What is the best tow car for a Swift Elegance 645?

[MarcandLouadventures]

Hi,

Please help.

I've just sold my house and am taking a year off work. I'm in the process of purchasing a 2015 Swift Elegance 645 Caravan. What would be the best all round tow car for this caravan? Ideally I'd like a estate or 4x4 due to having collies. I don't want a car that will be ridiculous costs, for example fuel, parts, road tax etc. my price range for buying the vehicle is between 10 to £15000 and would be happy with a second hand car, maybe upto 5 years old with less than 50000 miles on the clock.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Marc

 

[Sproket]

With a MTPLM of 1900 kg you will need a good size tug to tow it comfortably especially as you will need room for your dog's and there own accessories the Swift web site gives you a figure of 221kg for your items, with a van of that size you might be thinking about a motor mover that will eat into your payload by about 40kg .for a van of that size i would be looking at a Shogun or something that sort of size. The other thing is your driving licence as the combined weight will be more than 3500kg so you will need B+E entitlement to comply with the law .....

 

[MarcandLouadventures]

Hi Sproket,

Thanks for the advice, you seem very knowledgeable, fortunately I do have B+E, I'll have a look at the shoguns, I am a bit concerned about them though as they are not the most economical of cars and that's all round. That's my opinion, I may be mistaken.

Regards,

Marc

 

[Sproket]

The problem you have is the high MTPLM of 1900kg .... it's all right getting something that will on paper pull that weight ok but you don't want the tail wagging the dog ..... that's why i suggested the shogun due to it weighing 2.25 tons with out being loaded..... a light right foot gets a good mpg ...
.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Marc

Choosing a car is very much a personal choice, but when trying to match it to a car especially with such a large caravan, your choices will be more limited.

We have to start with the caravan, and the crucial factor here is the weight of the caravan, which according to the Swift Website is MIRO 1679kg and the MTPLM of 1900kg.

It is always a good idea to ensure the tow vehicle is heavier than the trailer, but you must never exceed any of the weight limits of vehicles involved. The UK caravan industry advise novice towers should aim for the MTPLM of the caravan should not exceed 85% of the towvehicles unladen weight, so based on that calculation, that would mean you are looking at a tow car of about 2235kg ULW. This is only guidance, and the industry recognise that more experienced towers might consider approaching a ratio of 100%. Regardless

Either way with such a heavy caravan I think you will have to look towards a tow car with a ULW of 2 tonnes or more. This puts you into the very large luxury cars or 4x4's.

Whilst I don't think it applies in your case, but it's worth pointing out for other readers that for such a large outfit you must have entitlement BE or B+E on your driving licence.

Accommodating your dogs, means you will almost certainly be looking at an estate type vehicle. But this also has a knock on effect that you have less space in the tow vehicle for any luggage or kit. I would often suggest a large mpv, which offers vast amounts of space and reasonable handling, and relatively good MPG, but they may not have the necessary unladen weight to match your caravan.

You will also need a reasonably powerful vehicle. Most caravanners would agree that diesel engines are great for towing, mainly because of the torque the vehicle produces at low engine revs, but with the size of vehicles you need to consider, larger petrol engines are likely to be more than adequate, especially if you consider an auto gearbox.

There will be many contributors here on the PCV with experience of the larger 4x4's such as Range Rovers, Discovery's, Toyota's, BMW's, Jeep's and Kia's etc. A relative of mine uses a Mercedes M class, which may not be the biggest vehicle, but he finds it very effective as a tow vehicle for a large caravan, and he often has to carry two labradors.

Just a general note. Please don't assume that a big 4x4 will always remain in control of a caravan, capable as they may be, their bulk also means they can be less stable when pushed hard or when towing a big caravan.

I hope this helps

 

[Dustydog]

Prof
Did you make your 4x4 comment from personal experience?
It's not what I experience 12 years on

 

[Phil.Q]

Hi Guys,

I have now had 4 Shoguns and NEVER had a problem towing.
They are a big gutsy brute of a vehicle but will pull anything and go anywhere.
True they are thirsty but that is the price you pay for 2.5 tons of pulling power and if you are going for a considerable length of time you will be thankful for their reliability and comfort.

Enjoy your experience. :woohoo:

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dusty,

I have towed with 4 different 4x4's (Range Rover, Jeep Cherokee, Toyota Tercel, and ford Sierra 4x4) over the years. And whilst I haven't had a personal problem with any of them, I have modified my driving to suit the vehicle, so I haven't pushed them. But what is very clear that compared to most saloon cars, larger 4x4's are not as nimble.

Amongst a number of caravanners I have met with who use 4x4's several have suggested that despite the perceived size of the cars they have, they have were surprised at how much the car seemed to be affected by a large caravan.

All I am suggesting is that don't get over confident just because you are using a big 4x4.

 

[Chrisjkerr]

Morning Marc.

I've been towing a caravan for just over two years now and when the wife and I realised we love touring and we'd like a newer and larger van I had to pass the B+E test to open up more of the market for us.

As Prof suggested earlier in the thread, larger 4x4 cars don't necessarily tow better due to the characteristics of the particular car. Hopefully I can give you an insight to my personal experience.

I've had a T2 3.0Tdi Altitude Touareg, an Audi A5 2.0 177 Quattro Diesel and now I have a A7 3.0 BiTdi Quattro that have all pulled our old Sterling Eccles Quartz at 1610kg MTPLM.

The Touareg was big and heavy and you could tell it weighed over 2.3 tonnes without the caravan. Towing was only ok because the car felt wobbly at the legal limit possibly due to the cars height and high center of gravity. The caravan however never seemed to move around even when lorries were beside you. The MPG was poor towing and just as bad solo.It wasn't particularly quick with the caravan but had enough grunt for some serious inclines that we encountered. The optional air suspension was good but I didn't enjoy driving the car when I wasn't towing either. £500 VED also made me hate it more.

I wrongly assumed that because it was large and heavy and had a 3500kg towing limit it would be a breeze to tow with. I was completely wrong and wish I never purchased it.

The unladen Audi A5 was only slightly heavier than the Quartz MTPLM and thus I had to be extra cautious. Bumps / undulations in the roads, grooves in the motorway all made for extra towing stress when along side high sided vehicles. I loaded carefully and safely as I had done with the Touareg but I could tell I was on the limit with the car so had to drive accordingly. The 2.0 Diesel engine was refined and was punchy enough to overtake quickly and safely at the legal limit.

When driving solo, the A5 was great. 40 to 50 mpg all day long. Towing was about 26mpg. The car had a maximum braked towing weight of 1800kg but again the caravan never gave me any issues moving around behind at 50 - 55mph. VED was cheap too!

The A7 Bitdi has an unladen weight of 1975kg and is capable of 2100kg max braked towing limit. Loading the Quartz in the same manor I have for all the cars above made for an exceptional towing experience. I understand you have a budget of between 10 - 15k which the A7 is beyond but what I'm trying to say here is that in my own personal experience, a large 4x4 doesn't necessarily equate to a superb towing vehicle. I can only imagine that with the low center of gravity on the A7 and it's sheer length and weight all added together for a better experience.

We've recently upgraded to a Bailey Unicorn Cartagena 2015 but had looked at a Continental 645 (sister to the Elegance) also and would have purchased one had the dealer not damaged it on delivery. I've upgraded the MTPLM of the Cartagena to 1800kg allowing us nearly 250kg of payload if we ever need it. Noseweight is at 80kg using multiple methods of measuring at the correct hitch height and stability feels better than the lighter Quartz ever did.

In my personal opinion, I'd look for either an Audi A6 Avant or an All-road in the 3.0TDI 220 - 240bhp guise. The Avant doesn't have the air suspension as standard whereas the all road does. I'd imagine that driving without the caravan would be a pleasant experience too, mpg should be decent when towing and solo and the VED isn't too expensive either. Plenty of room for your kit and a max tow ball weight of up to 100kg dependent on model!

The A7 BiTdi for me hits all my buttons apart from the initial car cost obviously.

Weighs 2 tonne. 44mpg when driving solo. 26mpg when towing. Fast and agile when not towing, in fact it's fast and agile when towing too. 479lbft of torque! Can tow 2100kg, Looks nice, large boot. Room for dogs, VED is £205. I'm in love with it!

Chris

 

[Woodentop]

One comment not made is that the Shogun mentioned is the long wheelbase version.

If you want something that will tow anything and go on forever look at a Toyota Land Cruiser. Otherwise a Disco is you best bet IMO. We used to tow (and reverse uphill!) a 2.2tonne trailer generator on a 2.7 TD5 and it never hiccuped.

 

[woodsieboy]

We have been using LWB Shogun for past 11 years, find it a very good towcar, has the advantage that you can select 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive manually, some other 4x4s select electronically as needed or are permanent 4 wheel drive, quick search on autotrader found a 2006 with 48k miles at £14995 and another with 50k miles at £13888. A 3 series discovery with 48k is available at £14995. Downside to all of them in my view is VED at around £500.
My experience says the Shogun is more reliable than the Discovery we previously used, others may take a different view, I would say you should drive any suitable cars that you like and then consider which will suit your and your dogs needs best, things like how the rear door opens may be important, some are split and open from top, some open from the side.which may make hitching up more time consuming. good luck with whatever you decide.