Sorry Another Tow/Car Thread (&long)

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diet2ride

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Recap: my jeep died a few months ago (cambelt went) I loved that car. it was perfect in everyway except one... the mpg! it was costing nearly £160 a week in diesel - i have to drive hubby to the station, which is a 60mile round trip at the moment there is no getting out of it. hopefully in the future he'll either be staying in town or working from home more-. so for past month we have been driving a focus which has been nice on the mpg side.

Finally though we have enough money to get another towing vehicle since my search started though it has been a minefield trying to find the true towing capacities of vehicles. first of i was looking at a subaru forester but i have since heard they are juicier on fuel then the figures let on. Also the towing capacity is changeable between 1400kg and 2000kg.

Really i want to be able to tow 2 horses at around 600kg each but only for local stuff. anything more i would hire a horsebox. My friend is pushing me to get a bigger towing allowance, where as My husband wants better mpg, i've told him the car we need doesnt exist and we need to find something that is a good all-rounder without breaking the bank.

at the mo i have said i would have my cousins old nissan terrano which would be more than capable to tow. but its old and mpg is high. as its our only car as well i would like something a bit nicer.

so to the point i have just seen a Hyundai santa fe, might be able to tow what i need, and the mpg doesnt look to bad either, does anyone have any experience of them?

Thanks :-)
 
You will need to consider the wieght carefully two 600 kilos horses plus the trailer means you need a bigger 4x4 .not much help I know.
A friend had a forrester loved it but she said the same as you have heard they are heavier on the fuel in use than she expected.
 
If I were in your situation I would get and older but capable tow car, shogun, fourtrack, trooper etc as you are looking to tow 2 x 600kg horses plus trailer and tack etc. A smaller car with good mpg will struggle here to be legal. Then I would buy a nice little cheap runabout for the commute. The cost of both will even out when you consider fuel consumption and insurance is not to hefty on an older, cheaper 4x4.
 
just got rid of my jeep as it was getting a little old and bought a sorento which is lovely, it is however horrendous on juice when compared to jeep! nothing like the quoted figure. you have been warned lol.
 
May sound ridiculous, but what about getting two cars? Like a Shogun to tow with and a little 1.1 diesel to commute with? You could probrably get both on aututrader for under £2000. Obviously the downside is two insurances to pay.
 
If you're spending £160 a week on diesel you're almost certainly better off buying a cheapy little runaround, even with the two sets of insurance and MOT to pay.

Top tip: insurance on my old micra (100,000 miles on the clock, worth about £500) was cheaper if I went for fully comp with massive excesses than it was getting just third party fire and theft, which don't allow much room for fiddling with excesses. Bonkers, if you ask me, but hey, it brought the price down!
 
Second insurance for doing very little mileage/time - you might be better with a black box which gives low cost providing mileage or the amount of time used is not exceeded
Black boxes can also charge insurance on a sort of pay as you go system according to other posts on other sites

I know the CO-OP has this so perhaps other insurers do to ....

600 x 2 = 1200 + 900 (trailer) + 300 for other bits totals 2400 so a towing capacity of 2500+ is deffo needed

Cheap runabout with a reliable tow vehicle is probably the only way to go

Needless to say that this will be needing a B+E licence
 
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Re insurance - have a look at Admiral or others who do multicar policies. Was quite pleasantly surprised getting some quotes from them earlier in the year (don't know why when all it did was what it said on the tin!).
 
Thanks everyone, I am partial to the 2 car idea means one can get all mucky, and still have clean run around. plus for long journeys like trips to your horse and hoys it would be easier in a smaller car.

Right think I am decided. I'll get the terrano and keep the focus. :- )
 
yoour hubby could them drive himself to the station (assuming he can drive) and that will save the returm miles twice a day and you all that time.
 
I'm probably teaching you to suck eggs, but make sure you get the right Terrano, I seem to remember when I was looking that there's massive variation in what it can tow - from 1700 to 3000!
 
Parkers has one listed at 1700 for braked weight, although checking again I can't help wondering if that's wrong when all the rest are so much higher!
 
Theocat said:
Parkers has one listed at 1700 for braked weight, although checking again I can't help wondering if that's wrong when all the rest are so much higher!
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Autotrader had TWO IDENTICAL models for sale - one with 2800 and the other with 1700 towing capacities

Me thinks someone got the towing capacities mixed up somewhere and others copied that incorrect 1700 !!

EDIT & ADD - every AUTO seems to be 1700 and every MANUAL seems to be 2800 - perhaps there is a difference!!
 
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Thanks Rog, That site is pretty good, i keep seeing different limits on cars its all a mindfield and then i go out and see someone towing with the same sort of set up i wanted.

i couldnt help but look at the santa fe & forester, it says 2000kg is that maximum or do you have to aim for 85% the two horses would literally be for very local shows. it would be closer to 1100kg for the horses and then lightweight trailer 750kg

Thanks again :-) I can only afford to do this once and want to make sure i get it right.
 
diet2ride said:
i couldnt help but look at the santa fe & forester, it says 2000kg is that maximum or do you have to aim for 85% the two horses would literally be for very local shows. it would be closer to 1100kg for the horses and then lightweight trailer 750kg
Click to expand...

The 85% advice is for caravans only due to their design
 
diet2ride said:
Hubby doesn't drive :-s and I don't see that changing any time soon.
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That strikes me that you might be a young couple where OH has not yet got around to driving .... might be wrong but if I am right does that mean you passed your car test after 1997 and had to pass the B+E DSA test?
 
Hubby is in his 40's and spent most of his life in london. i'm 36 and passed when i was 18 :-) -omg just realised thats 18yrs ago- :-s
 
You might like to consider a car that is converted to LPG. My OH has a 2.0 Subaru Forester on an 08 plate which will run on petrol and/or LPG. He is averaging between 25 - 30 mpg on both patrol and LPG but the LPG is only 72p a litre. We did look at the cost of professional conversion for my car and was quoted £1k.
 
Thanks Clannad48 my uncle has an lpg conversion and loves it. i'm just a bit worried about where the tank goes. we have 3 spaniels that go in the boot.
 
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