Tow Vehicle Again

[Burtox]

My towing car is a 4motion Golf which uses the same 4 wheel drive Haldex system as the Passat. It is FANTASTIC on muddy slipways I had an audience on the edge of the Thames as they were convinced it would dig itself a hole and slid into the water . No chance

[PeterM]

Originally Posted by Markyboyo

Latest Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorrento are well within budget and should prove cheap to run with the mega warranties of up to 7 years and around 40mpg. I'd certainly not judge either until you had tried them, you'd be surprised. Depreciation would be my only concern but I guess that depends on how long you want to keep it. I'd have either over a Nissan exhale.
Sorrento can tow 2500kgs which gives an indication of its towing ability.

as a non badge snob I chose the new Santa fe over xtrail/Landrover etc due to cost/warranty/ reliability.

Towed all sorts from my light 4m rib to my heavy 7.5m and all sorts between . I had the 7 seater with selfleveliing supension and it was ace- now got the 'normal' version and get high 30mpg easily and mid 40s if I am carefull as an an average.

Had some very minor things and had a brake caliper seize - but all sorte dunder warranty... buy one a few years old and still at least 2 years full manufacturer warranty. Not trendy or cool - but suited me to save the £12k at least compred to other things with leather , auto, DVD player etc etc .

4wd is not that advanced but works well enough for anything boaty for me - I'm never going to 'offroad' ......

[Crusher]

Originally Posted by PeterM

as a non badge snob...

Towed all sorts ............,

Not trendy or cool - but suited me.....

4wd is not that advanced but works well enough for anything boaty for me - I'm never going to 'offroad' ......

I couldn't agree with nearly all more........ The only thing i could dissagree with is I found the 4wd to be excellent. It has very admirably coped with very steep weedy slipways and a 7.8 rib, very muddy fields and a twin axle caravan. And the 4wd and traction control in the snow was AWESOME! Even in a large empty car park I tried to have some fun slipping around and couldn't. It just went where I pointed it, very frustrating !

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[BruceB]

I didn't bother with the badge thing either and bought a Sorento last year. Very nice towing vehicle and lovely motorway vehicle but the suspension is a bit soft for pushing it round A Roads.

[Jon.esp]

Thanks for all the contributions

I suspect that the Audi and the Volvo are going to be too pricey.

I am going into a VW dealer over the weekend so I can look at the Passat then but my first thoughts is that this 4motion is more performance orientated but perhaps I am wrong.

Build quality, reliability and running costs are much more important than the badge. I have been asking around elsewhere for opinions as well but please keep your thoughts coming.

I have booked up test drives for the Subaru Forester, X trail and Santa Fe so we will see how we get on with them.

These Skoda Scouts seem like hens teeth and I have been told that the Para Medics are taking up a large proportion of the UK allocation but have no idea if it is true.

We did look at a Freelander some years back but decided that the load bay was too short which is why we have been put off the Rav4.

The Serento is just too big, which is a shame as I have had good reports elsewhere

I haven’t looked at Honda yet.

Thanks again

Jon

[PeterM]

Originally Posted by Crusher

I couldn't agree with nearly all more........ The only thing i could dissagree with is I found the 4wd to be excellent. It has very admirably coped with very steep weedy slipways and a 7.8 rib, very muddy fields and a twin axle caravan. And the 4wd and traction control in the snow was AWESOME! Even in a large empty car park I tried to have some fun slipping around and couldn't. It just went where I pointed it, very frustrating !

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I sort of meant it will never keep up if you end up properly offroad alongside landrovers ( generic), but yep dealt with snow like it wasn't there and never even spun a wheel pulling anything that was designed to move. ( the boat full of water, off a trailor , up a slip was a challenge that spun one wheel a bit - bit still did it ..I have the pics somewhere) and I love the auto box - it does lower the trailed weight a bit though- but not so as I noticed.

[Jon.esp]

Originally Posted by PeterM

I love the auto box - it does lower the trailed weight a bit though- but not so as I noticed.

I have not even considered an auto my wife hates them so would need some persuading. Do they not hit th mpg a bit?

Jon

[Ian M]

Originally Posted by Jon.esp

Thanks for all the contributions

I suspect that the Audi and the Volvo are going to be too pricey.

I am going into a VW dealer over the weekend so I can look at the Passat then but my first thoughts is that this 4motion is more performance orientated but perhaps I am wrong.

Build quality, reliability and running costs are much more important than the badge. I have been asking around elsewhere for opinions as well but please keep your thoughts coming.

I have booked up test drives for the Subaru Forester, X trail and Santa Fe so we will see how we get on with them.

These Skoda Scouts seem like hens teeth and I have been told that the Para Medics are taking up a large proportion of the UK allocation but have no idea if it is true.

We did look at a Freelander some years back but decided that the load bay was too short which is why we have been put off the Rav4.

The Serento is just too big, which is a shame as I have had good reports elsewhere

I haven’t looked at Honda yet.

Thanks again

Jon

Jon,
I think that you need to decide what it is you want. At the moment you seem to be casting around at different types of vehicles; 4 wheel drive saloon based vehicles or 'proper' 4x4s. Obviously proper 4x4s are the winners if you are going to do any sort of off-roading with superior traction and ground clearance. For me, and to be honest my family, off roading is not a factor, what I need is 4x4 traction on a slipway (which I do not consider to be 'off-road'!), but with access to the roof where I sometimes carry bikes and kayaks (not generally at the same time ), and having good internal load capacity. This pointed me in the direction of the Volvo XC70 / Audi Allroad type vehicle. I hated the woolly steering and general poor dynamics of a V70 I owned and the XC70 did not seem to have to moved the game on, and so I went for an Audi Allroad, and not regreted it for a minute.
Your quoted budget will get you a good XC70 / Audi Allroad, if that is the style of vehicle you need. What are you criteria?

[grow45]

Trying not to thread hijack but in the hope it may add some further options for the OP does anybody have any views on the Nissan Qashqai or the Ford Kuga (apart from the daft names). For unrelated to boats reasons (although it would be used as a tow car) we need an automatic with all wheel drive and high ground clearance but not a true off roader and these seem to fit the bill..

Thanks

[MAW]

I have a 2.5XT Forester. From new, in 6 years and 100 000 miles, it's never missed a beat. Now with LPG conversion, I plan on keeping it til it stops. It has towed my Farrier F27 trimaran about 8000 of those miles, 2.2 tons, 35 ft long on the trailer. I cannot recommend the forester, or Subaru, more highly.

[Jon.esp]

Originally Posted by MAW

I have a 2.5XT Forester. From new, in 6 years and 100 000 miles, it's never missed a beat. Now with LPG conversion, I plan on keeping it til it stops.

That is what I was hoping to hear as I have also had good reports from elsewhere. Can I ask how you have found servicing / running costs as I have asked the dealer I was going to get a test drive with for a service cost menu but he hasn’t come up with anything yet. Also do you have problems finding the LPG? Like you I am happy to keep cars ‘till they drop and have 220k on the clock but am sorry to say I don’t think it will last much longer.

Jon

[Northern Tim]

A word for Skoda!

I have an Octavia 4x4, which is very similar to a scout. It has a massive boot, sticks like glue and gives 60+mpg on motorways! I would have bought the scout had I had another couple of grand to spare. I've been very happy with the car, and the skoda service as a whole.

However, they are like hen's teeth! You'll need to get on a waiting list at a dealer if you want a new one - there are a few demos about.

[MAW]

You certainly won't get 60+MPG from a Forester, but you do get a real driver's car, it's an impreza on steroids, basically. Pulls 2 tons no bother, and my turbo manages 0-60 in 7 seconds if that is important. Servicing costs are reasonable, a basic service is very easy, £100 every 10k. Cam belts for a 230BHP 4 cam engine are a bit of a price, but that's every 60K. I've had it done once, it cost about £400IIRC. Most parts are available as pattern, including stuff like brake discs. A set of 4 discs and pads recently cost me £120 for the parts. I daresay the 2 litre, or the turbodiesel are more economical, but I am also certain they are not as much fun. It leaves Focus STi's sitting in a cloud of their own tyre smoke.

[Jon.esp]

Thanks again for all the suggestions

Originally Posted by Ian M

Jon,
I think that you need to decide what it is you want. At the moment you seem to be casting around at different types of vehicles; 4 wheel drive saloon based vehicles or 'proper' 4x4s.

I agree I seem to be looking at different types of vehicles. The all wheel estate with slightly raised suspension would do the job fine but I suspect the Audi / Volvo options are too pricey on the initial outlay and also running cost. That is why I was thinking the Scout is the best of that type but as mentioned they are like hens teeth. I am still looking. An Octavia estate 4x4 without the Scouts raised suspension may have to be a compromise.

We have looked at the Crossovers but as yet have not found one that we think is right for us. I am a bit worried that they are more style than anything else but I may well be wrong. Can anybody rush to their defence?

So we then moved onto the Xtrail / Forester type which I think fall into the softroader bracket. Not much more expensive than the Scout but more expensive to run especially on fuel.

We liked the X Trail but am concerned about this Renault engine issue. The new ones have a 2.0 diesel where as the previous engine was a 2.2. From what I have read the 2.2 was the one that gave problems but I may well be wrong so can anybody but me straight on this? Also not being from an engineering background 173 hp from a 2.0l diesel doesn’t sound to me like an engine that will do 200k but I guess time will tell. This clever auto 4wheel dive system with a selector on the dash; has that ever caused problems?

We also liked the Forester but with the diesel we were surprised that it seemed to lack grunt. I know it has less Geegees than the XTrail and it seemed very noticeably slower. Perhaps I should go back and try it again. What I did like was the permanent all wheel drive as although it is going to increase running costs it struck me as less to go wrong. Subaru seem to have a reputation for reliable engineering.

We also looked at a Santa Fe but I did not realise that the all wheel drive only works up to 29mph but perhaps I misunderstood that. It seemed like a great tow car but I think with this we are just getting too far away from what we really need.

Thanks again for everybody’s input

Jon

[thomas]

Not sure if mines a crossover but we moved from a Freelander 2 (fantastic car) to an XC60 still good but not the character of the Freelander 2 but really happy with it and it goes round corners which was something the Freelander never did very well.

[gazb]

Nissan wouldn't touch, freeloaders go bang, have a look at a vw touareg its a tool believe me! Subaru good, vw & Audi good. Been involved with 4x4s for years and driven most of them out there. The towrag is such a nice motor.

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[Jon.esp]

Thanks for all the input
Toerag is just too big and expensive so not even thinking about it
We struck the Xtrail off the list due to so many tales of problems with this 2L diesel which left the Subaru and the Skoda. We have found a Skoda Scout and think this is what we will settle on.

Jon

[gazb]

No worries sorry to the late great Mr McCray. Must warn you though Subaru owners clubs are more fun than Skodas. Everyone Vw owned or not still have to battle the label wall. Just don't leave the keys on the pub table.

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