Towing with a Suzuki Vitara?

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EquestrianFairy

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Im looking to buy a 4X4 but im limited on price so does anything tow already or know of anyone who tows with

A) Suzuki Vitara- 1.6 or 2.0
B) Suzuki Grand Vitara- 16.2 or 2.0

and what can they pull?

Im looking to tow a trailer and a 14.2hh Cob X
 
I tow with my Suzuki Grand Vitara 2ltr diesel its the new shape one,It tows very well, it quite happily tows down the motorway or round the country lanes up hill down dale so to speak, ive never had a problem mines 2yrs old now im quite happy with it. I have a Richardson Supreme rosette trailer and a big fat 15hh cob....
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i have a neg reg swb i.6 sport and i would not pull my trailer with it they are very light in weight. if yur on a motorway and the wind gets up, the car is thrown around like a kite. lovely cars just not made for towing. sorry to be negative lol
 
A Bateson Deauville trailer weighs 860kg. You may well find that older models of Rice trailers etc will weigh heavier as there was more steel used in the build rather than the lightweight msterials used in todays trailers. They will be anything from 920kg to 1000kg+.
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we use my mums discovery you can get an older one cheap and it dosnt even feel like youve got a trailer on it never mind a loaded one
 
They don't MAKE a suzuki that I'd consider safe to pull a trailer.

Patrol, Trooper, Shogun, Defender, Disco, RR, Landcruiser, Fourtrack.

May have missed one or two, but there is something there for every budget.
 
the suzuki grand 2.0 might manage if you have a light trailer, but you'll need to check your kerb weights. They aren't designed to be towing vehicles. Even if they do make the weight, they have very light weight clutches so you might find if you are towing regularly, it'll take it's toll on the engine clutch and gearbox.

Don't take the dealers word for it either, ask to see the handbook and work out the weights from that. To give you a starting point my empty IW is just under a tonne. add 2 hosses & necessary junk and your looking at nearly 2, so your car needs to be about 2.5 tonne in weight itself.

I would recommend something like a terrano 2. 2.7td. I have a 2.5td shogun, it 1 pulls ok, but a wee bit underpowered for 2 horses. Also v gutsy on diesel. My mate has had 2 terranos and wouldn't go passed them.

Happy towing!!.
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I checked all the weights myself for mine and my trailer and weighed my horse (at local vets) and only ever take one horse and still well within its weight limits.
 
remember the car must be capable of towing the MAM of the trailer, not what you've actually got in it. The MAM of a standard Ifor Williams 2 horse trailer is over 2 tonnes so you need a decent, heavy car with a matching or higher towing capacity to be road legal, regardless of whether it might be safe or not.
 
I had a Suzuki Vitara SWB 1.6 and I loved it - BUT I wouldn't have trusted it to tow the skin off a rice pudding!!
The Grand Vitara would have been better I am sure but would still prefer something with more weight!
 
I had a new Vitara for my first car and I have to say that it was sold within the first year as they are just so unstable on the road. And that was without a trailer!

As has been mentioned you need to go on the MAM of the trailer not what you are actually towing. I have the Ifor 510 and I think the MAM for this is around the 2600kg mark, so when I was looking I couldn't even get away with the Volvo 4x4!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Im looking to buy a 4X4 but im limited on price so does anything tow already or know of anyone who tows with

A) Suzuki Vitara- 1.6 or 2.0
B) Suzuki Grand Vitara- 16.2 or 2.0

and what can they pull?

Im looking to tow a trailer and a 14.2hh Cob X

[/ QUOTE ]

pull?????? they can't pull the skin off a rice pudding!!!
you can pick up a good used sturdy pajero/defender/fourtrack for reasonable money now, don't worry about the age too much just get full history, and a vehicle check!! at least you and neds will be safe....a vitara just isn't upto the job.
 
LOL used to have a Vitra LX hillarious fun to drive (being the most unstable car I have ever owned). No way I would want to pull with it the amount of time I spent going sideways...............Great car though.

Mine had 4 PLAY in huge letters down the side and bonking Rhino's on the wheel cover
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CLASSIC
 
used a 2004 reg 2.0L version to pull two 16.2 horses bout 50 miles - would not recommend. Just not a practical vehicle, go for a landrover discovery or pajero - much better for towing.

Suzuki also depreciate very quickly and wnt hold their resale value. They arent exactly the first to clear from a car sales forecourt first or anything!!
 
Get a Kia Sorento XS (full-time 4WD), there's a few of us on here with one and they're brilliant tow cars and pretty cheap too!

Moonwalker on here had a Vitara for towing and I think it did ok with her one horse, but she sold it and got a Hyundai Santa Fe - you might want to ask her what she thought of her Vitara.
 
I tow with a Suzuki Grand Vitara V6 2.5L.

I believe that the max towing capacity of this car is 1500kg so you wouldn't tow anything with two horses in it. I tow an Ifor HB401 (single trailer) which weighs (from memory) about 734kg. My horse weighs approx 450kg.

Mine is an automatic, and tows perfectly well, although I don't go very far (haven't towed trailer more than about 8 miles with horse in it).
 
Hi
I have a friend who has the grand vitara diesel and an older type heavy wooden trailer - tows that no problem - I personally wouldn't use the smaller vitara though
 
I have a new SWB Vitara and it's alot sturdier than the old one I had before. The newer ones may be better for towing now but as peopel have mentione I think there are other cars that are better designed and aimed at towing. I've seen Vitaras towing horse trailers but I am not convinced. It'd be the same as a Toyota Rav 4, I just don't think they're intended for that use as much as the other heftier models.

My sister was in a Discovery towing a trailer with 2 horses in down the M1, the trailer started snaking and managed to flip over and take the car over with it and in my mind a Discovery should be more than big enough to tow. Fortunately all people and horses were ok amazingly but I think the outcome could have been different had it been a smaller, lighter vehicle.
 
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