We've now bought a touran 2.0 tdi (140bhp) and am getting confused by all the different reports and specs on towing limits.My van is an abbey vogue2 650 1440 unladen and probably weighing close to 1600/1650 when loaded.Does anyone know if this car will tow this legally? I think it will just about manage the limit but will be over 85%.Our old sedona used to pull it no probs so if i have to lighten the load in the van,i will otherwise i'll need a lighter van which i dont want to change.
clic suggests that the kerbweight is somewhere around 1560kg depending upon which year it is. If this is correct then whilst it may be legal ( depending upon the max train weight plated on the Touran and your licence ) It would be a very brave or foolish person ( depending upon your point of view ) who would tow 1600 to 1650kg with that vehicle.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
Quote: Your Abbey is 140 kg too heavy for this car!!!!]
Quote: Car make and model Volkswagen Touran - 2.0 TDIYear of issue may 2004 - up to nowPower 138 bhp (103 kW) at 4000 rpm
Torque 236 lb/ft (320 Nm) at (or from) 1750 rpm
Kerbweight (may differ in the UK) 1658 kg and 'ballasted' with 250 kg
Tyres 205 / 55 R 16
Transmission Manual (or automatic without torque converter)
6 speed
Caravan Abbey Vogue 650
Actual laden caravan weight 1640 kg (car towing limit is 1500 kg)
The airflow is: average (height = 2.60 m and width = 2.29 m)
Gross Train weight (car+caravan) 3548 kg
Guess it depends how much you pack in the caravan.
The people we bought our caravan from (1500kg MTPLM Swift Challenger) towed it around Europe with a 115bhp Touran, & reported it to be an excellent stable tow-car. The 140bhp engine will be plenty good enough for towing the caravan, your just going to have to be careful how much you put in it. Maybe take clothes in hold-alls in a roof box, heavier items like the hook-up cable/wheel clamp/hitch-lock/tinned food etc, also in the car.
Certainly do-able if your the sort who preps (noseweight etc, & drives sensibly.
Quite a bit too heavy I'm afraid. You need to know the exact MTPLM so you can work it out, but 85% of your kerb weight is only 1326kg, so it's quite a long way out. What is the maximum towing capacity of the car?
Depending on your licence, you can either tow up to that capacity, or to 100% of kerbweight.
PS Just seen max towing weight is given as 1500kg, so that's a definite no then.
Thanks for all your help and comments on this subject. The chap that fits my towbars has stated not to exceed 1500kg as this is vw's max weight and might invalidate my insurance etc. if exceeded.
I've now arranged to trade it in for a sterling that will give me plenty of allowable weight to pack in and has a max gross of 1500kg.