Hi everyone , new member and new to caravanning . My wife and I intend to buy a caravan soon and I'm to change my company car within the next 6 months . Currently I have an e class 220d and enjoy this , I'm looking at a BMW 5 series , Mercedes E class or Audi A6 all estates , due to emmisions I cannot get a 4 x4 version .., what's people's thoughts - could look at the new Volvo ? I do a lot of miles for work so comfort is key , a 2 litres diesel if the max engine size ? Have I missed any car ? Anyone tow with these ? Thanks for your replies
What company car to get ?
- Thread starter Satkey
- Start date
Whatto and welcome to the forum. Always good to see new members :cheer:
Take a look at the stats for all four options and compare. Pay attention to highest kerb weight you can get, best torque figures, towing limits and the like. That way you will have a lot more flexibility when it comes to choosing your first 'van. These days I don't think there's anything between those four in the way of quality and reliability. Check with the leasing company that they are happy with you fitting a tow bar and towing a caravan.
Good luck and ask away about everything and anything, always someone around to help out and no such thing as a daft question.
Take a look at the stats for all four options and compare. Pay attention to highest kerb weight you can get, best torque figures, towing limits and the like. That way you will have a lot more flexibility when it comes to choosing your first 'van. These days I don't think there's anything between those four in the way of quality and reliability. Check with the leasing company that they are happy with you fitting a tow bar and towing a caravan.
Good luck and ask away about everything and anything, always someone around to help out and no such thing as a daft question.
Good advice , thanks for the quick reply , front wheel or rear wheel drive ? I appreciate 4x4 is the best but I don't believe I will have that option ? Seems the only difference between the cars
We've had 4x4 for years now and used it all of twice to pull caravans out of muddy fields.
Rear wheel drive with the weight of the van on the back is the better bet for traction pulling away.
We're changing the car in October and the new one is rwd only so fingers crossed.
IF there's no company environmental policy then as long as a car is in the right price band surely you can have what you want?
Rear wheel drive with the weight of the van on the back is the better bet for traction pulling away.
We're changing the car in October and the new one is rwd only so fingers crossed.
IF there's no company environmental policy then as long as a car is in the right price band surely you can have what you want?
I wish I could have anything - but limited by CO2 emmsions - not that that seems relevant anymore ! I have a limit of 130 Co2 so I could get the GLC 4 matic but 90% of the mileage will be work (motorway) related ... anyway good luck with your new car - what are you getting ?
I would say try looking for the figures for the four you mention, then share those and we can all chip in with the figures.
Not really a car as such. It's my new toy in the form of a drive from wheelchair and upfront passenger WAV. It will be starting off this month as a Mercedes Sprinter 316 cdi.
Not really a car as such. It's my new toy in the form of a drive from wheelchair and upfront passenger WAV. It will be starting off this month as a Mercedes Sprinter 316 cdi.
Sorry just had another thought, something comfortable as a company car and then on older Sorrento, Shogun/Pajero at home for towing duties?
I have thought about a second car , but would rather just have one - if it's a company car all the bills are picked up and the "stress" placed on a car isn't really a concern for me , I hope someone who owns one of these and toes can give me some advice - good luck with your sprinter !
I currently have an E class 220CDI also and it's great for touring. It pulls well. My previous car was a Volvo S80 albeit the new Volvo model has been substantially improved from what i read but even at that there is no seat more comfortable than a Volvo seat and my S80 would have pulled the side of a house down. Mines was however the older 5 cylinder so I can't vouch for the more modern 4 pot.
hi thanks for replying, what do you currently tow with your merc ? Mines a saloon and I've been told there not great towing and the estates better because of the rear suspension , Can't see why but I would like to get others experience , as I may consider getting a tow bar fitted for the remaining months.
I see plenty of Merc saloons towing, The spring rates are not determined just by the body style its down to load margins on the axles.
If in your opinion a car sits too low when hitched to a caravan, then the first thing to check is the height of the LOADED hitch, which on a European car should rest between 350 and 420 mm if floor to centre of the ball. If its less than this range then something is most likely overloaded, or the cars suspension is worn or broken.
If in your opinion a car sits too low when hitched to a caravan, then the first thing to check is the height of the LOADED hitch, which on a European car should rest between 350 and 420 mm if floor to centre of the ball. If its less than this range then something is most likely overloaded, or the cars suspension is worn or broken.
ProfJohnL said:
I had recently fitted MAD Spring Assisters to the Skoda as even though its loaded towball was within the specified height, albeit towards the bottom limit, the bottom surface of the detachable towball would scrape the drive as I took the caravan off. None of my previous conventional cars have done this (three Mondeo estates and Saab 9000CSE). It was caused by the slope of the drive towards the road combined with a pronounced camber in the road. But even when on a level road I wasn't happy that the bottom edge of the towball would clear speed humps, particularly those that resemble truncated pyramids. So I spoke to the local Skoda dealer (who sold me my first one (Estelle) in the mid 1980s) and they checked out the car's suspension and ride height and all were okay. They had fitted MAD Assisters to other Superbs because of low rear lowball height, so I had a set of the springs fitted. I could have gone for Skoda's "Rough Road Package" available in some countries but it sets the ride too high and stiff. The MAD Assisters sit within the rear coil springs and have a pre-load which lifts the suspension about 0.65 inch as measured between the bottom of the exhaust and the ground with the car unloaded and solo. But on a trip last week where we deliberately carried max load on van, and in car the car's rear was higher by 7/8 inch when loaded. I've not noticed any discernible changes to the handling solo or coupled.
I would go with Martins plan of comparing the figures for the models you can get, but at the same time you need to check out the cars in a showroom to get the comfort levels and layout that suits you. At the end of the day most of your driving is solo, so I would look first at what suits you for that, as all of the cars should be excellent tow cars if matched correctly. Having said that I recently had a BMW 5 Series on hire and was a bit disappointed with the interior but did not have the opportunity to compare it with the other makes you suggest.
I've got a 520d saloon as a company car. Auto box, adaptive suspension and the retractable tow bar fitted as options. I tow a 2011 Coachman Amara 576 (1635kg MTPLM) with it.
I've had it for 3 years now / 50k miles now, its a great car and I'd have another one without hesitation. Without the van on the back its a great car for long trips, very quiet inside, comfortable for me and the kids, just put the cruise control on and sit back whilst it gobbles up the miles. If you get to windy roads and want a bit more fun you can put it in sport mode and whilst not breath-takingly quick, the rear wheel drive does make it involving to drive.
For towing its great, I tend to use sport mode again as it keeps the revs higher but have no problem keeping up with traffic, overtaking trucks etc. Its very stable too. The retractable tow bar is great for reversing up to the van on site whilst people watch wondering how on earth you're going to tow :cheer:
I've had it for 3 years now / 50k miles now, its a great car and I'd have another one without hesitation. Without the van on the back its a great car for long trips, very quiet inside, comfortable for me and the kids, just put the cruise control on and sit back whilst it gobbles up the miles. If you get to windy roads and want a bit more fun you can put it in sport mode and whilst not breath-takingly quick, the rear wheel drive does make it involving to drive.
For towing its great, I tend to use sport mode again as it keeps the revs higher but have no problem keeping up with traffic, overtaking trucks etc. Its very stable too. The retractable tow bar is great for reversing up to the van on site whilst people watch wondering how on earth you're going to tow :cheer:
Satkey said:
If it's the same as the BMW, which I think it is, the Estate comes with self-levelling rear suspension whilst the saloon doesn't. I'm sure it's nice, but as mentioned above I have the (BMW) saloon without the self-levelling suspension and tow with it quite comfortably.
Facebook
Twitter