the most economical towing vehicle?

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loubylou

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Oct 21, 2008
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I have tried to do teh research myself but have been looking for over 6 weeks now and the mind boggles and I am still none the wiser!

Ive just qualified as a teacher, and have my first teaching post- a 1 1/2 hour round trip (via the horses) daily, so whatever I drive is going to cost a fortune :( Am also only 21 so need to sit a towing test- more expense!!

It will be mainly for my trip to work, and poss tow 3-4 times a month. It will tow my 2 girlies- both max 500kg, most of the time separately, but sometimes together. I am looking alng the lines of a deuville, which is a max towing capacity of 2300kg so tow vehicle needs to tow more than that (laden with my horses it will prob be less than 2000kg we worked out, but would prefer car to be able to tow more for safety)

I am just trying to figure out the most economical way, and just generally doing my research at the moment- I want something that is capable, but not toooo juicy. Was considering a soft off-roader (specifically a Honda CRV) which would be more econmical, but its max towing is 2000kg and I dont want to compromise safety for £££. It really is a minefield out there!!

HELP ME!!!
 
How much do you have to spend? Also if you don't mind looking silly, some of the people carriers have decent tow ratings and are better on fuel than 4x4s...I'm doing similar research at the moment and I would adore a Kia Sorento which has the best MPG for a decent tow car that I've found so far but they're veeeeeeeeeeeeery expensive.
 
id be getting a loan for whatever i have to buy tbh, and trading my car in- the more expensive it is the less I will have for a trailer quite simply! I suppose I would like it to be less than about 4k if I can manage it (was looking at paying more for the honda crv so would consider more for right tow car)- will look at the sorento now...

am reeaally impressed by the sorento- but see what you mean, they are definately on the pricier side! Will have to count the pennies!! very tempting!! Thanks for you input- anyone els know of anything similar?
 
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I have just brought a LWB Ford Maverick.It tows up to 2.8t and does 28mpg when towing.I have the 2.7 diesel model but there are petrol smaller models out there. It is essentially a Nissan Terrano but made by them for Ford.They are known for their reliability and they tow really well and drive more like a car than most 4x4.
 
I'm not entirely sure that there is any such thing as an economical tow vehicle that is going to be big enough to tow a double trailer with two horses in it! I am in the same boat myself and have been driving a 2.5 litre diesel Pajero for the past year. It is quite economical to tow with (relatively speaking, of course!), and I have been pleasantly surprised at the fuel consumption with a trailer and horses on the back, but it is the running around between towing trips that does the damage to the wallet.

So, as my old Pajero recently died I have decided, after looking at lorries, to buy another 4x4, probably another Shogun/Pajero, an older one so that I miss out on the emissions car tax bit and can tax it at £180 per annum (I think that's the figure) - there are plenty of nice ones around that are around the £3-4,000 mark and I'm also going to buy something tiny for my everyday runabout - something that is £35 a year to tax, Group 1 or 2 insurance and does about 60-70mpg and is, again, a few years old so shouldn't cost more than about £4,000. I know it's quite a bit extra in initial outlay but I am hoping the savings in fuel will offset the additional tax and insurance.
 
A Honda CR-v does NOT have a towing weight of 2 ton, are you looking at the Kerb weight as this is what you should be looking at.

I know as I used to have a CR-V and legally / safely could only tow my trailer and a 300kg pony (JUST)

Check this out - Honda CR-V - 2.0 i-VTEC ES 5d


Power: 147 bhp Length: 4530mm
Transmission: Manual Width: 2091 mm
Weights & Towing Information:
Kerbweight 1534 kgs
Braked Tow Weight 1600 kgs Discounted Servicing & MOTs for Honda's
85% of kerbweight: 1303.9 kgs
95% of Kerbweight: 1457.3 kgs
Description of Honda CR-V - 2.0 i-VTEC ES 5d:


The 85% kerb weight is the recommend weight the vehicle can tow with full safety. At 95% the CR-V would not be legal to tow even one of your horses.

Check out this website which lists kerb weights for most vehicles


http://www.gocaravanning.com/cars/towcars.html

Cheers

Demson
 
thanks for the info demson, but I had actually written off the crv for the very reason I couldnt forsee a way of towing safely- maybe I remember the figures wrongly- the box i would have looked at towing was a bateson ascot, which is something like 600kg unladen, so could squeeze one of my horses in I think we figured- I just know I didnt want one in the end :)

Have been looking at the sorento's and pricing one of those up, which is feasible, and they are actually fairly economical in comparison to most

Am actually considering keeping my ikkle car and getting a lorry/box instead of towing- think in the long run it may be more economical- just batting ideas about at the moment to figure out what I want to do!

thanks for the input!

x
 
Hi Lou

A lorry is very expensive, I have just sold mine as I retired from Carriage Driving and the box was just to expensive to keep on the road for what I needed it for. I do miss the box though as it has our own personnalised logo of us and our pony on it.

I have now gone back to an Ifor Williams Trailer towed with a Citreon Grand 4 Picasso which I can tow one small pony legally.

I have another pony 14.2hh hackney so am looking to buy a defender or a discovery but I get so many different opinions about both I have no idea which to go for.

I've never heard of the sorento's who are they made by?

Cheers

Demson
 
Disco disco disco

my old Disco ... T reg, does lots of miles to the gallon as I only do about 40 mph,,,, he he sorry if you are behind me,,,,, tows like a dream, and is comfy,, cost £3,400 but then had to do some bits, so total cost £4,000

I love it....

MM
:):):)
 
Toyotas and Land Rover have good following and for sure I would own one if money is no object.

Check out Daewoo & Ssangyong Korando for budget 4x4 towing vehicle.
2000x or w with 75,000 miles expect to pay from £1300 to £1700 on ebay

They are fitted with bullet proof Mercedes drive trains. As a second vehicle well worth considering. Cheap insurance and car tax and return 30 mpg (2.9TD).

I have one just for towing the box and drive a normal car during the week. Financially it’s the cheapest option I could find. Depreciation of the 4x4 and the trailer are almost next to £0. Just need to tax & Ins about £300 a year (Daewoo Korando). Then the rest is fuel and consumables. Cheaper than running a lorry.

Of course you pay your money and make your choices.
 
I've been looking too and have been quite impressed by the reviews for the Nissan X Trail. However, I can't remember what the max towing capacity is - I think it may only be 2000kg in which case it might not be enough for you. Relatively good on the old MPG though!
 
The kerb weight is not what you should be going on when deciding if a car is ok to tow with, it's the max towing capacity that you need to look at. The 85% kerbweight recommendation was made for caravans! I have a Kia Sorento, kerb weight approx 2.1 ton, max tow capacity 2.8 ton. I can safely and legally tow two large horses and a trailer with this. If you went on 85% of the kerbweight (approx 1.7 ton) I wouldn't be able to tow 2 horses!
 
MuddyCob said:
The kerb weight is not what you should be going on when deciding if a car is ok to tow with, it's the max towing capacity that you need to look at. The 85% kerbweight recommendation was made for caravans! I have a Kia Sorento, kerb weight approx 2.1 ton, max tow capacity 2.8 ton. I can safely and legally tow two large horses and a trailer with this. If you went on 85% of the kerbweight (approx 1.7 ton) I wouldn't be able to tow 2 horses!
Click to expand...

I believe there is also 'guidance' about not towing anymore than 85% of the max towing amount,as a safety recommendation,could be wrong but this is what I understand it to mean.

OP think I replied to you on EW,so won't repeat myself,but thought would just add,you might be able to tow without taking the towing test depending on the combined weight of your trailer and vehicle,there is a thread in transport section at the mo,check it out:)
 
If you want something really fuel efficient and you don't mind searching you could try to find a 4x4 that has been gas converted.
We have got our last two gas converted as the gas is only roughly 50p a litre.
 
Hi

The most economical tow car for towing is a diesel car like my saab -does between 46 to 60 mpg on motorways without box so great to run day to day. thats the good news. Bad news is that it can only tow a light weight trailer with a pony in it as 85% of its kerb weight is around 1200K, so its no use for you!

A lot of the modern 4x4's that are good mpg are plated to tow 1600 to 2000k so are legal for 1 or 2 horses in a trailer. but in fact are inherently dangerous to tow with as they are physically light weight (below 1400 k in some cased) hence the fuel economy.

As said above its the kerb weight you should look at i.e. a tow vehicle ideal should physically weigh 25% more than the weight is it towing. This is so that the tow vehicle tows and stops the towed load rather than the towed load pushing the tow vehicle along.

I read a book about towing last night (researching new trailer). it made the good analogy that some modern 4x4's are strong enough to tow your stable away but going down hill the stable would shunt them along!
 
I opted to buy a gutsy 4x4 and run a more economical car along side. I just couldn't find a good dual purpose vehicle. My advice would be to do that then you have best of both worlds - financially if you can that is
 
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