Who's got a poor towcar?

[RogerL]

Very few, if any, car owners would ever admit that their choice of car is less than perfect. It's human nature to boast, just because you've spent you hard-earned cash, and no-one will ever admit that their choice could have been better.

C'mon then, lets hear about all the cars, you've actually owned, to avoid when making our choice.

 

[emmerson2]

Worst ever towcar was a 2ltr manual Ford Granada,bought for

 

[Val & Frank]

Worst ever towcar was a 2ltr manual Ford Granada,bought for

 

[MONKEY1]

Worst Car I owned was a company car which was a 306 diesel .. It was underpowered so much that you daren't put 4 people in let alone a caravan on the back. It also ate front brakes and tyres at an alarming rate.

MH

 

[BrianC_5111810]

We have a hard working Defender so I hope I don't get hate mail.

We had a L___ _o___ ________y TDI that was the biggest automotive drain on financial resources ever.

Like complete fools we bought a second one, her in doors binned it on the way to be repaired for the umteenth time,insurance paid up and saved us a fortune thank god.

They both towed well but sadly had a habit of needing AA relay to complete journeys until we'd called them out to many times so then it was the nice chaps from Green Flag.

Brian C

 

[CliveV]

Worst car for towing - Citroen BX - wonderful car solo - but any weight on the back just seemed to make the front wheels loose any grip! Truly Awful as a tow car - but one of the best estates in its own right I ever had.

As for "poor" my as yet non LPG'd V8 Discovery makes my wallet considerably poorer!

 

[emmerson2]

Worst car for towing - Citroen BX - wonderful car solo - but any weight on the back just seemed to make the front wheels loose any grip! Truly Awful as a tow car - but one of the best estates in its own right I ever had.

As for "poor" my as yet non LPG'd V8 Discovery makes my wallet considerably poorer!

Gosh, Clive you must be richer than I thought! Or should that be used to be richer? Running a V8 on petrol must be horrendous!I cry when I put

 

[Ernest_5084714]

There is no doubt about it but the worst car ever for towing was the Hillman Avenger. I used to own an old Knowsley Eros, length without the hitch was a meagre 12 feet. It must have been one of the smallest caravans on the market but this car wouldn't pull you out of bed, it was the absolute pits.

 

[CliveV]

Worst car for towing - Citroen BX - wonderful car solo - but any weight on the back just seemed to make the front wheels loose any grip! Truly Awful as a tow car - but one of the best estates in its own right I ever had.

As for "poor" my as yet non LPG'd V8 Discovery makes my wallet considerably poorer!

Yeah! don't I know it! Luckily we also have the 1.8 Freelander "on the fleet" that I am using more on long journeys.

I get well over 33 mpg on a long run which whilst that is nothing special these days it is better than the 20 mpg the Discovery does. But I only use the Discovery for towing and the odd dog walk in the forest.

We have had it 6 months now and all seems well so she seems to have earned the right to go up in the world to run on the "A grade" fuel.

Still not sure if going for the multipoint injection system is worthwhile compared to the simplicity of the single point.

What system do you have on yours emmerson?

 

[emmerson2]

Yeah! don't I know it! Luckily we also have the 1.8 Freelander "on the fleet" that I am using more on long journeys.

I get well over 33 mpg on a long run which whilst that is nothing special these days it is better than the 20 mpg the Discovery does. But I only use the Discovery for towing and the odd dog walk in the forest.

We have had it 6 months now and all seems well so she seems to have earned the right to go up in the world to run on the "A grade" fuel.

Still not sure if going for the multipoint injection system is worthwhile compared to the simplicity of the single point.

What system do you have on yours emmerson?

Absolutely basic Clive. Vapourizer, one pipe straight into the air intake.I had a similar system on my old RR too. Never any trouble.No techy gubbins to go wrong, and only

 

[popupJohn]

Worst ever for me was the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Clutch went to nothing in 13000 miles even tho I towed very little with it.

1st clutch ive managed to get through in my life apart from a Furd Cortina which failed at 40,000 miles which I found acceptable

 

[Bigpow_5039962]

Worst ever for me was the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Clutch went to nothing in 13000 miles even tho I towed very little with it.

1st clutch ive managed to get through in my life apart from a Furd Cortina which failed at 40,000 miles which I found acceptable

The only thing with a hitch on in our household is my leisure vehicle a transit 80 lol. All the bikes in the back and other bits and bobs and off we go with the lunar lexon behind. The only problem is a hills and b grass with a hill, and thats with new tyres on the back. I can get upto a heady 60 ish if I'm lucky as well. The plus points are it stores everything and feels solid when stopping and pulling the van . Not something I would buy to pull a lunar on a long trip though lol.

I would like to buy something like a L200 or nivara but getting 5 bikes in the back just doesn't look possible ...

 

[DavidW1]

X plate Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 sri Estate with LPG - power and kerbweight not an issue but like Clives BX it spins its frontwheels on anything else but tarmac - useless on grass or mud with even a light trailer on the back. Still got the car but don't tow with it.

 

[RogerL]

X plate Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 sri Estate with LPG - power and kerbweight not an issue but like Clives BX it spins its frontwheels on anything else but tarmac - useless on grass or mud with even a light trailer on the back. Still got the car but don't tow with it.

Wheelspin is a result of poor foot control, not bad car design.

I never had any problems with a Cavalier SRI, even on wet grass.

 

[Lutz]

X plate Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 sri Estate with LPG - power and kerbweight not an issue but like Clives BX it spins its frontwheels on anything else but tarmac - useless on grass or mud with even a light trailer on the back. Still got the car but don't tow with it.

In principle, I agree with you Roger, but the tyre equipment could also be a contributing factor (again, nothing to do with bad car design)

 

[DavidW1]

X plate Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 sri Estate with LPG - power and kerbweight not an issue but like Clives BX it spins its frontwheels on anything else but tarmac - useless on grass or mud with even a light trailer on the back. Still got the car but don't tow with it.

So that's it, I wondered what the problem was, foot control eh, and there was me thinking I knew how to drive. Actually I think it's more to do with the fact that the lack of self leveling suspension on the 140 sri estate and the reaward weight transfer when pulling away with a van on tow combine to make front wheelspin impossible to prevent on muddy sloping ground even with traction control switched on; which makes it a crap towcar.

Incidentally it has Pirelli P7's fitted but I doubt it would have made any difference even with all terrains, not that anyone would sensibly use such tyres on a Vectra cabable of 135 mph

 

[RogerL]

X plate Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 sri Estate with LPG - power and kerbweight not an issue but like Clives BX it spins its frontwheels on anything else but tarmac - useless on grass or mud with even a light trailer on the back. Still got the car but don't tow with it.

Weight transfer only occurs during acceleration - if you're getting wheelspin you're NOT accelerating!

Wheelspin occurs when power applied exceeds the available grip. Reducing power (lifting right foot) is the only remedy although electronic traction control reduces power automatically for you.

 

[DavidW1]

X plate Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 sri Estate with LPG - power and kerbweight not an issue but like Clives BX it spins its frontwheels on anything else but tarmac - useless on grass or mud with even a light trailer on the back. Still got the car but don't tow with it.

Yes just what you need when you are trying to climb a slippery slope with 1.2 tonnes on the back - a system which is reducing the power and applying the brakes! In practice, take it from me, on the Vectra application, the engine stalls or you power through it and the wheels spin agin. The ASR system is fine on FWD cars for level traffic light starts with light loads but Robert Bosch obviously did not cater for vanners.

 

[TripHazard]

Worst car i ever owned as a tow car was a Ford Sierra 1.8 petrol. I had checked with the caravan dealer that this would be an adequate tow car for the van i had bought to find i couldnt get it out of 3rd gear unless i was on the motorway thats when i swore the next car i owned would be a 4x4 and have had them ever since

 

[Lutz]

X plate Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 sri Estate with LPG - power and kerbweight not an issue but like Clives BX it spins its frontwheels on anything else but tarmac - useless on grass or mud with even a light trailer on the back. Still got the car but don't tow with it.

Still sounds to me that the tyres weren't exactly optimal. Traction control only acts when wheelspin occurs. The object, however, is to dose the foot control in such a way that wheelspin doesn't even set in. In that case, traction control doesn't come into play.

 

[Lutz]

Worst car i ever owned as a tow car was a Ford Sierra 1.8 petrol. I had checked with the caravan dealer that this would be an adequate tow car for the van i had bought to find i couldnt get it out of 3rd gear unless i was on the motorway thats when i swore the next car i owned would be a 4x4 and have had them ever since

Nothing against 4x4's but I don't quite see what not getting out of 3rd gear in a Sierra has got to do with the need to go to a 4x4. If it was only a lack of power, there are enough cars that can keep up with or surpass any 4x4.

 

[Vicky_5078445]

We've only been caravanning for a short time, but got rid of our Range Rover 2.5TD Auto, as it would overheat every time we towed the caravan up a hill.

I think it was just a good excuse for my hubby to change it! He changes his cars more of than... well you all know the saying!

 

[MikeAce]

X plate Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 sri Estate with LPG - power and kerbweight not an issue but like Clives BX it spins its frontwheels on anything else but tarmac - useless on grass or mud with even a light trailer on the back. Still got the car but don't tow with it.

I agree with you DavidW, i too own (although dont tow anymore with it) a vectra estate, its truely awful. mine is the 1.8 16v lpg version.

lots of rear weight and little front weight make spinning easy on wet grass, thankfully i never got it stuck.

(got a 130 TDCI mondeo now, yeehaw!)

perhaps i cant drive either?

 

[DavidW1]

I agree with you DavidW, i too own (although dont tow anymore with it) a vectra estate, its truely awful. mine is the 1.8 16v lpg version.

lots of rear weight and little front weight make spinning easy on wet grass, thankfully i never got it stuck.

(got a 130 TDCI mondeo now, yeehaw!)

perhaps i cant drive either?

Thanks mike - people sometimes theorise on this forum with little actual experience of the situation or problem - anyway as actual Vectra Estate users we are unanimous, they are crap tow cars!

 

[DavidW1]

X plate Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 sri Estate with LPG - power and kerbweight not an issue but like Clives BX it spins its frontwheels on anything else but tarmac - useless on grass or mud with even a light trailer on the back. Still got the car but don't tow with it.

Thanks Mike - people can theorise all they like but at the end of the day at least we know from actual usage - Vectra Estates are crap tow cars!