Petrol or diesel for towing?

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Freya28

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Hi everyone,

Looking to buy a car in the next year or so for me to use to tow. I'm completely new to towing but I have a rough idea of what I need to look for.

I'm wondering if people recommend diesel or petrol engines for towing? Obviously diesels have more torque so they can pull better, but this new car will also be my daily drive (to the yard, to work, etc) and I'm worried I don't do enough miles a day to keep the filter on a diesel clear.

Basically I'm looking for a decent, reliable 4x4 that'll tow 2000kg, and as small as I can get away with (as it'll be my daily drive I want to keep the running costs low). I'll probably only be towing once or twice a month so I don't need anything big. I'm looking in the area of Sorentos, Tuscons, Tuigans, Grand Vitaras, that sort of thing. I know generally the type of car I'd need but debating whether to look for petrol or diesel
 
Just bought a diesel tiguan but worth noting that Ive just had to take it back due issues, partly due to a clogged filter as Ive been doing loads of short trips which diesel engines arent really designed for it. If youre not regularly doing 45 min 1 hour drives at 60mph+ it gets clogged and can make your car go into limp mode, so worth reviewing your driving habits. Ive been told I can tell when it needs a forced clear due to the fans going on loudly after parking up
 
starbucker said:
Just bought a diesel tiguan but worth noting that Ive just had to take it back due issues, partly due to a clogged filter as Ive been doing loads of short trips which diesel engines arent really designed for it.
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Yes, diesel definitely, but like @starbucker says with modern diesels they only really work happily if they're getting long runs on a regular basis. Our newer diesel is kept sweet by doing a fifty mile round trip commute every day, with extra mileage on top for OH's work site visits. And even then it wants a good long (multiple hours of motorway) run a few times a year to keep the filter clean. If it'll only be doing a bit of towing and popping out on short trips day to day, you may well run into problems, so a petrol could be better.
 
To compare petrol vs diesel I average about 100 miles a week ( 2 trips a day to the yard then errands )

1987 Landrover defender diesel 2.5L - £30 a week

2015 Landrover Discovery Sport Petrol 2.0L - £85 a week

Both doing the same trips. ( this was based on using the disco for 2 months after I broke my defender )

Diesel there are ways around the DPF that people do opt for … but you’d have to research that yourself.
 
I towed with a petrol car for years, before switching to my current diesel.
Preferred the petrol hands down. But it had a decent sized engine and I was always towing with in its capacity. And no real difference in fuel use.

Environmentally, petrol is cleaner than diesel.
 
I've always towed with diesel but I'm just about to do my first trip out in my new petrol car, this weekend. thankfully I only tow about once a month and don't go far, so hopefully it won't be too much more expense!
 
My last one was a diesel. I swear by them. But then bought the same model as a petrol, it’s been absolutely brilliant too. Although might be my imagination but I’m sure the petrol guage drops quicker! 😂
 
Freya28 said:
Hi everyone,

Looking to buy a car in the next year or so for me to use to tow. I'm completely new to towing but I have a rough idea of what I need to look for.

I'm wondering if people recommend diesel or petrol engines for towing? Obviously diesels have more torque so they can pull better, but this new car will also be my daily drive (to the yard, to work, etc) and I'm worried I don't do enough miles a day to keep the filter on a diesel clear.

Basically I'm looking for a decent, reliable 4x4 that'll tow 2000kg, and as small as I can get away with (as it'll be my daily drive I want to keep the running costs low). I'll probably only be towing once or twice a month so I don't need anything big. I'm looking in the area of Sorentos, Tuscons, Tuigans, Grand Vitaras, that sort of thing. I know generally the type of car I'd need but debating whether to look for petrol or diesel
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You're right to be concerned about your DPF. This is the constant battle I have with my car, it's a Vauxhall Insignia cdti SE and I had to have the DPF removed, replaced and remapped. Before this it would on ocassions into 'limp' mode to protect the engine. This was after I'd stopped towing with it. I'm looking at replacing it this year for the same model but much newer.

Since remapping it's BHP has gone from 160 to significantly more and when you put your foot down to accelerate to overtake the front end comes up with the increased power. But the downside is that it constantly smells and needs a long motorway journey in a low gear. I've not towed with it for years now.

Dad said to buy a diesel as they tend to tow better and were more economical.

I'd still be looking for a diesel to replace my current car but I'd also keep my options open with a petrol engine too.

Don't feel you have to buy a hulk of a 4 x 4 if you're just towing a single horse/trailer combo. When I used to tow Bailey with the car in the photo (my Insignia) I still had 350kg of weight to spare and that was a horse weighing 700kg and 17.1hh.

We did thousands of miles together without issue.
 

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Birker2020 said:
Don't feel you have to buy a hulk of a 4 x 4 if you're just towing a single horse/trailer combo. When I used to tow Bailey with the car in the photo (my Insignia) I still had 350kg of weight to spare and that was a horse weighing 700kg and 17.1hh.
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I would say the same, I tow a single 15.1 horse in an Ifor 401 and both our (diesel, 4x4) estate cars have a tow capacity of 1800kg max. They do absolutely fine and I've hauled my trailer out of some pretty grotty ground conditions when out for winter hacks. You don't actually need a monster of a car to tow safely.
 
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