Video Towcar test number 1

[NigelDonnelly]

Dear All,

Hope you are all well.

We'd like some feedback on our first towcar video review please. You can find it by clicking here or you can see it on the site homepage.

Nobody else does genuine towing reviews of towcars on video, so we'd really like to know if there is any other information about the car you'd like to know, whether it is too long or basically any other observations about the short film.

We have five others which are nearly complete and we are starting work on some caravan and accessory video reviews too.

Any feedback would be great, but Motty can't help his slightly nerdy voice so don't be too nasty!

thanks in anticipation

 

[emmerson]

hi Nigel. I thought it was too short, and what little time we had was spent on the looks and interior of the car, instead of showing us how easy it was to hitch up, what the view was like in the mirrors, etc.The video qualitty, however was very good.

Emmerson

 

[Allen774]

It did not say much about it's towing capabilities,I would have liked to have seen something like a Lunar T/A on the back and see how it pulled and changed lanes with some weight nearer its limit of 1800kgs.
The Video did nothing for me. But It is a step in the right direction.

 

[xtrailman]

Initially i thought the video quality poor, then it got better, in fact very good.
While you mentioned its 4x4 capability, i don't recall you mentioning whether it was permanent, or automatic 4 wheel drive, or if like the xtrail, it came with a selection option.
Also i don't recall any mention of its kerb weight, its max tow limit, or its nose weight limit. All important information.
In addition why not state the load weight it was towing?

In conclusion, i thought it was OK, but come across as an advert.

Fore give me if anything i have mentioned above is incorrect, but having only viewed it the once, the above was my lasting impression. I suppose if i was really interested in the car, i would view the video two or three times.

 

[emmerson]

Hmmm, well you did ask, Nigel!

 

[NigelDonnelly]

Emmerson,
I've been around here long enough to know better than to expect fulsome praise!
Some good points though, so thank you for that.

In terms of the caravan match, it is an 85% match for the car and without getting into a lengthy discussion about the merits and demerits of that guideline, that is what the CC, C&CC and us still work to, so that is why we've chosen it. The kerbweight, noseweight, 85% and max tow are all included in the data screen at the end of the review, along with the price.

Good point about towbars - all are fitted with the factory standard bar and 13-pin electrics unless otherwise stated.

 

[Surfer]

It would be useful to know the towing specs for the car a most diesel 2.0 Insignias' have a maximum braked towing weight of 1600kgs. perhaps the specs coudl be list seperately plus the specs for the caravan. Sadly probably most of us cannot afford to buy a new car so the test becomes irrelevant. A better bet and of more interest would be to also review cars that three or more years older, i.e previous tow car of the year and rate them on reliability and running costs realting to towing.

 

[Lutz]

In terms of the caravan match, it is an 85% match for the car and without getting into a lengthy discussion about the merits and demerits of that guideline, that is what the CC, C&CC and us still work to, so that is why we've chosen it. The kerbweight, noseweight, 85% and max tow are all included in the data screen at the end of the review, along with the price.

You're right, whether the 85% weight ratio makes sense or not is a separate issue, but I feel one should not simply ignore those that choose to make full use of the legal towing limit (and that's not an insignificant number). After all, if the car is a good towcar at the limit, it can only be even better at 85%.
A solution could be testing at both 85% and at the limit, but I suppose that would be stretching your resources?

 

[NigelDonnelly]

It doesn't take much to stretch our resources, I assure you!
Seriously, this is all very good feedback - With regard to testing older towcars, that would be a massive undertaking but we will be getting the used towcar buying guides from the magazine formatted for online use shortly which I hope will go some way to covering the used end of the market.