Towing - what 4x4?

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LouiseG

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I currently drive a very economical and reliable Mini! I am about to swap it for a 4x4 so that I cantow my horse. It will be my only car so I will be commuting to work etc (sitting in a lot of traffic at times!). I wondered what everyone towed with and what they found to be economical and reliable? I have about £7,000 to spend. Have been looking at Shogun's (SWB) as they are meant to be great, but I dont think they will be very friendly on my bank account. Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved! Thanks! :)
 
4x4 shopping, always exciting. Have you thought about a Kia sorento maybe?

There are lots of threads if you do a search and of course, if you haven't already looked, go to competition forum and look at the towing clinic pages. This will give you ideas on legalities too.
 
Depends how much weight you need to tow? 1 or 2 horses? A 510/ equitrek or smaller trailer - lots of variables to consider.

I am looking to change my 4x4 but need to be able to tow two 17.2hh wbs so need a car that can tow 3.5t
 
What driving licence will you be towing under? B or B+E ?


There is a link in my signature below where over 60 members have rated their vehicle and trailer combinations out of 10
 
I've looked at the Kia's, they seem to be really reasonably priced! I only have 1 horse but would likely be towing 2 and with a 511 more than likely so i would like to get something capable of towing all of that, at least then all bases are covered! It's an expensive hobby that's for sure!! :)
 
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I had a Trooper for 8 years, and although it wasn't cheap on diesel, it was 16 years old a did do over 215k miles before the mechanic decided it was beginning to rot a little underneath. I loved it - all the power of a Landie with all the comforts of a car - and you never noticed the weight when you were towing.
I now have the large Nissan Terrano, it is more economical and has plenty of oomph, tows well too. The last time I towed it was for a friend so I had to top up the fuel for her and I worked out it was doing around 20mpg towing my IW Hunter with 2 smallish horses in. On the motorway it does 80 with no effort at all, the Trooper did 80 but was slightly more like hard work. They don't make the Terrano any more but there are a few around at £6k or less.
 
LouiseG said:
Oh I forgot to add, I'm taking my trailer test this month so I think that would make it a B&E licence?
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It would then be a B+E :D

And just in case you hear otherwise, as you passed the B (car) test before 19/01/2013 you will be under the OLD B+E rules and not the new ones

To be honest all the new rules mean is that those under them will be restricted to trailers of 3500 kgs MAM so not really an issue for most
 
I don't think you can beat a Defender 90 for towing but it's not great as an everyday car - cold, slow, not the most comfortable (although newer style is better but out of your price range) and heavy on fuel (but aren't they all!). It depends how much mileage you do from day to day - if it's few enough that comfort is not a huge issue it's worth considering but if you need the creature comforts don't even think about it!
 
They are all expensive to run, show me an economical one that can tow at least 2.8tons and I'll rush to buy it!

I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee - beautiful to drive and tow - very thirty.
I've had 3 Nissan Terrano's - all good to drive and tow - thirsty but better than the Jeep.

Not heard of the Ford Kuga, but according to Autotrader they don't tow more than 2tons? Look good on fuel though.
 
What I meant to add about the Trooper was what I lost on fuel consumption (doing 25 miles a day to work and back and a further 12 to the yard and back) I gained on depreciation, with it lasting such a long time.
 
shot me down... I have a freelander TD4 I do however only one horse, but it does the school run, commute to work and doesn't cripple by bank account...
 
I have a sorento currently 19.5mpg when towing 21mpg around town, you have been warned, used to have a jeep grand cherooke and weirdly it did 29-30mpg both around town and towing, much better than the sorento!
 
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