Help me choose my new car

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I have been looking for a 4x4 and think I have found two to go and look at:

Suzuki Grand Vitara 2.0TD 107 Landrover Freelander 1.8ES

I need to be able to tow one horse in a trailer and have calculated I need about 2000kg (to allow for 85% and the fudge factor).

Which would be better to tow with? Any experiences of these vehicles anyone?

Pros & Cons:
Freelander is petrol Grand vit deisel F 0 GV 1
Freelander Ins group 11E Grand vit Ins group 12 F 1 GV 1
Freelander £500 cheaper F 2 GV 1
Both have tow bars already fitted F3 GV 2
Freelander has 4000 miles more on clock F 3 GV 3


Unless one drives much better than the other, its just down to the towing....but cant see the test drive including a towing session!!!!


SO opinions, votes experiences...welcomed please
 
Have replied in soapbox.......I'd go with neither for towing!! I have, and love, my Freelander 1.8 petrol, but the most I'll tow with it is a few bales of hay on a flatbed trailer. It doesn't have the guts for anything else.
 
I have a Freelander 1998 Petrol with a K series engine - it's notoriously unreliable!!! I love my car to bits, but it's going to end up being in bits soon! The diesel Freelander is supposed to be very good, but if it's a petrol K series ask when the head gasket was last done, or when the engine was last changed as the HGs blow fairly frequently! Expensive when they do as well...
 
neither!

I have a freelander 2 diesel which is a totally different beast to the freelnader one. I had one of those and lasted 3 months with it - just awful (useless towing)

My best friend had a grand vitara for a while and just rubbish too! her doors fell off for a start before we even start on the mechanical stuff and towing!!

Depending on budget what about an nissan x-trail or a diahatsu 4 track. Much better tow cars than either the 2 you are talking about!

I fact I towed for a while with a 2.2 litre diesel mondeo and it was infinitely better than either the vitara or freelander 1!
 
Ok thanks for that chaps.

My dilemma is that I need to use it as an everyday car (in the city) too. The diahatsu 4 track and xtrail look huge in the pics.

Have been towing with a Navarra (its my brother in laws) but its huge and not doable for everyday driving and more to the point parking!!!

Will be using it 2-3 times a month to tow on average about 10miles. Just want to be able to go out and about when BiL is at work.

Back to the drawing board.......
 
I drive nissan x-trail and it's much more 'nippy' than it looks, it's easy to park, drives really smooth and tows remarkably well. It's not bigger then the GV you are thinking about. Mine is worth it's weight in gold.
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I have a GV 3 dr (obviously don't use it for towing!) but i have the diesel and it is fairly good fuel wise. I mainly use it for driving to work and it is comfortable enough and easy round town, parking etc but sturdy enough to use around the field. It was also fab with the recent snow as was great having the low and high ratio gear box. However, mine is the new model so i do not know much about the older ones i would assume the LWB 2ltr would be fine for towing one horse though.

There are probably better tow cars about though. However, i would maybe avoid the freelander if not the FL2 as they seem to break all the time. A friend of mine has had nothing but trouble with his. All cars can obviously have niggles but the older FL seems to have had far too many problems so i'd avoid.
 
I agree with martlin - The X Trail is not much bigger than a normal car and is nippy and very easy to park etc. I borrow my S-I-Ls whenever I can! They're getting very cheap as well these days.
 
I'd just get a normal car it will be cheaper all round if your only towing one horse my new vectra towed one happily max tow weight is 1650kg i was driving 150mile round trip to shows with it and it tows better than my ex's shogun lwb 2800td
 
If your towing one lightweight horse not very far and not very regularly and provided you don't have to go through boggy fields etc then you should be fine with most estate cars
 
Thanks chaps,

Had considered an estate but usually end up in boggy fields, especially in the height of the summer show season
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Will have a look at the xtrail, maybe the pics were just misleading.


SO top 5 towing vehicles?
 
Also consider a short wheel base Nissan Terrano or in it's other guise Ford Maverick.

Definitely wouldn't touch an petrol Freelander 1 with a bargepole!
 
honestly for towing one horse for 10 miles a month you would be far better buying something like a mondeo or something. they are cheap as anything just now (Isold a 4 year old one for £1800 a couple of months ago) It towed brilliantly (caravan club tow car of the year) With regard to the muddy field - my logic was always if they can get the trucks out they can get me out! You drive and park sensibly (facing downhill etc) and i only ever needed a tow out once and that was when every truck in the place was towed in and out (and some 4x4s too for what its worth!) You just load the horse when you are on harder ground and away you go. This way you get cheap car cheap parts and not hugely thirsty. they tow well within the weight of a lightweight (eg ifor 505 ) and 1 horse.

Agree the maverick or terrano may be worth a look (shoguns are great but very thirsty to run as an everyday car-even the 3 doors) The navarro is utterly huge in comparison to the cars we have all suggested, plenty out there for your money just don't rush into anything.
 
Thanks again for your responses....it is nice to have experiences to draw from.

Looked at an xtrail at a local garage and it looks small enough, but has enough towing capacity.

Looked at the technical details for a mondeo but the braked towing capacity is only 1800kg. When you take into account horse, tack, passengers etc I need 2t.

WIll keep looking and any more comments welcome
 
A 505 is approx 900kgs, 16 hander about 550 - thats 1450 being towed. Your passengers ave 70 kgs (2) =1590 - thats another 210 kgs (nearly 1/4 of a tonne) for tack!! are you really certain you need so much for 10 miles a month?

Can you go to a weighbridge with current car and trailer weigh it fully laden - then put car on empty and see whats actually being towed? Unless you have a really heavy trailer or very heavy horse i think you are baing a bit generous for the sake of 10 miles a month for 1 horse!
 
Trailer is 1070kg Horse is just shy of 600kg. = 1670kg
3 passengers minimum (and often 4 including two large men, it is a fmaily affair~ hoping 2 will travel in their own car when I am towing), tack and whatever else lives in my car permanently. So closer to 1800 kg

85% of 2000kg = 1700kg
 
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