Range Rover Evoque - towing?

[BrandySnap46]

Hi!
Does anyone tow with an Evoque?
Land Rover tell me the towing capacity is 2000kg and i'd be looking to tow an Ifor Wiliams 505 classic with one 500kg horse.
Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance

 

[case895]

It's a car, not a real Land Rover. If you would tow that load with a normal car, then go for it.

 

[popsdosh]

Imagine towing with a freelander! same chassis different body 5k dearer one of LRs better marketing moves! Unlike doing away with the proper discovery and replacing it with a hairdressers car.

 

[skint1]

My thoughts are that I personally would not use an Evoque to tow my horse and trailer, but I am fairly neurotic about safety

 

[DirectorFury]

I believe that the Evoque chassis is essentially the same one as is used for Ford Mondeos and S-Max. Make of that what you will!

 

[rachk89]

My thoughts are that I personally would not use an Evoque to tow my horse and trailer, but I am fairly neurotic about safety

Same. I wouldn't use a freelander either. Wouldnt actually use anything that towed less than 2500kg for my horse (he weighs between 550-600kg). You will just eventually damage the car which won't be cheap to fix and are putting the horse at risk. With a lighter horse it wouldn't be so bad but with my fat beast no way.

 

[ROG]

Plenty tow safely without any issues using a standard car as long as the weight limits are adhered to

If not a 4x4 then the type of surface towed on will need to be considered

 

[JulesRules]

The max gross weight of the trailer is over 2 tonnes isn't it? Therefore, this would only be legal if you had the trailer down rated to 2 tonnes

 

[popsdosh]

I believe that the Evoque chassis is essentially the same one as is used for Ford Mondeos and S-Max. Make of that what you will!

Totally different not even same manufacturer.

 

[popsdosh]

The max gross weight of the trailer is over 2 tonnes isn't it? Therefore, this would only be legal if you had the trailer down rated to 2 tonnes

Not true plated weights only come into play if driving without B+E You can tow any gross weight(plated) trailer you want as long as its total weight is within the vehicles towing capacity ,even then that is not a strict legal requirement .As it is not policed by VOSA weight regs.

If however driving with only B entitlement that combination could not be even downrated to give you any meaningful payload

 

[Pedantic]

Rover Provoke, they look awful with that slitty back window, some real weirdo's designing vehicles at the moment, some of the Mini's look dreadful, I reckon some of the designers were given big chunky Tonka Toys to play with when they were children....6 months ago......

 

[ROG]

The max gross weight of the trailer is over 2 tonnes isn't it? Therefore, this would only be legal if you had the trailer down rated to 2 tonnes

No law or rule which states that the towing capacity of a vehicle must be able to accommodate the plated MAM of a trailer

2 legal examples

With B+E licence -
Vehicle - GVW 2000 - Towing capacity 1400
Trailer - MAM 2500 - empty 900 - max load 500

With B licence -
Vehicle - GVW 2000 - Towing capacity 1400
Trailer - MAM 1500 - empty 800 - max load 600

In both cases the trailer MAM is more than the vehicle towing capacity = perfectly lega;

 

[abbijay]

My sharer gave my horse a lift in my trailer towing with their Evoque earlier this year!
The trailer was a Richardson Supreme Ultra (1100kg) and horse weighs (800-850kg). They had no trouble on the roads although it wasn't far and was without any meaningful hills (over one motorway bridge) but he couldn't run around with the horse on in the (very rutted) field.

 

[dizzyneddy]

At the end of the day an evoque is a posh freelander & a disgrace to use the range rover badge.

You're best buying and towing with a proper land rover like a defender or a real range rover.

Sorry to be blunt and no offence but hate the damn things. l'll stick with my petrol gobbling range rover any day 😄

 

[turnbuckle]

They're not what you would call a proper tow-truck, but as long as the horse/trailer combo is within weight, I can't see why it shouldn't do the job.

Most will probably have totally the wrong tyres for wet grass or mud, but if you already have one changing is no great effort.

Has yours got a hitch? if it has, borrow or hire a trailer for the day, weight it up with ballast (farmer with telehandler might be good there) and see how you get on.

As it's not the heaviest, you'll want to see how stable it feels down any hills you'll meet on yr usual routes,

I've towed one horse with a Freelander (not mine) and it did the job perfectly well.

 

[rachk89]

Plenty tow safely without any issues using a standard car as long as the weight limits are adhered to

If not a 4x4 then the type of surface towed on will need to be considered

It's legally safe yes. But i would not tow something that heavy with a normal car. My dad's saab could have legally towed my horse but there was no way that was ever going to happen. We would destroy the car in a few years at best it's not designed to take that.

Having extra after what you are towing is far better for the vehicle you are using. Less strain on all of the components of the vehicle. Plus you can then manage hills and difficult terrain easier because you have left a large amount of weight capacity it can handle more and you have loaded it with less. Loading it to almost full weight everytime will not make the vehicle last forever.

 

[fawaz]

It's legally safe yes. But i would not tow something that heavy with a normal car. My dad's saab could have legally towed my horse but there was no way that was ever going to happen. We would destroy the car in a few years at best it's not designed to take that.

Having extra after what you are towing is far better for the vehicle you are using. Less strain on all of the components of the vehicle. Plus you can then manage hills and difficult terrain easier because you have left a large amount of weight capacity it can handle more and you have loaded it with less. Loading it to almost full weight everytime will not make the vehicle last forever.

The vehicle is rated to tow a certain amount because it can infact safely and within its mechanical limits tow that amount. There is an awful lot of snobbery with horse owners thinking that only a 4X4 will do! Although you may not be able to go off road with your legally weighted average large car plus float, you car will be able to handle any road driving you may need to do.
The towing capacity is calculated with a very wide buffer between safe and dangerous/unsafe.

I used a 1999 Holden VT commodore which is rated to tow 2100kg (usually laden very close to the 2100kg limit) for 8 years to tow between 300-600km per week, plus 1500km per week without the float.

It had done 590,000km when my partner drove it into a tree. It had only just had a new auto transmission fitted and had no engine dramas at all. It was serviced like clock work (every eight weeks, due to my high miles) and had only had minor electrical issues.

 

[Llanali]

The vehicle is rated to tow a certain amount because it can infact safely and within its mechanical limits tow that amount. There is an awful lot of snobbery with horse owners thinking that only a 4X4 will do! Although you may not be able to go off road with your legally weighted average large car plus float, you car will be able to handle any road driving you may need to do.
The towing capacity is calculated with a very wide buffer between safe and dangerous/unsafe.

This. The OP asked about towing with it, and so far many of the posts are about the car being a disgrace, about it not being a proper Land Rover, about the shape of it, about the stereotypical drivers, referencing the "proper" cars. All a bit snobby?! I like the evoque, I never wanted it to be a "proper" 4x4, I was aware of what it looked like, hence I knew I liked it! I didn't want one for its ability to cross terrain in the Sahara, I wanted one for its looks comfort and the ability it could tow would be a bonus for a once monthly run out!

 

[furrycat]

I haven't got an evoque but I do have a car with a 2000kg towing capacity. It happily tows my 505 and one horse all over the place up and down steep hills, up motorways, no bother at all. Longest trip I have done was 150 miles along motorways and dual carriageways and it didn't even feel like I was towing anything. I go out about 2 or 3 times a month. So I would say go for it.

 

[Pedantic]

Maybe one of those inbred half electric half diesel cars would do, Toyota Pius or Anus seem good motors, apart from Windows 98 controlling the brakes, or a Nissan Joke, they will tow an empty wheel barrow uphill "apparently", Fiat Poncho's look smart for ickle tiny people......

 

[Annagain]

I make this point all the time - although usually about the Freelander. All those who complain they "couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding" are comparing them with other Land Rover models rather than others in their same "small SUV" class. Of course they're not going to tow as much, they're pretty much half the size and have pretty much half the towing capacity. That doesn't mean they're any worse than other cars that tow 2,000kg, say a Honda CRV Nissan X-Trail or Mitsubishi Outlander.

Although I mostly tow with a Defender as I often tow 2 big horses, I have towed one big horse in a 510 (about 1700kg in total) with a Freelander in an emergency and it was fine. The journey was short but very hilly. A 505 is 905kg so with a 500kg horse that's only 1405kg. Land Rover are not going to rate it at 2000kg unless it is 100% safe and capable at that weight (imagine the law suits if it wasn't) so it will deal with 70% of that weight with no problems.

Again, you're not going to have the same off-road performance as a 'proper' Land Rover but as long as you have the 4 wheel drive version (they do make a 2 wheel drive version) and the right tyres, it'll be fine on most show fields. My OH's involvement with Land Rover means I've been lucky enough to drive a lot of them on serious off road courses and the Freelander and Evoque are seriously good fun and capable off road. They don't have the same ground clearance so there were bits we couldn't do but wet and hilly fields were no problem (although I admit there was no trailer attached!)

Oh and popsdosh, Land Rover aren't doing away with the Discovery, they're about to launch the Disco 5 next month. They've done away with the Freelander (or rather rebranded it as the Disco Sport).

 

[popsdosh]

It's legally safe yes. But i would not tow something that heavy with a normal car. My dad's saab could have legally towed my horse but there was no way that was ever going to happen. We would destroy the car in a few years at best it's not designed to take that.

Having extra after what you are towing is far better for the vehicle you are using. Less strain on all of the components of the vehicle. Plus you can then manage hills and difficult terrain easier because you have left a large amount of weight capacity it can handle more and you have loaded it with less. Loading it to almost full weight everytime will not make the vehicle last forever.

I know plenty of 4X4 including landrovers that spend a lot of time being repaired also.
If a car is rated to tow there is a comfortable margin built in or it would not get type approval. The bigger question should be why has a vehicle perceived to be a good vehicle to tow with only have the same towing ability as a car. Also be aware that over 50% of evoques sold are not 4WD so that may give you a clue ,I know many people bought Freelanders only to find out that fact at a later date

 

[only_me]

I've towed with an Evoque, and had no issues towing. It was only one horse, but he's big enough to count as 2 ponies lol. Only thing I don't like is that it is very difficult to get trailer on as the little back window has limited view. I prefer the standard disco, which tows fantastically but I don't always have that as an option

Oh and popsdosh, Land Rover aren't doing away with the Discovery, they're about to launch the Disco 5 next month. They've done away with the Freelander (or rather rebranded it as the Disco Sport).

I may have seen a 4x4 doing its road testing in South Africa, which even though covered in zebra camouflage (might work in the bush, but this was in the middle of a town ) and when we followed it - we're very nosey - it looked suspiciously like a normal shaped disco...

 

[popsdosh]

Oh and popsdosh, Land Rover aren't doing away with the Discovery, they're about to launch the Disco 5 next month. They've done away with the Freelander (or rather rebranded it as the Disco Sport).

I am fully aware of the Disco5 and having driven one im Sorry I was on about a serious farmers car not one for hairdressers.

 

[Pedantic]

What about a Daihatsu Coatrack, think they are supposed to be ok, not like a Nissan Snailtrail, which is basically a Renault Smegane with a dress on..