Vauxhall Mokka 1.4T Auto

[michael_5111967]

It really annoys my when I read or watch towcar test & they mark down certain models.
I fully understand Vauxhall are not up there in the BMW, Volvo Audi VW or many other expensive top makes however I tow our Lunar Venus 500 4 with our 2016 Mokka Auto & it tows a dream in fact the Auto gearbox is one of the best I have driven & towed with, i point out that I have held my HGV licence since 1984 drive 44T artics most of which have terrible semi Auto gearbox’s. Our Vauxhall is a true Auto with torque converter so non of the problems suffered with semi-autos as so many new cars are fitted with.
So ok we have to be careful how we load and watch the weight we carry & yes it does take a bit longer to reach 60mph but who cares when your towing on holiday!!
Another point if you see a Vauxhall Auto at traffic light & wonder why the driver sits with their foot on the footbrake I.e. stop light on it’s because Vauxhall Auto are neutral boxes mean with footbrake applied for a length of time the gearbox automatically drops into neutral this i great when pulling away on a hill when in conjunction with hill start assist!
My point being is We can’t all afford top brand tow cars but at work I drive Mercedes, Volvo’s, Scania’s with trailer & loads worth well over 100k

 

[zoaman]

It really annoys my when I read or watch towcar test & they mark down certain models.
I fully understand Vauxhall are not up there in the BMW, Volvo Audi VW or many other expensive top makes however I tow our Lunar Venus 500 4 with our 2016 Mokka Auto & it tows a dream in fact the Auto gearbox is one of the best I have driven & towed with, i point out that I have held my HGV licence since 1984 drive 44T artics most of which have terrible semi Auto gearbox’s. Our Vauxhall is a true Auto with torque converter so non of the problems suffered with semi-autos as so many new cars are fitted with.
So ok we have to be careful how we load and watch the weight we carry & yes it does take a bit longer to reach 60mph but who cares when your towing on holiday!!
Another point if you see a Vauxhall Auto at traffic light & wonder why the driver sits with their foot on the footbrake I.e. stop light on it’s because Vauxhall Auto are neutral boxes mean with footbrake applied for a length of time the gearbox automatically drops into neutral this i great when pulling away on a hill when in conjunction with hill start assist!
My point being is We can’t all afford top brand tow cars but at work I drive Mercedes, Volvo’s, Scania’s with trailer & loads worth well over 100k

Well not knowing excatly what model car you have but looking at the 1.4t is min 1396 kg kerb and a 2013 venus is mtplm of 1190kg(max allowance is 1200kg).so that equates to nigh on 85%.Which if i am correct with you details would be a very good match.And has supprised me.but not sure of the gtw for the comnbination of you car ability..

 

[otherclive]

Thank you for your post, which makes a valid point. In fact Vauxhall have over the years made excellent tow cars. Back in the late 70sca friend of mine had s Cavalier that was well ahead of my Mk 2 Cortina as a tow car and a solo drive. The subsequent Cavaliers and Vectras were all good. The current Insignia has had some very good reviews as a tow car.
Glad to see your car has a sensible autobox!

 

[ProfJohnL]

I have had two Vauxhall Opel Manta's and a Vauxhall Carlton back in the 1980's all of which I rated over the equivalent Ford models of the time. All towed very satisfactorily.

However I do have reservations about the latest Vauxhall models which are now of course owned by PSA. given a couple of years they will basically be rebadged Peugeot's.

 

[zoaman]

The only thing that i did notice (prob not just vauxhall) was with a auto box there was a significaant drop in there tow ability and kerb weight.Many years ago it was the oposite way around.auto cars whereable to pull heavier trailers.But maybe to do with keeping the gear box cooler ,as older carsand prob recent too ,needed a oil cooler to be fitted.alot of folk didnt know this .and as some forgot at a great expense when they went pop.

 

[Craigyoung]

We met a family in France back in 2o14 who was pulling a twin axle Bailey Unicorn I think , it was one of the 4x4 specs but said it pulled no problem .

 

[zoaman]

:S

We met a family in France back in 2o14 who was pulling a twin axle Bailey Unicorn I think , it was one of the 4x4 specs but said it pulled no problem .

There is another 4x4 in the aux range called a antara.which is quite a bit bigger and has tow ability of 2000kg and kerb near 1900kg in some editions

 

[Craigyoung]

Apologies , that was a model I meant , thank you for the corrections !

 

[Raywood]

I have towed with a few Vauxhalls and all were excellent tow cars, have had very little trouble and was always happy with them. It is possible that we might still have one, but when we went to get a quote on another Vectra the salesman just did not seem interested. It was near the end of the month and raining heavily so it may be he had had a good month and was not bothered about selling any more cars in case they put his targets up.
I had looked at a number of makes that had been given good reports in the magazine tests and looked at those and settled on the Mazda and are now on our third. It appears reliable, comfortable and value for money. I have driven a BMW 5 Series and frankly I cannot see why I would want to pay over £10,000 more for the badge, and a less comfortable car with less equipment, which is possibly less reliable, but comparable to mine.
As far as I know nobody looks down on us and I am happy in the knowledge that I think I have a far better deal than many.

 

[Anseo]

What model of Mazda are you using Ray?

 

[zoaman]

As far as I know nobody looks down on us and I am happy in the knowledge that I think I have a far better deal than many.[/quote]

Why would any body want to look down on you.You'll be amazed at a Mazda.was that the saying a few years back

 

[Raywood]

What model of Mazda are you using Ray?

It is a 17 reg 6 Sports Nav. That gives you the higher tuned engine for towing and just about every accessory going. It is a bit on the light side, but our Quasar is well within its abilities.

 

[Hutch]

What model of Mazda are you using Ray?

It is a 17 reg 6 Sports Nav. That gives you the higher tuned engine for towing and just about every accessory going. It is a bit on the light side, but our Quasar is well within its abilities.

Ah, weĺl I would be looking down on you,
As my Sante Fe, sits about a 18 inches higher than you very nice Mazda.
I used to tow with a 3 litre Diesel Vectra, a lovely car.

 

[Raywood]

What model of Mazda are you using Ray?

It is a 17 reg 6 Sports Nav. That gives you the higher tuned engine for towing and just about every accessory going. It is a bit on the light side, but our Quasar is well within its abilities.

Ah, weĺl I would be looking down on you,
As my Sante Fe, sits about a 18 inches higher than you very nice Mazda.
I used to tow with a 3 litre Diesel Vectra, a lovely car.

I did want a CX5 but my wife said it looked like an old mans car and in the end I gave in. With that I could have looked down on me as well.

 

[DaveA1]

This is my 7th Vauxhall, all have been excellent tugs. I agree with the OP don't get the same coverage as ,say, Land rover, BMW You get a lot of car for your money. My Elite nav as all the gadgets and gizmos, they have.
and the estate as a highish kerb weight.

 

[HNB]

I have always towed with zafira's...1st been a zaf a 2.0dti...that did struggle a but, 2nd been a zaf b 1.9 cdti 120...that was bob on, and now currently my zaf c (tourer) 2.0cdti 165...this is the best out of the bunch, but all have had very disspointing towing limits.

My current motor is only 1450 where as the earlier cdti 150 can tow 1500 same as the vxr.

All of these have been manuals, the latest 1 only been comfy cruising in 6th whilst towing.

But to increase weights i have been looking at changing to a s max.

Its all well and good these reviews waffling on about these top end motors for towing, but most caravaning is done by your normal average working class families who like to save as and when they can.

 

[Craigyoung]

HNB ,
We had a Toyota verso 7 seater (similar size to your vehicle) , it was a 2.2td SR but Toyota put low towing limits on there cars , I was gutted as we could only pull a light caravan when we started off.

 

[HNB]

HNB ,
We had a Toyota verso 7 seater (similar size to your vehicle) , it was a 2.2td SR but Toyota put low towing limits on there cars , I was gutted as we could only pull a light caravan when we started off.

Silly aint it, big heavy cars with enough punch behind them but poor limits.

We find the zaf bit tight for trying to fit all the stuff in and limited by weight...hence the choice for s max...more room and able to have more weight inside

 

[Craigyoung]

We have since changed both as you can see by my profile picture. Much happier and much more skint !!

 

[Raywood]

We have since changed both as you can see by my profile picture. Much happier and much more skint !!

I am afraid caravanning is not the cheap hobby many think. You probably run a bigger car than you would otherwise and the costs of the caravan before you turn a wheel are pretty high. I calculate that for servicing, insurance and storage we are near £1,000 before it turns a wheel and what the depreciation is we will only find out when it is time to replace it. Having said that depreciation is about half that of the car and on one caravan we actually traded it in for £50 more than we bought it for although that was a bit of a one off.

 

[Benny123]

Hello mate i have a mokka 1.4t se auto weighs 1400kg and i see that you said they where good tow cars but how well are they on hill have you put the car to the test?

 

[Raywood]

Hello mate i have a mokka 1.4t se auto weighs 1400kg and i see that you said they where good tow cars but how well are they on hill have you put the car to the test?

Steady with a fair bit of gear changing is probably the best description.
The towing limit is what it can restart five times on a 12% hill so it should manage most things without a problem.