suit but don't have any figures to hand for these. The key things to check are the kerb weight, payload (add this to the kerb weight for max laden weight) and manufacturer's towing limits. Towing in excess of the latter is illegal.

 

[Benny123]

Thanks people for all the advise i am a hgv driver but have only towed 750kg with a 32tonne lorry, which obviously you cant feel the trailer.
But i might go with a skoda or vw tdi? But you say a hatchback is no good?

 

[otherclive]

Thanks people for all the advise i am a hgv driver but have only towed 750kg with a 32tonne lorry, which obviously you cant feel the trailer.
But i might go with a skoda or vw tdi? But you say a hatchback is no good?

A suitable hatch back might be okay. The Octavia and Superb hatches are quite roomy even with the rear seats in place.

 

[Tukums]

If you can find one, my 2012 Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0TDi 4x4 has a kerbweight of 1,495kg, GVW 2,095kg so with the van suggested, OK on a B licence. My van is 1,318kg (88% ratio) and pulls it no problem, lots of load space and of course extra traction when needed.

 

[SamandRose]

Who told you a hatchback is no good? A hatchback or saloon should be fine as long as the weights and towing limits are sufficient. I only mentioned the estate earlier because that's what we have and therefore the model I know the figures for.

 

[Benny123]

1.8tdci ford focus? Are they any good

 

[otherclive]

1.8tdci ford focus? Are they any good

"Any good for what?" You need to be a bit more specific. Estate, hatchback, manual,auto, year etc. If it's any use I had a 1.8 TDDI (2000) Mondeo estate and it had enough torque and power to comfortably tow a 1320kg MTPLM caravan.