hobo
Well-Known Member
Just interested to learn that having an automatic drops towing capacity must store than in my brain for when we change discovery.
Towing .. losing the will to live!
- Thread starter Antw23uk
- Start date
Antw23uk
Well-Known Member
Thanks all, given me much food for thought, thank you. I guess as well I want as new as I can afford and as good a mpg as possible. I'm only fifteen minutes from work (a few miles) but cost of running it and fuel also have to be taken into consideration.
tallyho!
Following a strict mediterranean diet...
Don't forget the Nissan Patrol - the automatic would still tow what you need.
tallyho!
Following a strict mediterranean diet...
You want something that'll comfortably tow 2200kg AND still be fuel efficient? You can't have everything
texas
Well-Known Member
I looked into this recently.
A Nissan X-Trail (2007-2014 model) with 173PS will give you 2200kg towing capacity. The power is the important bit, and they are all manual.
Other than that, I second the automatic Kia Sorento's linked above, they have more than enough towing capacity for you, 2.8-3.5 tons.
For the person who mentioned a Volvo - the 2002-2014 XC90 with automatic 2.4l gearbox and 185/197PS has towing capacity of 2250kg:
http://www.parkers.co.uk/volvo/xc90/estate-2002/24-d5-se-sport-5d-geartronic/specs/
http://www.parkers.co.uk/volvo/xc90/estate-2002/24-d5-(200bhp)-es-5d-geartronic/specs/
A Nissan X-Trail (2007-2014 model) with 173PS will give you 2200kg towing capacity. The power is the important bit, and they are all manual.
Other than that, I second the automatic Kia Sorento's linked above, they have more than enough towing capacity for you, 2.8-3.5 tons.
For the person who mentioned a Volvo - the 2002-2014 XC90 with automatic 2.4l gearbox and 185/197PS has towing capacity of 2250kg:
http://www.parkers.co.uk/volvo/xc90/estate-2002/24-d5-se-sport-5d-geartronic/specs/
http://www.parkers.co.uk/volvo/xc90/estate-2002/24-d5-(200bhp)-es-5d-geartronic/specs/
AandK
Well-Known Member
I used to tow with an auto disco 3, that had a 3.5t tow limit, as did my Jeep Cherokee auto. Don't think that it applies to all cars.
Kat_
Member
Hi OP, I have a 58 plate auto kia sorento for towing - 2.5L XE model, and listed on the V5 it has a braked towing capacity of 3500 kg. It is the model listed here:
http://www.parkers.co.uk/kia/sorento/station-wagon-2003/25-crdi-xe-5d-auto-(06)/specs/
Other specs of the same age (2007-2009) which are the facelift models from the second release have the same towing capacity I believe. I would caution what others have said about potential costs - ours had the turbo replaced by the last owner at great expense! But when we were looking I did see them advertised at over 150K miles as a 'good runner' so I think they have a decent lifespan barring repairs.
I find it a good car to drive, towed from Wales to Northern Ireland with one horse no trouble and had it doing 4 hr round trips in Wales (up and down welsh hills) with 2 on board a 505 last year and it was fine! My partner uses it to commute and it is expensive on fuel but not as bad as we expected.
There are plenty of other suggestions on here, with the Kia I would just be careful which models you go to see (test drove a mk1 release with a 55 plate and it drove like a boat in a storm - that was a no-go!), the newer ones were much better. Either way good luck with your search! Feel free to PM if you want any more info on the kia.
http://www.parkers.co.uk/kia/sorento/station-wagon-2003/25-crdi-xe-5d-auto-(06)/specs/
Other specs of the same age (2007-2009) which are the facelift models from the second release have the same towing capacity I believe. I would caution what others have said about potential costs - ours had the turbo replaced by the last owner at great expense! But when we were looking I did see them advertised at over 150K miles as a 'good runner' so I think they have a decent lifespan barring repairs.
I find it a good car to drive, towed from Wales to Northern Ireland with one horse no trouble and had it doing 4 hr round trips in Wales (up and down welsh hills) with 2 on board a 505 last year and it was fine! My partner uses it to commute and it is expensive on fuel but not as bad as we expected.
There are plenty of other suggestions on here, with the Kia I would just be careful which models you go to see (test drove a mk1 release with a 55 plate and it drove like a boat in a storm - that was a no-go!), the newer ones were much better. Either way good luck with your search! Feel free to PM if you want any more info on the kia.
Antw23uk
Well-Known Member
Thank you Kat, I knew I wasnt going mad and there was a sorento out there with the towing capactiy
Leo Walker
Well-Known Member
It doesnt with mine?
McFluff
Well-Known Member
Or mine. In fact the towing of mine in auto is higher than the manual version.
Although I mostly steal my OH’s car to tow to keep mine good
Annagain
Well-Known Member
Not always - all Discos tow 3.5T and manuals are pretty hard to come by in the newer models. They really pushed the autos from Disco 3 onwards. When I bought a Disco 3 I wanted a manual (I just prefer them) and it took me forever to find one.
Batgirl
Well-Known Member
Or mine. In fact the towing of mine in auto is higher than the manual version.
Although I mostly steal my OH’s car to tow to keep mine good
To clarify my earlier post - it depends on the vehicle (or more correctly on the gearbox) Honda CRVs, Kia, Nissan X-Trail, Freelander, Skoda etc etc Model for model the towing often capacity drops. VW, Audi use 4motion auto box that will increase towing capcity (my Tiguan is an example) Discovery and more of the larger vehicles it doesn't because they need more robust gearboxes anyway. However the OP is looking for a smaller vehicle to maintain mpg and a lot of vehicles in that range the towing capacity drops with an auto gearbox so never assume that a vehicle has the right towing capacity because the manual does.
Breagha
Well-Known Member
we have a VW touareg 5.0 V10 and it is 3.5T, it is an amazing towing vechicle.
m1stify
Well-Known Member
Actually you are all completely wrong about the Kia Sorento automatic. I had a 2008 GLS automatic and its towing capacity was 3.5T. The manual version was 3.0T. Doing my B+E licence test I was asked the question and the instructor disputed the answer opened the Bonnet and there it was 3.5T. So always check the particular car.
ROG
Well-Known Member
I assume the 3.5 figure was derived from deducting the top figure from the second figure on the 4 figure weight plate ????????
Antw23uk
Well-Known Member
And this is why I'm losing the will to live!
alainax
Well-Known Member
Between 3000-3500 capacity according to parkers
http://www.parkers.co.uk/kia/sorento/station-wagon-2003/specs/
http://www.parkers.co.uk/kia/sorento/station-wagon-2003/specs/
TRECtastic
Well-Known Member
I used to tow with a 2008 kia sorento 2.5 titan auto . Could tow 3.5t . It towed a IW511 no problem .
Batgirl
Well-Known Member
Not completely wrong, in the same year you can buy a 3.8 ltr auto and get 2000kgs and a 2.8ltr manual and get 2268kg. It depends on the model.
ROG
Well-Known Member
On every vehicle there should be a weight plate by law
That plate is usually hidden under the bonnet or in a door frame
The plate has 4 numbers on it
The top number is the GVW = what the vehicle max can legally be when fully loaded
The second from top figure is the GTW = what the vehicle and trailer max can legally be when weighed together
In the majority of cases the max towing capacity will be the GTW minus the GVW
Example (made up) example of a weight plate =
2300
4800
1200
1200
4800 minus 2300 = 2500 so the max towing capacity is 2500
INFO - the bottom 2 numbers are max axle weight limits which always add up to more than the GTW so there is some flexibility in placing the weight in the vehicle
INFO - the empty/kerb/unladen weight of the vehicle cannot be found on a weight plate - that is on the V5 DVLA keepers document listed under MASS IN SERVICE
9tails
Well-Known Member
ROG I've never seen you make things confusing.
If a manufacturer has stated that braked towing weight is say 2800kg then it can tow 2800kg no matter whether you have one passenger or four obese passengers in the car.
If a manufacturer has stated that braked towing weight is say 2800kg then it can tow 2800kg no matter whether you have one passenger or four obese passengers in the car.
ROG
Well-Known Member
The towing capacity has nothing to do with who or what is in the vehicle - that comes under the vehicle plated GVW (max weight for vehicle when loaded)
Towing capacity refers to the max actual weight that can be pulled by the vehicle
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I currently tow with a swb x reg shogun. It's also my daily driver and has been fantastic. Totally recommend. Sadly it's reaching the end of it's days so I am replacing with an isuzu dmax which can tow 3.5tonnes.
Clannad48
Well-Known Member
Ok I have to disagree with this - now this may seem unusual but car makers have been known to lie. I had the same problem several years ago whilst looking for a new tow car following the Jeep debacle (very long story) I wanted a car that could tow at least 2500kg - Severa car manufactuers sites showed me vehicles that met my criteria - so I went out looking for the car - I very quickly learned that every car is different, not just the model but little changes within the model - in the end I ended up being every car dealer's nightmare requesting to look at the V5 and the plate. Ok so I was a little old woman so they pitied me and gave in to my requests. Not surprisingly a car that I was informed by the main dealer would be the perfect tow car and would tow in excess of my requested 2500kg actually turned out to tow a lot less. In one case the garage was very concerned and ended up ringing their head office. The only piece of advice that I would ever give anyone searching for a tow car is to physicaly check the paperwork and the plate - do not rely on Parkers, the Caravan towing guides or anything else (Sorry ROG but the speed with which some cars change their figures can even make you wrong on occasion)
Just remember that the Jeep Cherokee was advertised in many different publications, including the Dept of Transport using a picture of one towing on their 'How to Tow guide, Ifor Williams using one in one of their brochures and my V5 giving a towing capacity - only for Jeep to tell over 3 million of us that they decided that they were not to be used for towing. It's all in the very very small print that the manufacturer can change the specs at any time they like.
Edited to add - the Jeep issue was solved - it just took over 8 months for Jeep to cave in and provide new towbars. I moved to a 2005 Kia Sorento automatic and loved it for towing. Sadly I no longer have the car and now no longer need to tow,
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ROG
Well-Known Member
I agree that the weight plate is the best thing to look at as well as the max braked towing limit on the V5 keepers doc
{97702}
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Ok thank you. No to that car then. God help me, back to the search!!
Get a Landrover Discovery - you will never have a problem