Best small tow car

LaurenBobby

LaurenBobby

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Hi all, can anyone recommend a good small tow car? I have recently sold my Renault master van conversion and I’m looking at going back to a car and trailer.

The car would only ever be used to tow one horse in a single trailer. As well as used for my daily commute which is approx 200/300 miles a week.

The trailers I’m looking at weight approx 780kg and my horse about 500kg. So I’m looking for a car to tow 1280kg.

I have my b+e so no issues in that department. As much as I would love a big meaty 4x4 I couldn’t afford to run one.

Does anyone tow this kind of weight in an estate type car and can anyone recommend one that can do the job well but also not cost an arm and a leg to run for daily use?
 
LaurenBobby said:
Hi all, can anyone recommend a good small tow car? I have recently sold my Renault master van conversion and I’m looking at going back to a car and trailer.

The car would only ever be used to tow one horse in a single trailer. As well as used for my daily commute which is approx 200/300 miles a week.

The trailers I’m looking at weight approx 780kg and my horse about 500kg. So I’m looking for a car to tow 1280kg.

I have my b+e so no issues in that department. As much as I would love a big meaty 4x4 I couldn’t afford to run one.

Does anyone tow this kind of weight in an estate type car and can anyone recommend one that can do the job well but also not cost an arm and a leg to run for daily use?
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My friend tows with a car, she's had Vauxhalls, a Peugeot (think it was a 407 or 406) and Sierra Sapphire - all towed her lightweight trailer well with her single horse and been well within the towing weight, but some better than others. She said that a car with a higher BHP (brake horse power) tows better on long inclines - I remember going with her once in the Peugeot to a show and she had to have the heater on full blast because the engine was prone to overheating on the long drags up the motorway. Dreadful in the summer!
 
I tow my single trailer with a SAAB 9-3, it's not everyone's cup of tea as it's not the most sought after car but I bought it last year for £2300 on a 58 plate. I love it! Plenty of power to tow comfortably and gives a lovely ride for the horse
 
I have an older short wheelbase shogun and it has been the best car for towing and my daily commute car. I use this gold diesel liquid stuff in the engine to keep it healthy and clean and this seems to really help with keeping the running costs down! I believe it can tow up too 3175kg. I can take two people, tack, water, IFor Williams HB511 and two big ISH really easily. It is a dream horsey car
 
ihatework said:
Very. With the caveat it’s a smaller 4x4 so no directly comparably to the big heavy duty ones. But it tows my very big hunter type in an ascot up a decent hill just fine
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Oh fab, I may have a look into that as mine is slowly dying and going to need a new one soon.
 
LaurenBobby said:
Hi Rog, I don’t believe they have enough of a kerb weight? The figures I’ve found are 1200kg? I could be wrong this is confusing me somewhat haha
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Ignore kerb weight as that is not a legal requirement for B towing

Manufacturers state safe max towing capacity under normal conditions
 
ROG said:
Ignore kerb weight as that is not a legal requirement for B towing

Manufacturers state safe max towing capacity under normal conditions
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Hi again, so if I look at a car that has a towing capacity of 1500kg I’m safe to tow 1300kg even if the kerb weight of the car is 1200kg? :D
 
LaurenBobby said:
Hi again, so if I look at a car that has a towing capacity of 1500kg I’m safe to tow 1300kg even if the kerb weight of the car is 1200kg? :D
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I thought this was only an issue if your trailer doesn't have brakes. If it doesn't then the weight of the trailer must be less than half of the kerb weight of the tow vehicle...Probably better to wait for an answer from ROG
 
LaurenBobby said:
Hi again, so if I look at a car that has a towing capacity of 1500kg I’m safe to tow 1300kg even if the kerb weight of the car is 1200kg? :D
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Yes but I personally do not recommend it where the trailer is heavier than the towing vehicle

Realistically the vehicle is 1200 empty + driver + kit etc etc so is going to be over 1300 actual weight when towing
 
I have towed over the years with quite a few different 'smaller' towing cars, I have used a Mercedes c180, Volkswagen Tiguan and a Hyundai 1x35, they all did the job no problem and were good every day cars. I haven't used anything that tows under 1700kg.
I have also had 2 bigger tow vehicles one was a jeep Cherokee and one was a Mercedes ml and the difference towing with one of those is noticeable of course but they were less practical every day.
Someone mentioned an outlander above which I think are part electric? that would save quite a bit on running costs I imagine :)
 
I tow with a Toyota avensis estate , it can tow 1.8t .
I have an old lightweight bahill trailer , 750 kilos and only tow 1 horse , 550 kilo .
It pulls fine , ive towed over grass no problem.
£30 a year tax , fuel good , nearly 60mpg none towing on motorway runs , less when towing .
I used to have a kia sorrento but was expensive to run and I didn't need such a big car for the journeys I do
 
Hi again everyone,

I’m 99% certain I’d like a Kia Ceed Sports wagen.

There are two options available, the 1.4 and 1.6. Both have the same kerb weight of 1400kg and towing capacity of 1500kg.

The only difference I can see is the BHP and the engine torque.

The 1.4 has 89 bhp and 162 lbs/ft torque and the 1.6 has 126 bhp and 192 lbs/ft torque.

Would this make much of a difference towing wise?
 
I personally wouldn’t tow with an engine size lower than a 2.0ltre and Bhp under 100. I just can’t see how that would be up to it.
 
I have an 09 reg Hyundai Santa Fe I tow with and it is brilliant as a tow car and for every day. I previously had a Landrover Defender and Isuzu Trooper and like the Hyundai best.
 
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