Looking for a new towing vehicle - recommendations?

[Jinx94]

I know there are a tonne of threads about towing vehicles, apologies for adding yet another! But it's an absolute minefield and my brain is nearly exploding

Currently driving a Ford Kuga Zetec and I've had enough. It's cost me a fortune in the time that I've had it. We've gone through a stupid number of tyres, have just replaced the powershift gearbox (I would rather gouge my eyes put with a rusty grapefruit spoon than have another car with a powershift) and it's just never ending. This year alone I've spent nearly 6k on it.

I'm looking for something that can tow my cheval liberte trailer with Tris in the back (450ish kg?) That isn't going to die on me when dealing with a steep incline on an icy day (super steep bridges on almost every route to the yard) and will cope when I drag it around various hilly/awkward places for hiking and road trips.

I need it to be reliable - there's not enough of that in my life atm and I desperately do not want to continue getting new tyres what feels like every 5mins!

Any suggestions? I've been looking at Freelanders but don't know if Land Rovers are the route I want to go down and my budget will be limited to whatever I can get for the current money pit...

 

[EnduroRider]

Which Cheval trailer do you have as that will hugely impact what vehicles have the capacity you need? Also, picking up on the tyres piece, have you been going through premium tyres or cheaper brands as that could be a factor.

Personally, I love a Discovery or Range Rover for towing but need a big towing capacity and accept that these are expensive vehicles to run/maintain!

 

[Jinx94]

The trailer is a Gold First with a head partition, standard weight is 795kg and it has a 1205kg payload.

Initially I was getting premium tyres and I generally preferred all season tyres. It's become so ridiculous that I'm now getting cheap and cheerful because either way they last no time at all.

Before this I had a Nissan Note, drove it on exactly the same roads and I'm not a total moron when I drive but I only went through a handful of full sets. The Kuga must have had 4 full sets last year, if not more!

 

[Jinx94]

@EnduroRider , how did you find the discovery for reliability? Did you have a lot of maintenance work done on it?

 

[TheMule]

I was very pleased with my old Kuga until it died, so don’t rule them out completely. I now have a Ssangyong Korando which is doing a great job, and the Mitsubishi Outlanders are also really nice.
In the next bracket up, the Touregs have a good reputation

 

[Jinx94]

Mine's great when it's running! I'm glad to hear someone's had a good experience with them, everyone I know with a Kuga has found them to be quite frustrating with things going wrong.

Will take a look at your suggestions!

 

[Love]

Would you consider a pickup? We have a VW Amarok and I genuinely don't know how we managed before we got it. It has been invaluable, tows 2 big horses like a dream in our ifor 510 and (touch wood) has never given us a moment of trouble (other when husband dropped it off a jack when changing a tyre on a gravel drive but we'll ignore that... ). We have the 2 litre version and its better on fuel than my (admittedly 15 year old) VW polo.

 

[EnduroRider]

@EnduroRider , how did you find the discovery for reliability? Did you have a lot of maintenance work done on it?

So I had a 2008 Discovery, purchased in 2017 (so 9 years old and less may need fixing on a newer one) and sold in 2023. In that time the invoices from my mechanic for all servicing and maintenance, tyres, battery etc were a smidge over £14k. That was with nothing 'major' going wrong, no new gearbox for instance!

ETA- visits to the mechanic averaged 3 per year, so once for MOT/Service and it having something needing attention twice per year in addition to that. Having only had large/older cars forever I don't have much persepctive on whether that is a lot or not.

 

[teapot]

Step away from anything made within a 40 mile radius of JLR, and then some.

 

[mustardsmum]

I bought an 11 year old Volvo XC90 after our VW Touareg died. Have to say, I am pleasantly surprised- so far nothing major has gone wrong, it’s lovely and comfortable for long journeys and tows my 505 happily. The Touareg was a money pit in the end and a lot of things like air con, electric windows never worked properly. The Volvo just seems very well made in comparison. A year in and all we’ve replaced are tyres (normal wear and tear).

 

[Jinx94]

So I had a 2008 Discovery, purchased in 2017 (so 9 years old and less may need fixing on a newer one) and sold in 2023. In that time the invoices from my mechanic for all servicing and maintenance, tyres, battery etc were a smidge over £14k. That was with nothing 'major' going wrong, no new gearbox for instance!

ETA- visits to the mechanic averaged 3 per year, so once for MOT/Service and it having something needing attention twice per year in addition to that. Having only had large/older cars forever I don't have much persepctive on whether that is a lot or not.

well.. I'm at 6k just from my 2024 costs, so 14k over 6 years sounds quite reasonable atm!

Would consider a pick up, what I didn't mention in my first post is that ideally I need space in the boot for the dog crate, which seems to have ruled put a few vehicles! Also, what's with all the 7 seaters?! personally I'd rather have additional boot space

I've never had to properly car shop, can't say I'm enjoying it!

 

[AandK]

I have a Merc ML350 (2011) which has a tow capacity of 3.5t. It is a lovely car to drive and tows easily, also has a large boot (fits my 3 labs in it!). Cons are the tax is high and mpg low... but it does the job well so it's worth it to me!

 

[mustardsmum]

well.. I'm at 6k just from my 2024 costs, so 14k over 6 years sounds quite reasonable atm!

Would consider a pick up, what I didn't mention in my first post is that ideally I need space in the boot for the dog crate, which seems to have ruled put a few vehicles! Also, what's with all the 7 seaters?! personally I'd rather have additional boot space

I've never had to properly car shop, can't say I'm enjoying it!

Yes we were a bit perplexed as to why the XC90 had 7 seats. Having said that we have actually used them which we would never have thought of before! They are fine for small adults and came in handy when the in laws were down, we only needed to take one car. The boot on a Volvo is huge, we have fitted an Ikea Hemnes sofa bed and mattress in one, and a Parker Knoll 2 seater sofa. Obvs not at the same time though..... so you def would get a dog crate in. The additional two back seats fold down into the boot and you wouldn't know they were there if you weren't told.... I think the biggest drawback with them is actually they are expensive to run, but then, any decent 4x4 will be.

 

[HopOnTrot]

@EnduroRider , how did you find the discovery for reliability? Did you have a lot of maintenance work done on it?

I have a 2014 Discovery and it’s a dream to own, flew through the past MOT without any advisories, has never had a day sick or sorry other than wear or tear.

My Dad has a 2007 Disco (I think he bought it in 2009) and yes it has had a bit of work over the years it’s still a good workhorse.

I had an Amarok before that and I loved it but it wasn’t geared as nicely as the Disco and lacked a lot of grunt at low speeds, DH hated the bouncy ride as it had leaf suspension.

We currently have 7 vehicles on the road so pretty au fait with brands we’d touch

I’ve had far more trouble with small cars than I have any Land Rover

 

[dixie]

Ssangyong Rexton or Musso are very good.
I’ve had both and never had any problems. Tow up to 3.5t.

 

[Bobthecob15]

We had a VW Touareg which was fabulous to tow with, it was thirsty but it had a great tow capacity of 3.5 tonnes so was fab for going up and down big hills etc. Awful fuel economy though but i loved it!

We now have a Volvo XC90 which is also great to tow with, less tow capacity but it’s great with our cheval tourer and 1 or 2 small horses in it. I’d definitely recommend both!