Small tow car advice?

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CloverRover

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I am wondering if anyone has advice on a small (ish) tow car? I am off to uni in September and would very much like to not spend £300 every time we need to transport the pony. She only weighs 450kg (ish) and I am looking at a trailer that will weight roughly 675 kg. Currently in love with the 2015 1.5l mini clubman (1300 kg weight limit) or a 2009 citron C4 1.4l (1500 kg weight limit) or maybe a skoda octavia. Anyone have other suggestions or experience with either car (remembering my insurance will already be astronomical)? I'm ok with planning my whole towing life out to avoid hills and mud! Please no comments about how you should never tow with a mini because the name includes the word mini! 😆
Thank you all in advance!
 
CloverRover said:
I am wondering if anyone has advice on a small (ish) tow car? I am off to uni in September and would very much like to not spend £300 every time we need to transport the pony. She only weighs 450kg (ish) and I am looking at a trailer that will weight roughly 675 kg. Currently in love with the 2015 1.5l mini clubman (1300 kg weight limit) or a 2009 citron C4 1.4l (1500 kg weight limit) or maybe a skoda octavia. Anyone have other suggestions or experience with either car (remembering my insurance will already be astronomical)? I'm ok with planning my whole towing life out to avoid hills and mud! Please no comments about how you should never tow with a mini because the name includes the word mini! 😆
Thank you all in advance!
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You will have to buy an older trailer to get a low tow weight. Mine is 650kg, an old Rice Richardson I think, I've never really known to be honest, it also looks like a Bahil.

My friend was trying to sell her old trailer recently and that was a very light trailer too, like mine immaculately well cared for.

I plan to tow with a 1900kg, 170bhp, 2.0L Insignia that I've just bought, before I only had 1600kg weight.

You need a car with a decent torque and BHP too, and a bigger engine than 1.4L, not sure a mini is suitable for towing!

That's my old tow car and trailer.

It's okay towing with most cars but it's the stopping you have to worry about!
 

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Thing is, a mini was never designed to tow a trailer with a horse in it. There is a very good reason for towing with a 4x4. It’s the stability and stopping you need to worry about, not only the towing. A 1.5l engine is absolutely not a big enough sized engine to tow a pony, you do need a decent sized engine, min 2.0l. You cannot possibly predict you will never go up a hill, what if you are diverted? Even a small hill will have an impact. I can appreciate why you want a small car to tow being a student but it’s a false economy, not to even mention you are seriously putting your pony at risk by having a pretty dodgy (poss even illegal if your weights are wrong) set up. I have a 450kg pony, in an Ifor 505 and tow with a big Volvo. I absolutely would not put my pony in anything less for both our and other road users saftey.
 
My EV has a tow bar, all wheel drive and 400 bhp. I will not even attempt to move an empty trailer with it. I used to tow with a 2l Amarok and it was woefully underpowered.
 
Okay, can I please have suggestions of a better vehicle that it may be slightly possible to insure me on then please? I am going to take a horse specific towing course before i even think of towing a horse, chances are I won’t even purchase the trailer until next year, but rather than buying another car in a year or two I would like something that will last me at least for all of uni. I don’t mind expensive insurance as long as it isn’t CRAZY, or a slightly more expensive car, but I have no clue where to start looking for a car to tow a trailer specifically? What about the skoda, i think was rated quite highly? What engine would it need?
 
i had a ford kuga as my 2nd car, after driving for a year. the insurance was high, but not insanely so. comfortably pulled either of mine at 450/500kg ish, with a 505 at about 905kg, absolutely wouldn’t tow 2 in it though.

fuel economy was really not that bad for a “big” car, mpg averaged around 37 and most of my trips were 10 mins to the yard - a full tank cost me about £70 ish to fill, and lasted me 2 weeks going 10 mins to and from the yard 2/3 times a day, plus 20 mins to and from work 3/4 times a week, along with all the other little trips you don’t think about!

mine was a 2L diesel AWD, i wouldn’t bother with one that isn’t AWD or 2L! towing capacity of mine was 2.2t if i remember correctly, but i’ll be honest i wouldn’t go anywhere near that, with your set up you’d be absolutely fine!

happy towing! definitely get the lesson, i wasn’t going to bother but it boosted my confidence massively and i would still say i preferred towing to driving the 3.5t i have now, so don’t be too daunted! i actually think it’s easier to get to grips with as a new driver than if you’ve been driving for years, you’re not as set in your ways!😂
 
I also tow with the 2L AWD Kuga - it has no issues with my pony (570kg) and Shetland (170kg) and my trailer (900kg unladen) up and down peak district hills, but like dottylottie, I wouldn't want to put more than that in it!

Fuel economy also not too bad as a towing vehicle and a daily vehicle, and it's not so big that you would cry taking it into a multi-storey car park!
 
The 2l diesel 4x4 Skoda Octavias are excellent economic tow cars. They have a 2t tow limit and feel capable of towing right up to that limit, we have one.

Not all Octavias are 4x4 and some are petrol with much lower towing capacities so it is buyer beware when looking to purchase. Check before you buy.
 
Surely if OP is towing say 1150 kg, then a 1.8 would be safe to tow with? That would give a few extra options.

ETA OP, sorry, the mini clubman won't do it. You need to aim at the 70% rule ie tow no more than 70% of max stated towing capacity of the car. (70% of 1800 is 1260 kg)
 
CloverRover said:
Currently in love with the 2015 1.5l mini clubman (1300 kg weight limit) or a 2009 citron C4 1.4l (1500 kg weight limit) or maybe a skoda octavia.
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Of all of those I would go for the Octavia - definitely not the Mini and probably not the Citron. I'm very much in the camp of "you don't need a massive car to tow one horse" but the Mini and the Citron are too small / underpowered even IMO. I'd look for something that's rated for up to 1800kg, which some models of Octavia are. Be careful to check the specs for the exact model and engine though, because they do vary quite a bit.

Octavias are a good car - a friend tows her Ifor 401 with one, and my (non-horsey) brother has one as their family car.

ETA - @Tiddlypom has pretty much already said this - I agree with her!
 
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I've got a 2.0l sangyong kornado. Cheap insurance does about 50mpg on a good day and won tow car of the year a few times. It tows up to 2 ton. I had the same car previously and used to tow a 500kg pony, 510 ifor and carriage and it felt like nothing was there.

I've also got a 1.6l mini cooper estate. Nothing on earth would get me to tow a horse with it. I was going to tow a super light, 600kg caravan with it and change my mind as it just didnt feel like it would be up to it.
 
I'm Dun said:
I've got a 2.0l sangyong kornado. Cheap insurance does about 50mpg on a good day and won tow car of the year a few times. It tows up to 2 ton. I had the same car previously and used to tow a 500kg pony, 510 ifor and carriage and it felt like nothing was there.
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When we were looking to replace our tow car a couple of years ago we were recommended Ssangyong as a budget friendly way of getting a decent tow car. They do seem to give you a lot of car for your money. We went for something else in the end (OH's choice) but the specs looked good and there are a lot of them about round here (farming country) so they must do the job.
 
Maybe in the end paying £300 each time will work out cheaper than buying a reliable car/jeep, a trailer in good condition, insuring them both every year, taxing the car/jeep, plus fuel, oil, MOT, servicing car/jeep…which will probably cost you a few thousand…plus you will not have the stress of towing each time…just a thought..
 
My EV’s towing capacity is 1800kg, it is definitely not a tow vehicle.

Whilst it’s really handy to be able to tow whenever you need to, it’s never going to be budget friendly.
 
rabatsa said:
Do not forget that traffic enforcers go on the rated amount of a trailer, loaded or unloaded when judging capacity. You may only be towing a small pony but if the box is rated for larger horses and it is above the MAM for the tow car, it will not be legal.
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Not true, it's what you're actually yowing that counts, all that guff was connected to towing tests which has all been thrown out now.

OP the only possibility there is the Octavia but it would depend on the spec of the individual vehicle. Remember that if you're putting your vehicle under strain it's not designed for you will kill it which will cost you.more in the long run.
 
Marshpiper said:
Maybe in the end paying £300 each time will work out cheaper than buying a reliable car/jeep, a trailer in good condition, insuring them both every year, taxing the car/jeep, plus fuel, oil, MOT, servicing car/jeep…which will probably cost you a few thousand…plus you will not have the stress of towing each time…just a thought..
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Currently my dad drives the rented box… which i honestly think is about as safe as me towing in a 1l fiat 500 🫣 and I won’t be able to drive it until i’m 21. It costs 150 a day and we have to go 2 1/2 hours to uni and park in a public car park overnight unless parents return home same day (5 hours of driving no traffic 😬). As I said, if i can’t find something safe in my budget theres always next year but if i can’t find something find a way that it works out that would be best!
 
I drive an Octavia Scout and it's an excellent car. Not sure I'd want to tow with it though.

I also drive a Clubman semi regularly and i would never tow with it.

Hiring a box is probably going to be the most economical, practical and safe way.
 
I have to ask for curiosity sake, 2L mini countryman or 2L SEAT leon (the diesel one with 1800kg)? I am prepared for a 'in no world' but I have to ask!:D
 
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The other thing(s) to seriously consider if do you want a pony while you're at unviersity? What are you studying? What are your plans for uni hols (which are long, the terms are short), do you even know if you'll get parking for said car on campus - a lot of universities don't offer it to first years!
 
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