Torque to me. Best car for towing caravan?

[anonymous-user]

I had a BMW 335d once and hitched it up to our caravan. Nothing special, a 1999 Bailey weighing in just over 1600kg IIRC. The 335d felt comfortable with it. With camping gear, cooking gas, food, TV, fridge, solar charger battery etc. It’s probably close to 1700kg.

Thinking of getting back out there with some staycations.

What would make a good match for it?
Audi A6 3.0 Bi-TDI?
Something else?

Hopefully I get to try it on a friends Mondeo 2.2 TDi.

Current car does not have a tow hook. It’s a BMW 440i GC.

Very many thanks for any suggestions.

[BlueJ]

Any heavy, torquey diesel:

E400d, 530d, A6 as you say, FFRR or RRS, X5, etc. etc.

It really depends what you want from the vehicle the rest of the time....

[AlwynMike]

I tow with my 440i GC.
1500kg caravan.
No problems with it towing.
Keep to legal speeds and you get very low 20's to the gallon.
Push on a bit and it will drop to 13mpg.
Gearbox is superb...keeps the engine at 2000 revs so well in the torque curve.
No drone from the MPPSK in Comfort.

Beware of the Alko stabiliser hitch - its very close to the bumper when hitching up ... so much so that the caravan has to be pretty well in line with the car - no hitching up at an angle. I changed my Alko for a Westfalia stabiliser hitch, so no problem now.

[georgeyboy12345]

Audi Q7 6.0 V12 TDI
Audi RS6 with the 5.0 V10 TFSI - it can still out-accelerate a caravanless F30 BMW 320d while towing something like the caravan you have!

[Petetamora]

I have a Mercedes GLC 350d which I find excellent for towing, hardly notice the extra weight of the caravan, and it’s still a decent car for everyday use.

[anonymous-user]

Thank you so much everyone. Such an awesome bunch! Westfalia it is.

[GreatGranny]

Personally I would go for an SUV with 4WD.

They tend to be more stable with a short rear overhang.

Any decent diesel with an auto box will pull 1500-1700kgs no problem.

The 2 XC90s we had were superb towcars but pretty juicy, 23mpg max.

[romeodelta]

Jeep GC Trackhawk.

Stop messing about.

[Mr MXT]

Unimog?

[ZX10R NIN]

It depends on how much you want to spend but an E400d really is the pick:

AMG Line Premium Plus:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109026...

Estate

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108316...

All Terrain

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109067...

All Terrain E350

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106163...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106153...

[anonymous-user]

ZX10R NIN said:

It depends on how much you want to spend but an E400d really is the pick:

AMG Line Premium Plus:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109026...

Estate

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108316...

All Terrain

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109067...

All Terrain E350

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106163...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106153...

Very nice selection there. Thank you

[insert coin]

I tow my Adria (2000kg), single axel caravan with my VW T6, 2.0 diesel, 4-Motion, dsg, 204bhp with a Revo chip it’s now at 250ish.

Great tow vehicle, but low 20’s when towing.

[Walter Sobchak]

Cayenne Turbo .

[Register1]

3.0Liter V6 diesel
Cayenne
Touareg
Q7

All effortless with 265 HP and circa 550 Tq.

[a7x88]

I use our V10 S6 - makes for a brilliant tow car, you barely notice the van on the back. 18mpg keeping up with the majority of traffic - you can still out accelerate the majority of the traffic too….

[lost in espace]

I was always worried about getting stuck in a field manoeuvring, proper 4x4 that works.

[insert coin]

a7x88 said:

I use our V10 S6 - makes for a brilliant tow car, you barely notice the van on the back. 18mpg keeping up with the majority of traffic - you can still out accelerate the majority of the traffic too….

Sorry, but the old ‘you barely know it’s there’ is rubbish, you do know it’s there, unless you’ve got a little 500kg trailer tent.

[a7x88]

It’s 1300kg. Try to go flat out and of course you know it’s there, but drive it as normal/keeping up with traffic and it’s barely perceptable from a drivetrain point of view. A bit of added bounce at the rear suspension is the main give away. Makes for an exceptional tow car MPG aside

[Chicken Chaser]

a7x88 said:

It’s 1300kg. Try to go flat out and of course you know it’s there, but drive it as normal/keeping up with traffic and it’s barely perceptable from a drivetrain point of view. A bit of added bounce at the rear suspension is the main give away. Makes for an exceptional tow car MPG aside

I know what you mean. When I'm rolling, my 1400kg van is remarkably stable behind my estate Accord but moving off you feel its being pulled.

[Inspectorclueso]

I occasionally pull our twin axle (when I get forced into it by my other half !) with the Merc E350 CDI estate. As for you don't know it's there.....well it pulls well enough thanks to 460 lb ft torque, but it's the constant 'bobbing' that you do feel. Make sure that anything you get has self levelling rear sus. If we keep ours, I'm probably going SUV as we need more space anyway....FFRR, Cayenne, Discovery etc.... I think the added weight will make the match better, but with a smaller van, you may not notice as much. Not sure about DSG gearboxes, may be worth checking, I thought they had relatively limited tow weights compared to usual autos i.e. ZF etc....