What car do you all tow with?

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Stenners

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Now I have a pony again after a 3 year break and the towing laws have changed (dont worry I'll always have someone with me that knows how to tow!) I'm looking to change my car for one that is suitable for towing instead of relying on other people all of the time.

I would love a Tiguan as we've had one before and they are so nice to tow with but it's finding a decent one at a decent price!

I will look to get another 505 trailer and 90% of the time would tow just one horse but would be nice to have the option to tow 2 if needed. My pony is 14.2 and sometimes we go out with a 16.1 cob.
 
I tow a 510 and one horse with a Freelander 2 no problems. I know there are mixed reviews out there but I can only state my own personal experience. Big hills and steep declines have not caused a problem nor has driving across muddy ground. I wouldn't tow more than one horse though.
 
It's not so much of an issue if you're only towing one but for two, you need a good idea of the weights of the horses rather than just their heights. a 14.2 could be anything between 350kg and 550kg depending on build and a 16.1 cob anything from 550kg to 700kg

Tiguans (depending on the model) tow up to 2500kg. The trailer weighs 900kg so that potentially leaves you with 1600kg worth of horse at its limit, but I'd always err on the side of caution. If you're looking at the top end of those weights you'd be just about ok but the bottom end would be comfortable. Not many cars in the same class have the same towing capacity (Volvo XC60 has 2,400kg I think)

The Skoda and Seat versions of the Tiguan (the Kamiq and the Ateca) are very similar to the Tiguan (all the same group) and a fair bit cheaper but I think the towing capacity isn't so great (around 2,200kg). Lots of people seem to like the Kia Sorrento (I hated it when I drove one) and I think even the Sportage might give you the towing capacity. I know the the Ford Kuga is up to 2,100kg and the Honda CRV is up to 2,000kg as friends have them.
 
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I have an old Isuzu bighorn lwb (the imported cheaper version of the trooper) I love it as the turning circle is brilliant, I used to have a Mitsubishi shogun lwb, which was more comfortable, but very wide turning circle. which made it more awkward in tighter areas with more manoeuvring.. The manoeuvrability of the vehicle, as well as the towing strength, would now influence my decision for any future 4 x 4 purchases..
Both were capable of towing, easily, a trailer with 2 big horses.
 
I've a Bahil around 650kg and my horse is probably 650kg and I tow with a Vauxhall Insignia. I'm 350kg inside the weight limit. I've never towed more than one horse, never plan to, my trailer partitions are configured in such a way I couldn't even if I want to travel two small lightweight ponies.

I've always towed with saloon type cars. I've never seen the need to get a Land Rover or Range Rover, they are such gas guzzlers and my car does 42mpg towing and did 62 mpg (j2 passengers, luggage and dog) when we went on holiday last year so very economical. The insurance is also much cheaper than a LR or RR or any other 4 wheel drive type of vehicle and the mileage is only 85K although its 11 years old now so at the moment I wouldn't dream of buying anything else.
 
I wouldn't want to tow my horse with something that isn't a 4x4 tbh, for me it needs to be substantial enough to balance the weight of the trailer and horse, with room to spare.

I currently have a Merc ML350, it can tow 3.5t and pulls my trailer effortlessly, it isn't cheap to run but is a lovely car to drive as well as being good for towing. In the past I have also towed with a Disco 3, Jeep Cherokee and Kia Sorento. All good vehicles too.
 
We have a Mitsubishi outlander and a Wessex trailer, it can only pull 1500kgs (we didn't do our research before we got it!) luckily we only have a small pony but definitely couldn't pull any more than one of him in it!
 
I've just bought a 2018 kia sportage to tow. It's AWD and has 2.2t capacity so plenty big enough for my needs.

Not towed with it yet so can't comment on that aspect but having decided that it must be 4wd the kia came out tops for performance, spec and value for money (within my budget)
 
Defender (old but well maintained) & 511
One huge horse and often take a friend out
Had a freelander but don’t think it would have towed mine plus tack etc

if I had to buy a new one or was in a position to do so, I’d get a Ford ranger, hilux or money no object… a land cruiser (or a newer defender!!)
 
I towed for years with a Passat and it tows 2.2T. Even on the limit it accelerated effortlessly up hill. Now I use a Toureg which can tow 3.5T and again it’s just effortless. VW cars are very reliable and I’ve been very happy with them
 
Another vote for the older style Kia Sorento, loved mine......we currently have the older style nissan x trail which tows one very comfortably and comparable in terms of comfort of the Sorento, but lower towing capacity at 2.2 tons.
 
Ambers Echo said:
I towed for years with a Passat and it tows 2.2T. Even on the limit it accelerated effortlessly up hill. Now I use a Toureg which can tow 3.5T and again it’s just effortless. VW cars are very reliable and I’ve been very happy with them
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You had an Alltrack, didn’t you, Amber’s Echo? They have a higher towing capacity than the standard 2wd Passat. OH had one, and we’d talked about getting a tow bar, but then he drowned it and bought an Outlander PHEV, so my Yeti now wins on towing capacity.
 
We have an Isuzu DMax, which is a pickup so plenty of capacity. Eventually I think we will swap to a Ford Ranger (also a pickup). Quite honestly I couldn't live without one now. The trailer is a double continental so not massively heavy. I haven't any experience of towing in a car/SUV type vehicle though and I'd definitely want 4wd.
 
TPO said:
I've just bought a 2018 kia sportage to tow. It's AWD and has 2.2t capacity so plenty big enough for my needs.

Not towed with it yet so can't comment on that aspect but having decided that it must be 4wd the kia came out tops for performance, spec and value for money (within my budget)
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I have the same and tow with mine , tows very well ( my Ifor 510 and 16.3 warm blood ) . Love the car and all xtras that come with it.
 
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For those of you on a shoestring, a word of hope.
All last year since finances demanded we went down to one car, I was towing with a 200k miles, 20yo 2WD Skoda Octavia.
It's weight limit isn't great, but just enough, and it has plenty of torque and always felt like it was doing the job easily, although not great across a wet stubble-field :)
Surprisingly after all this it still has a clutch and rear suspension.

What a vehicle, and returning 50+mph when it wasn't dragging a horsebox.
 
Defender. It is the ultimate tow vehicle, never ever worry about ground, hills and that’s with two large horses on board. Chuck the tack and dogs in the back and 5 mates and off you go.

BUT would I recommend buying one? Probably not. They breakdown all the time and are not very comfortable, particularly if you are used to functioning electrics/aircon and water tight vehicles. They also get nicked so often that waking up to it still on the drive is a relief and some find them heavy to drive.

If I have to get something else I’d look at another truck. I tow two fairly often and either way would not want to be towing close to my weight limit often. It knackers the car.
 
Tiguan, one small TB and a 505, i could tow my friends pony too but mine prefers to travel with no partitions so unlikely! Great for towing one, never an issue up and down hills and across fields
 
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