Good estate cars for towing??

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aldato_daz

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as the title says really...

im still looking to change my car to something that will tow and i have gone off the idea of a jeep! just far too expensive to run!

so does anyone here drive an estate and use it to tow their horses?

advice would be a great help!

cheers guys!
 
the subarus are probably by far the best estates
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i do tow with my primera estate but it is only capable of towing the 1 horse legally and safely
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best bet would be to see what you like and then check out the spec on that particular car!
 
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ooo i dont like subarus at all! i think boy racers have really put me off them!

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lol...not the impreza
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...they do a fab estate and doubt the boy racer would be seen dead in it,lmao
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tis what i am getting next yr as the towing capability is second to none
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The new diesel estate subaru is lovely! Goes without saying - they're expensive as they've only just been launched this year.
 
Totally off the mark but my neighbour has just sold their 4 x 4 and bought an estate. Its only to tow there modest caravan but they hate it and hope to get rid soon. They say it does the job but when on fields its awful and theyve been stuck quite a few times. Im only mentioning this as a caravans about a ton but your trailer and horse will be much more so you may well come unstuck on a muddy show ground. The Subarus are supposed to be fantastic though, arent they 4 wheel drive?
 
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Totally off the mark but my neighbour has just sold their 4 x 4 and bought an estate. Its only to tow there modest caravan but they hate it and hope to get rid soon. They say it does the job but when on fields its awful and theyve been stuck quite a few times. Im only mentioning this as a caravans about a ton but your trailer and horse will be much more so you may well come unstuck on a muddy show ground. The Subarus are supposed to be fantastic though, arent they 4 wheel drive?

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very valid point as i would have to avoid muddy fields,lol...my car would never get us out out of slop!!!!
the subarus are actually all wheel drive
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which would actually make them the ultimate towing machine
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i would only tow with a big 4x4. yet again today, a trailer was seen on its roof with 2 horses trapped inside. it was being towed with an unsuitable vehicle - why people want to risk their horses is beyond me. i want the safest vehicle possible and if i cant afford that vehicle then i just go without (i did for years and have only just got a 4x4)
 
Ive got to admit I agree, for years I wanted transport but we couldnt justify a 4x4 so I went without. We then took the plunge and bought an old Diahatsu Fourtrak and an Ifor 505 and it was great. So much so we upgraded it 5 years ago for a newer version of the same. We have just sold it for peanuts and my hubbys a convert, he doesnt want a normal car anymore so weve got a Shogun Sport. Sadly my dad died and through him Ive finally been able to buy a wagon. Thanks Dad.
 
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i would only tow with a big 4x4. yet again today, a trailer was seen on its roof with 2 horses trapped inside. it was being towed with an unsuitable vehicle - why people want to risk their horses is beyond me. i want the safest vehicle possible and if i cant afford that vehicle then i just go without (i did for years and have only just got a 4x4)

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What were they towing with out of interest?
 
The posts here are a perfect illustration of the lack of understanding of the towing laws!! Unless you have a pony double or single horse trailer there are no estate cars that are legal to tow trailers. That doesn't mean a lot of people aren't doing it though!

To be legal, the towing car must have a maximum towing weight equal to or greater than the trailers maximum gross weight, even if its never loaded to that capacity. For example, an new Ifor HB506 has a gross weight of 2600kg. Only the large 4x4s are capable of legally towing these. So even though the trailer a 920kg plus a 15.2hh at 500kg is under 1500kg, it would still only be legal with a tow vehicle with a maximum towing weight of at least 2600kg.

The likelyhood is you'll never be pulled up about towing with an estate car but in the event of an accident all your insurance could be void. Please consider your own and your horses safety and that of other road users.
 
Thank god someone has just spoken sense.
I physically cringe when I see estate cars towing the owners pride and joy down the road.
 
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The posts here are a perfect illustration of the lack of understanding of the towing laws!! Unless you have a pony double or single horse trailer there are no estate cars that are legal to tow trailers. That doesn't mean a lot of people aren't doing it though!

To be legal, the towing car must have a maximum towing weight equal to or greater than the trailers maximum gross weight, even if its never loaded to that capacity. For example, an new Ifor HB506 has a gross weight of 2600kg. Only the large 4x4s are capable of legally towing these. So even though the trailer a 920kg plus a 15.2hh at 500kg is under 1500kg, it would still only be legal with a tow vehicle with a maximum towing weight of at least 2600kg.

The likelyhood is you'll never be pulled up about towing with an estate car but in the event of an accident all your insurance could be void. Please consider your own and your horses safety and that of other road users.

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Where do you get this from? I've seen this stated before but no-one ever backs it up with links to the source. Below is an extract from the Dept of Transport, who probably should know what they're talking about.

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Weight
In the case of light trailers, that is less than 3500kg maximum laden weight, there is not any specified relationship in UK law between the weight of the towing vehicle and the weight of the trailer.

For M1 category vehicles (motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and comprising not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat) the maximum permissible trailer weight is quoted by the vehicle manufacturer. Alternatively, the vehicle manufacturer may provide a maximum gross train weight (the laden weight of the trailer plus the laden weight of the towing vehicle). If this is exceeded it is possible that the Courts or Insurance Companies may take the view that this constitutes a danger.


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http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/vehicles/vssafety/requirementsfortrailers

For the record, we normally tow with a Disco 3, but we also sometimes tow our 505 with 2 ponies with a Volvo V70 AWD which copes fine.
 
Thank you for that Eriskaypony, my husband contacted the police in relation to towing with a 4-motion passat estate or a quattro audi estate, and they gave us the exact information you have put above. Having looked extensively into estate cars with large kerb weights, there are a few out there that will do the job but obviously you have to use your common sense, i.e we are looking at using a 505 with one 15.2, we would not tow two with that set up. For the subaru kerb weights see here, http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/subaru.htm .
 
Only applies to those that passed their test post-1997 and haven't done their towing test. The legal towing limit of your car is as stated in the handbook. The only tim that the MAM of the trailer comes into force is if you haven't done a towing test, but then there's the restriction of having a GTW of 3500.
 
I have gone off on one in th past on here about towing with estates...however I have had to change my opinions because of circumstances. I did have a Disco to tow with and it was great, unfortunately I could no longer afford to keep it running and had to change it. I now have a Mondeo diesel estate. I tow a small Ifor and a lightweight 15'2 TB. It does the job but I don't venture very far and am quite fortunate to have a number of competition centres and events close by. The Mondeo has a max towing weight of 1800 - so the same as your smaller 4x4's. If I could afford it my choice would always be a large 4x4 - not all of us are in the fortunate position to earn enough money to keep one on the road.
 
I believe the thing about the MAM of trailer having to be less than the weight that the car can tow is an EU guideline rather than a UK law - I think as long as the Dept of transport is stating the law as above then we will be fine using common sense and abiding by the DoT rules....that whatever you are actually towing must be less than the towing capacity of the car.
For example, we are hopefully purchasing an Equitrek, my navarra's tow capacity as stated by nissan is 3t, so I will not stick two shire horses in the equitrek and take the out....whereas friend with landy that tows 3.5t could). If that EU guideline became UK law - I would have to rade my navara for something with a 3.5t capacity.
 
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