What have you towed with?

[RayS]

1967 - Cortina Mk 1 GT - needed 3rd gear into any headwind even with Sprite Alpine.

Landrover 2.6 12 seater - only towcar with same mpg towing or not (16 mpg)

Volvo 122 - wonderful

Volvo 144 - even better, larger boot, better turning circle

Vauxhall Cavalier Mk 1 - Viking Fiberline - barely adequate

Ford Cortina 3 V6 - good torque but minimal range due to small tank and low mpg

Gap for a few years until 1993 Disco tdi 200 - much better after I fitted a second intercooler and upped the injector pump. Quite reliable i.e. very good by Disco Standards.

Currently Merc 270 cdi auto - excellent, lots of torque, wonderful autobox (Tiptronic) a bit thirsty.

Next ??? - perhaps new Merc C Class estate with 220cdi producing slightly more power and torque than the 270, but at least two bands lower for CO2.

 

[Timothy_374244492]

1997 escort 1.6 estate that pulled a bike trailer with a couple of bikes all round the country. Never complained but would struggle to stop quickly in the wet as no abs and soft rear suspension didnt help things.

2001 Volvo V40 1.9Td. Never actually towed with this car although it does have a tow hitch but i'll let you know on friday how it goes as i have a mammouth run from london to cornwall to pick up a horse box which then needs delivering back to norfolk where i live!!!

2004 Toyota Hilux. Spends 50 of it's life towing something or carrying something be it a couple of motorbikes on the buck or my Ranger 470/4 or more recently the escort esteate from up there ^^^ on a car trailer back to norfolk. This tow of about 2 tons was the first time i've driven it thinking bloody hell that trailers heavy as it just takes everything you can throw at it in it's stride. It might not be like driving a car with all the creatuire comforts of a modern vehicle but it does have a decent stereo/satnav along with air con and will do about 20mpg when all laden up with all my usual stuff i need when i go awayu for a weekend racing my motorbikes.

 

[AdifferentJim]

1978 Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 GL - Nice car

1983 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 GLS - Light van, 1 toddler

1987 Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 SRI - Bigger van, 1 baby, 1 toddler

1990 Ford Sierra 1.8 GL - Good all-rounder. 2 small kids

1993 Ford Mondeo 2.0 GLX - Same van, 2 medium kids

1995 Ford Mondeo TD GL - Economical tug. 2 bigger kids

1998 VW Passat SE tdi 110 - Very nice car. 2 Teenagers (arrrrgh)

2001 VW Passat Estate SE tdi 130 - Truly excellent. Even bigger van. Massive kids.

2004 Volvo V70 d5 - No contest. Wins hands down. Different, but equally large van. GOT RID OF THE KIDS.

2008 Volvo V70 d5 on order - No kids kids. Yet

 

[Bryn1]

Fiat Strada - Only towed once - gutless.

Nissan Sunny estate 1.5 - reliable but high-geared for towing, so 50mph in 3rd gear across France.

Peugeot 306 turbo Diesel - smoky, had to seal the caravan floor vents or the bedding under the seats got black. Dealer useless.

Renault Scenic 1.6 petrol - OK apart from low power.

VW Golf 130 TD estate - What a cracker, no trouble to date in 90k miles. 60mpg solo, 30 towing. Plenty of acceleration at 55 mph towing an 1100kg van. Unaffected by hills or lorries.

Nissan X-Trail (soon) - change to heavier van requires change of tug, boohoo. Hope for same performance towing as Golf without too much fuel penalty.

Bryn

 

[Pat_374304630]

My word,

Looking back at the comments it highlights the fact that there are a lot of experienced caravanners out there.

 

[Peter_374324857]

1st towcar was a Kia sedona 2.9tdi which pulled our challenger 490se flawlessly but then moved house and the swift wouldn't go up the drive so it got replaced with a ranger 460/4 which we tow with a Renault scenic 1.9. This is being traded in tomorrow for a Hyundai Tucson 2.0 diesel. Obviously can't comment on its towing capabilities yet.

 

[Dustydog]

Austin 1100

Ford Cortina 1600

Triumph Vitesse 2000

Austin 1800

Austin Princess 2200.

Hillman Avenger 1600

Renault 20.

Ford Sierra 1.8. Rubbish

Vauxhall Cavalier 2000. Magic

Renault Laguna 2.2 crd Brilliant 6 speeder

Kia Sorento 2.5 crd . The dogs bo----s,

 

[MikeG2]

1. - Ford Corsair 2000 Auto - Rust

2. - MG 1300 - Rust and bounce

3. - Ford Cortina MkII 1500 - Noisey and basic

4. - Fiat 132 1800 - Very fast, very rusty, fell to pieces

5. - Ford Cortina MkII 1600 Estate - dependable and cavernous

6. - Ford Cortina MkIV 2000 - Went for ever until it fell to pieces

7. - Ford Cortina MkV 2000 - Very pretty, and rusty

8. - VW Jetta 1600 - I still love this car

9. - Ford Sierra 2000 - More rust

10. - Vauxhall Astra 1600 - Did its job

11. - Vauxhall Vectra 2000 - Comfortable, reasonably fast, unreliable

12. - Land Rover Freelander TD4 - My first diesel, bettered only by . . .

13. - Land Rover Freelander2 TD4 - Marvellous

14. - Lots of Military Land Rovers

The best? LR2 without a doubt, the best car I have ever owned The Jetta was an amazing car considering its size, I wish I still owned it.

 

[Lawrence1]

Only ever towed with Ford Sierras and Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi. Both towed 4 berth Eldiss caravans very well, with the latter giving a fuel return of 28mpg over 3,600 miles on the continent. Don't know if others have the same opinion, but I always feel that my car runs better in the dryer air 'over there'. It is great to see the names of some of the cars mentioned here and counting some that I have owned, such as the Morris Marina 1.8 (how hard was it to keep the rust of them!!)and the Ford Corsair!!

 

[anotherDavid]

My cars over 30 years have progressed as follows

1 Datsun Violet

2 Morris Ital

3 Mazda 626 First proper car I ever owned.

4 Citroen BX First Diesel never had another petrol

5 Ditto

6 BX Estate

7 Bx Saloon

8 Xantia

9 Mercedes C220 CDI Auto first automatic towed 1500kg very well

10 Kia Sorento Auto Diesel good towcar with plenty of room but thirsty. 20 MPG towing and 26 Solo

11 Mercedes E280 CDI Auto Estate tows 1500kg well masses of space and I just love it. 26mpg towing and mid 30s solo.

Dave

 

[ajmacintosh]

My Cars:

1966 6v VW Beetle 1300 brill! (candles were brighter than the headlights).

1971 12v VW Beetle 1500 (bright headlights!) V reliable.

1972 Triumph Spitfire lovely car freezing in the winter!

1975 Triumph Dolomite Sprint 16v Lovely, comfy, Quick.

1978 Triumph TR7 unreliable and cramped.

1980 Ford Capri 2.0 sport. reliable. great until you need to turn a corner.

1981 Ford Escort rs 2000. beautiful!. Quick and handled great!

1988 Vauxhall Nova (Fuel cost cutting exercise) Good car!

1993 Vauxhall Nova Sport same as above but quicker and smarter.

2001 Peugeot 206 nice,small economical.

2004 Peugeot 206 GTI 180 Very Quick, lovely car cried when it went. (needed something bigger for the family).

2005 Citroen Picasso 2.0 Hdi. not fast, handles like a sack of spuds. But very economical. av 50mpg solo. very comfy.

Next car? who knows, maybe a Toureg or a Freelander 2.

 

[DavidW1]

My Cars:

1966 6v VW Beetle 1300 brill! (candles were brighter than the headlights).

1971 12v VW Beetle 1500 (bright headlights!) V reliable.

1972 Triumph Spitfire lovely car freezing in the winter!

1975 Triumph Dolomite Sprint 16v Lovely, comfy, Quick.

1978 Triumph TR7 unreliable and cramped.

1980 Ford Capri 2.0 sport. reliable. great until you need to turn a corner.

1981 Ford Escort rs 2000. beautiful!. Quick and handled great!

1988 Vauxhall Nova (Fuel cost cutting exercise) Good car!

1993 Vauxhall Nova Sport same as above but quicker and smarter.

2001 Peugeot 206 nice,small economical.

2004 Peugeot 206 GTI 180 Very Quick, lovely car cried when it went. (needed something bigger for the family).

2005 Citroen Picasso 2.0 Hdi. not fast, handles like a sack of spuds. But very economical. av 50mpg solo. very comfy.

Next car? who knows, maybe a Toureg or a Freelander 2.

But how did they tow?

 

[john_5040735]

Citroen BX 1.9 TD

Citroen Xantia 1.9 TD x 2

Daewoo Musso 2.9 TD

Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0 TD Mk1

Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 TD Mk2

Cannot choose a real favourite, all had their own special qualities.

Really like this new Santa Fe though.

John

 

[Philip_374242473]

1996 Vauxhall Omega 2.0 16v Auto Est

1997 Ford Galaxy 2.8 V6 Auto

1997 Nissan Terrano 2.7 TDi

2002 Rover 75 CDT Tourer

1999 Vauxhall Frontera 2.2 DTi Estate

2003 Kia Sedona 2.9 CRDi SE

 

[Conquerorman]

Started in 1980 with a vauxhall cavalier 2.0 gl towing a Thomson Glenelg.

Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 sportshatch

Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 SR

Opel Manta GTE

Vauxhall Cavalier SRi

Mercedes 190 e

Nissan Terrano

Audi A4 Quattro Tdi Avant [2]

Audi Allroad 2.5 Tdi