Which tow car

[Fiddle Camper]

Hello. I’m new to this website and also relatively new to towing, having not towed a caravan for over 20 years. At the time I swapped to motorhomes, which changed to smaller camper vans.

I am now at the stage where my little van is no longer adequate, not having toilet and shower. Vans large enough to accommodate these look huge. I’m not so concerned about the driving, but panic at the thought of trying to negotiate narrow village streets and busy car parks when out and about, touring.

So now I have come back to the idea of a little caravan. I have fallen in love with the Freedom Twinsport Flair. With an MTPLM of 800kg I wouldn’t need a huge car to tow it. Am I right in thinking anything with a kerb weight of over 800kg would do it?

My chief question is diesel or petrol. During the darker months and whenever I’m not touring, it would be used for regular short journeys to the shops etc. I know from my camper van that diesels don’t like this. Would a decent petrol car (eg with Eu6 certification) be adequate in terms of economy of drive over a diesel.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[otherclive]

I’ve recently changed from Kia XCeed 1.5 turbo auto that would tow up to 1200kg. Solo economy on trips was 50-55mpg. But irrespective of petrol or diesel I’ve always tried to avoid short journeys. My wife even does a detour going to Sainsbury’s. 🙈

 

[Beardy]

So now I have come back to the idea of a little caravan. I have fallen in love with the Freedom Twinsport Flair. With an MTPLM of 800kg I wouldn’t need a huge car to tow it. Am I right in thinking anything with a kerb weight of over 800kg would do it?

Not quite. You need to look at the towing capacity of each individual vehicle. My wife's car has a kerb weight of 830kg and a tow capacity of 0kg (braked or unbraked) as it is not 'type approved' for towing. There are E Class mercedes weighing close to 2000kg that couldn't legally tow it.

Aim for something around 1000kg minimum to maintain the (recommended) 85% tow ratio.

Petrol or diesel? That really depends on your annual milage and (as you've identified) your typical usage. Unless you plan to do lots of long distance touring it sounds like petrol would be a better choice for you. I've found that diesels aren't particularly economical on short trips anyway (although I've only owned diesels over 2 litres).

 

[otherclive]

My RAV4 petrol has a Mass in Service of 1700kg, but can only tow 800kg braked trailer. But it wasn't bought for towing.

 

[RogerL]

A number of otherwise excellent small cars aren't Type Approved to tow anything - so choose carefully and check the physical VIN plate.

 

[Sam Vimes]

I drive a 1.5dCi Qashqai, perhaps viewed by some as an unusual tow car. I tow a van that's just under 1200kg and I think my car is rated upto something like 1350kg.

As a diesel I can get over 80mpg not towing. When towing on the same journeys it's about 40-45mpg.