Tow car recommendations

Hazkirbo

Hazkirbo

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Can anyone recommend a tow car?
Been done countless times, but everyone always recommends ‘proper’ 4x4s like sorrentos and pickups!


Looking for 2015+ (but not brand new!) with capacity for my 15.2, but a bonus if I could have the option of a friend on occasion. Needs to have good techspecs inside as we like to work and drive! Ideally good MPG (for a 4x4 lol) as would be the daily car too. Priced around the £15-£30k mark.

I really like range rover velars, porsche cayennes and volvo xc60/90s (all have got good tow capacities) so does anyone tow with any of these?
 
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A friend uses a Subaru forester. It's an automatic 4 x 4. His is about 10 years old. I've towed with it and it's very strong, very good for going up steep hills. That's with a 16.1 half draught horse.

He had a Volvo in the past that he also found good. I can't remember the model though. It was an estate car.
I haven't a clue about mpg in either of them.
 
We do like volvos! My mum always had them when I was growing up, and stepdads current & previous cars are volvos. Never had an issue with them, although have never attempted to tow with them (yet lol)
 
Used to have a BMW X5 which I enjoyed towing all over the south with but couldn’t afford a newer one (of a year that was acceptable to my husband) so now own a VW Touareg (on our second one). It has one of the highest towing capabilities so tows 2 horses with ease and has the spec my husband likes.
 
Hazkirbo said:
n anyone recommend a tow car?
Been done countless times, but everyone always recommends ‘proper’ 4x4s like sorrentos and pickups!
Click to expand...
Yes, there are countless ‘what car shall I tow with threads’, but by no means all recommend only ‘proper’ 4x4s :rolleyes:. Lots of less beefy alternatives are suggested by many of us, including me, if appropriate.

First thing. What total weight do you need to tow ie your trailer, your own horse plus friend’s horse. If your total weight comes in under 2t, you will much more choice than if you need a greater tow limit.
 
I've just purchased a VW Touareg to upgrade from my Subaru Outback. I would forget about Subarus, as much as I loved mine, they don't build anything that tows over 1.8T which is not enough if you want to take a friends horse too. The Touareg was the middle ground between something that was not a ute (pickup?) and something fuel efficient enough to drive in town too, but with appropriate towing capacity. I haven't driven (or even seen) my new car yet, but I am confident it will do the job nicely for me.
 
ROG said:
Does driver hold a B+E on licence?
If yes then no worries
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be my mum towing and she’s had her licence 30+ years so I think she will?

Tiddlypom said:
Yes, there are countless ‘what car shall I tow with threads’, but by no means all recommend only ‘proper’ 4x4s :rolleyes:. Lots of less beefy alternatives are suggested by many of us, including me, if appropriate.

First thing. What total weight do you need to tow ie your trailer, your own horse plus friend’s horse. If your total weight comes in under 2t, you will much more choice than if you need a greater tow limit.
Click to expand...

Horse is 550/600 with tack. We’ve not bought a trailer yet as trying to get the car but looking at ifor, bateson and cheval liberte singles or ifor doubles. Can’t imagine others horses being bigger than 700 tack included.
 
The first thing you want to look at is how much weight you want to tow. An IW 510/11 (I chose as it's the most popular make and the biggest size) weighs roughly 1000kg so if your horse is 550kg (ignore tack as that will be in the car so doesn't count) and a horse you give a lift to is 650kg (again taken some off for tack) you'll need a car that can tow 2200kg. The cars you mentioned all have that capacity (as do some models of the Discovery Sport and the VW Passat Alltrack for example) but by lowering the weight a bit (e.g 505 instead of a 510 and limiting who you give lifts to) you could open the door to a lot of other vehicles. A friend tows with a late (15 plate) Freelander which can tow 2000kg and she loves it. She mostly tows one 15hh cob in a 505 but has occasionally taken another. Another friend has a CRV and is very happy towing with that. You could even go for something like a Skoda Octavia Scout (4x4 version) which is an estate car. As one of the VW family it's known for its reliability and is much cheaper than a Passat Alltrack. These all have a 2000kg capacity.
 
You really do need to know what weight you are planning to tow, and certainly whether you intend to get a single or double trailer before anyone can give recommendations for vehicles. As annagain says above, you need to know the weighbridge weight of the horse(s) minus tack. My 16.1hh IDx has weighed up to 695kg naked, so a 17.2hh version of her would weigh a lot!
 
We have an IW 403, carrying a 16hh ISH and tow with a Mercedes 220 E class estate. I love our trailer, as does the horse (he loads and travels like a dream), and I also love driving the Mercedes - it’s the most comfortable and smooth car I’ve ever driven. I don’t think the 403 would fit a bigger horse though - it’s not the width as it’s 1.5 times wider than the stall width of the double, or the height, but it fits our horse perfectly lengthways - if he had a much longer body he’d be jammed up against the bars
 
Do some good shopping. Last year I got a 2018 merc GLC250 4matic AMG (towing capacity of 2500) ex-managers car for 25k from a merc dealer. Still not sure the price was "right" but the dotted line was signed so thats their problem lol i tow a 505 for my approx 600kg horse. So could fit another horse in there if i had to.
 
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