One of those which towing vehicle threads

[ownedbyaconnie]

Have sold my car and once I’m actually commuting again I am going to buy a 4x4 for towing and will be the main car (as I despise driving my OH car) (still need to do my test and get a trailer mind you!).

i keep going back and forth between the VW Touareg and Tiguan.

pros for Touareg is its very beasty and can tow 3,500 so I would never have to worry about weight.

pros for Tiguan are that it can tow 2,500 (I would only buy the model that could as I know some can tow less) and it is cheaper to buy and run etc but I would only ever take just my pony.

pony is a 14.1 connemara, weigh tape said she was 360kg coming out of winter so I would round up and say she was 400kg as I know weigh tapes aren’t spot on!

so my thought process is buy the cheaper Tiguan as an intro into towing and just go places by myself for a few years and see if I actually go out as much as I think I do and then upgrade to a Touareg if I feel I need to in the future? Or is the Tiguan one of those cases where it technically can pull but maybe shouldn’t? I would probably only tow once every other weekend at most and probably not very far as an near a few different venues.

 

[Michen]

I towed two horses with my Tiguan (both 15hh). It towed absolutely no differently to with one horses. Car manufacturers don't set weights the car isn't capable of towing! That said I wouldn't have towed two in any sort of weather, and only horses who I knew were good to travel.

I loved my tiguan and am strongly thinking about another one!

 

[Michen]

PS it also got me out of loads of muddy hunt fields where heftier vehicles failed

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

I towed two horses with my Tiguan (both 15hh). It towed absolutely no differently to with one horses. Car manufacturers don't set weights the car isn't capable of towing! That said I wouldn't have towed two in any sort of weather, and only horses who I knew were good to travel.

I loved my tiguan and am strongly thinking about another one!

Ah fabulous this is great to hear.

my Oh keeps saying don’t buy the more expensive car and have extra costs just so you can “sometimes take a friend” which as much as it pains me to say, is totally right. My only concern with the Tiguan is will things like clutch and brake pads go quickly? My friend had a Kia sport age and she had to replace pads after a year, although I think her towing capacity was lower than Tiguan anyway and her horse is heavier.

i have at least finally managed to narrow it down to these two cars, my parents had a volkswagen that did silly miles carting me and my 3 siblings all over the place and it was so reliable.

 

[Michen]

Ah fabulous this is great to hear.

my Oh keeps saying don’t buy the more expensive car and have extra costs just so you can “sometimes take a friend” which as much as it pains me to say, is totally right. My only concern with the Tiguan is will things like clutch and brake pads go quickly? My friend had a Kia sport age and she had to replace pads after a year, although I think her towing capacity was lower than Tiguan anyway and her horse is heavier.

i have at least finally managed to narrow it down to these two cars, my parents had a volkswagen that did silly miles carting me and my 3 siblings all over the place and it was so reliable.

Well when you buy a brand new Tiguan they don’t exclude things on the warranty because your towing with it- so I wouldn’t worry.
Mine was a company car and only had it a year.

 

[CMcC]

I towed with a Tiguan. It was OK. But the clutch went within 18 months, no proof it was related to towing and was fixed under warranty.

Friend recommended Touareg and said “you won’t know you are towing” which I thought was a stupid thing to say and wasn’t possible. But it is true, I am aware if towing horses but a couple of times have towed trailer full of showjumps and fencing equipment and it really feels no different to just driving.

i would go straight to Touareg

 

[Northern]

Another vote for Touareg. I recently bought one and it's so comfortable to drive in general, and tows really well. I would recommend buying the highest towing capacity you can afford. You never know when you might have to tow bigger horses/heavier loads.

 

[asmp]

Another vote for the Touareg. Tows with ease.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Another vote for Touareg. I recently bought one and it's so comfortable to drive in general, and tows really well. I would recommend buying the highest towing capacity you can afford. You never know when you might have to tow bigger horses/heavier loads.

This was my thinking, but then OH said if that happened then just get transport. Is it worth paying an extra £5k+ for the car (I'm looking at no older than 2015 for either) then the additional insurance, fuel and road tax to run it, for the odd occasion I might need to tow heavier? I like jumping small and doing low level dressage and to be honest most of my friends only jump and jump high! So chances of going together are pretty slim!

I guess my question really is, will the Tiguan withstand towing <2,000kg (pony at 400kg, tack, two passengers, hay, water etc at 200kg and trailer) without breaking. I have heard that the Touareg is a fab tower and I think eventually I will look to get one, but considering the Tiguan as a starter to make sure I do actually go out as much as I think I will!

 

[Wheels]

Hmmm a bigger tow car would be preferable for most journeys TBH. As a novice tower it is best to have more not less power and torque

I nearly swapped my land cruiser for a car type (2.5kg towing capacity) not so long ago but towed with a friends car similar to what I was looking at and hated it.

The stability is totally different and unlike a poster above I would and have towed in any weather and my proper 4x4 doesnt get stuck in muddy fields because of the diff system