What tow car for the Mrs?

[Vladikar]

I'd like to by the other half a car soon, she has a Y-Plate Yaris which has seen better days so I'm going to treat her.

My budget is around £5k total but I'd also like it to be able to tow a Clio 197 track car.

Her favourite is a Volkswagen Tiguan at the moment which I quite like too, and decent spec ones can be had within our price range but high mileage at 110k miles+

Has anyone else got other tow car recommendations which is a decent sized family car?

[MrAverage]

End of last year my OH told me she wants an SUV and gave me a list of the ones she liked, the tiguan was at the top of the list but we've ended up with a CRV.

So far so good, we have a mk3 (07) with the 2.2 cdti engine, this has no dpf. It is returning 36mpg on short runs and 42+ on longer runs.
Ours is sat on 135k miles but has had the more expensive jobs completed, however this was at the cheaper end of the market.

Based on our short time with it I'd be glad to recommend it they are so well thought out, easy to drive, good on fuel and pretty robust. I'd wager it outliving a vw.
If looking at them I'd recommend the top spec model and check for the common problems

steering judder on full lock - it's solved with a diff fluid change.
Speakers not working - this is due to dry joints on the speaker solder
Squeaky clutch pedal - doesn't appear to be a solution.

[ZX10R NIN]

Either of these are capable unless it has to be an SUV?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Sensible mileage SUV's:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[eldar]

There are limits on towing weight, how much does she weigh?

[durbster]

MrAverage said:

End of last year my OH told me she wants an SUV and gave me a list of the ones she liked, the tiguan was at the top of the list but we've ended up with a CRV.

So far so good, we have a mk3 (07) with the 2.2 cdti engine, this has no dpf. It is returning 36mpg on short runs and 42+ on longer runs.
Ours is sat on 135k miles but has had the more expensive jobs completed, however this was at the cheaper end of the market.

I've used a basic 2.2 CRV for towing for the last three years and it does it very well. It's not particularly exciting to drive but is well built, comfortable and practical, so basically serves as a solid workhorse.

It's on 122k miles now and runs fine, so I'm in two minds on whether to run it into the ground or swap it for something else.

I'd get a high spec one though, mine is lacking in toys.

MrAverage said:

Squeaky clutch pedal - doesn't appear to be a solution.

Aha! It's not just mine then

[cuprabob]

eldar said:

There are limits on towing weight, how much does she weigh?

Beat me to it

[Vladikar]

cuprabob said:

Beat me to it

[hornmeister]

[kurt535]

I recently bought a mk2 CRV.

It tows 1500kg all day long

ive done a stage 1 remap taking horses and torque up by about 20 of each.

averaging 39 mpg on a run
30 when towing

engine is the 2.2 cdti

i look on it as a baby old school Hilux.