Towing Cars for 22 year olds

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Thebeesquad

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Hi Everyone,
I’m in the middle of selling my 3.5 Tonne lorry and getting a trailer and a 4x4 and looking for some advice on the best ones. I can’t have a big 4x4 like a toureg or an x5 because the 3.0L engine makes my insurance stupidly high and the same with a pick up. I also need something ok-ish on fuel as I do around 400 miles a week for work.
I’m looking at the cheval liberte/Ifor 505/Bateson trailers which have an unladen weight of 860kg to 905kg and I need to tow a 14.3h warmblood cross and a 12hh welsh A so say roughly 800kg between them so max I need to tow is 1705kg.
I’ve been looking at the new Volvo XC60 and jaguar F-Pace which tow 2400kg and the VW Tiguan which goes either 2200kg or 2500kg but does anyone have any recommendations or experience with these cars??
I am doing my B+E licence too because of my age ☺️
 
I've got a Nissan Korando. Tows 2000kgs and it really does tow nicely. Its an SUV really rather than a proper 4x4 and its nice to drive. Its very economical compared the the landrover and terrano we had previously. They are also much cheaper to buy than their equivalents. No idea what the insurance would be, but it doesnt seem to bad for me and I only have a one year limited licence due to health reasons so my insurance is always ridiculous!
 
Pick up truck, many have smaller engines 2.3 or 2.5L but still a good towing capacity of around 3t. Also cheaper to tax and insure as they are classed as vans rather than 4x4s.
 
Kat said:
Pick up truck, many have smaller engines 2.3 or 2.5L but still a good towing capacity of around 3t. Also cheaper to tax and insure as they are classed as vans rather than 4x4s.
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I’ve already looked at pick up trucks and insurance isn’t less than £1500 on any of them so not really an option unfortunately
 
And pick up trucks are awful to drive and expensive to run, they are difficult to park and just not practical as an only car. I really wanted one as it would have been so convenient to put the carriage on the back, but I changed my mind sharpish when I looked into it more.
 
I use a XC60 and a Cheval Liberte, 860 kg to transport my 17hh warmblood cross weighing about 700 kg.
Car tows it well.
Previously towed my Aluminium Sinclair Sovereign, 650 kg with a Volvo 340/440 and my then TBx weighing about 540 kg without any problems.
To my great dismay I am now having to sell the Sinclair as it is to small for the 17hh. I think it has been the lightest horse trailer available for a number of years. No rusting panels either...
 
I’m 24 but I had a Nissan x-trail to tow with which was expensive to tax (£300+ ish) but not too bad to insure was about £700 (but that was from when I was 22, I’ve just got rid of it as need a bit more power now and have just brought myself a pick up. Best decision ever - only £230 tax and insurance is £450 with break down and all the extras. I’d definitely look at the pick up route far cheaper and made for being work horses only down side is the length and not the most economical on fuel however not much worse than the xtrail.
 
My daughter is 23 and has a Landrover discovery sport. It’s very economical, low on road tax, and can tow 2 15.2hh horses legally with an Ifor 505.
The insurance is fairly high, but she is self employed so needs business use too.
 
I'm 24 and have towed from 18 years old.

I've had a Vauxhall insignia 2L which was lovely.
A Vauxhall Antara which was probably the best towing car. 2.2L but soooooo bad on MPG.
I now have a Ford Kuga which is a happy mix of good mpg good grunt :)

Non of them have cost me over £800 per annum in insurance. I think the Kuga is now about 500-600.

I would have had a skoda yeti if it wasnt for the fact I just hate the way the look, but they are superb cars and tick all the boxes!
 
thanks all for your help!! ☺️

I’ve looked at the Land Rover discovery but too expensive to insure ☹️

I’ve looked at the defender which I really liked and insurance was only £800 however £570 tax and only 30mpg I might as well pay more insurance on something else 🤦🏽‍♀️ I also need a manual after having a bad car accident last year and they aren’t manuals 😕

I will have a look into the rest recommended as none of them I’ve really looked at ☺️
 
Defenders are manuals, and whilst not efficient are great cars. Don't know how we managed before we had ours! You just have to be ready for the odd.... quirk!
 
I tow 2T with my F-Pace (when I can't steal OH Defender). It tows very nicely, but more importantly for me is a super commuter car. I get about 40 mpg (could be a lot better, but I like driving with a bit more spirit) - and I'm doing 350-400 miles a week.

For your set up it is worth looking at the Discovery Sport or the Range Rover Evoque too - both can do 2T with auto boxes.
 
I would always recommend towing using an automatic, as it lets you focus on the road conditions more fully, so the ride is smoother, with no sudden braking. You can always use the manual option with the automatic box if you prefer.
 
Thebeesquad said:
Sorry that was meant to say I need an automatic not a manual lol
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Be very, very, very careful. Mines an auto but the vast majority we looked at were fine towing as a manual but not as an auto. Xtrails tow 2000kgs as a manual, 1350kg as an auto! Its very common to have a huge reduction in towing capacity with autos.
 
Lintel said:
I'm 24 and have towed from 18 years old.

I've had a Vauxhall insignia 2L which was lovely.
A Vauxhall Antara which was probably the best towing car. 2.2L but soooooo bad on MPG.
I now have a Ford Kuga which is a happy mix of good mpg good grunt :)

Non of them have cost me over £800 per annum in insurance. I think the Kuga is now about 500-600.

I would have had a skoda yeti if it wasnt for the fact I just hate the way the look, but they are superb cars and tick all the boxes!
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I had a Vauxhall Vectra but found that the BHP wasn't quite high enough to prevent me struggling slightly on long straight inclines having a heavier laden weight than you I expect.

I now have a Vauxhall Insignia SE 160 Cdti and find it tows lovely as it has a better horse power (160BHP). But you wouldn't get away with towing two horses with it: I am lucky as my trailer is only 650KG (Rice Richardson) and was one of the lightest ones on the market at the time I was looking. I'm about 350KG inside the weight for my vehicle laden. Bateson trailers are pretty light weight but I did think they were lighter than 860KG though.
 
Leo Walker said:
Be very, very, very careful. Mines an auto but the vast majority we looked at were fine towing as a manual but not as an auto. Xtrails tow 2000kgs as a manual, 1350kg as an auto! Its very common to have a huge reduction in towing capacity with autos.
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Thank you, I have been checking to make sure the autos tow enough by looking at the log books when looking at vehicles
 
Leo Walker said:
Be very, very, very careful. Mines an auto but the vast majority we looked at were fine towing as a manual but not as an auto. Xtrails tow 2000kgs as a manual, 1350kg as an auto! Its very common to have a huge reduction in towing
capacity with autos.
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Some big 4 x 4s pretty much only come in auto now. It’s really hard to find a manual VW Touareg or Mitsubishi Shogun LWB and both of those tow 3500kg. Admittedly some of the less purpose built vehicles being automatic reduces their capacity but I wouldn’t rule them out altogether as it does make life much easier

ETA - just realised you said that yours is an auto
 
I know you said you need an auto but I have been towing with my Defender since 19 and wouldn’t change it for the world. I’d be cautious getting a cheap towing vehicle: in mine I feel safe and weighed down enough that any movement in the trailer etc doesn’t impact driving too much. Gone all over the country by myself and never get stuck in the lorry park! Yes it’s expensive to run and bulky to drive but they are the ultimate towing vehicles and hold their value well.

Insurance will be expensive, I think I started at around £1500 but quickly dropped to a third of that. Obviously I was considerably younger too.
 
Abi90 said:
Some big 4 x 4s pretty much only come in auto now. It’s really hard to find a manual VW Touareg or Mitsubishi Shogun LWB and both of those tow 3500kg. Admittedly some of the less purpose built vehicles being automatic reduces their capacity but I wouldn’t rule them out altogether as it does make life much easier

ETA - just realised you said that yours is an auto
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My beloved Disco pulled 3,500kg. The issue seems to be in the smaller 4x4/SUVs which is what I wanted this time and by the sounds of it what the OP wanted. I loved the Xtrail but the towing capacity was shocking. Its the same for lots of them in that sort of SUV group.
 
conniegirl said:
I tow with a Skoda yeti 4x4, they are good to insure, fairly economical and if you get the right model have a 2000kg towing capacity.
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^^^ Also the Skoda Octavia scout 4x4, which is a normal looking economical estate car, but it will capably tow 2000kg. We have the Scout version, which has a raised ride height.
 
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