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Hi all, getting near the time to change our towcar, but i cannot make up my mind as what to go for. I quite like the Hyundai' Tucson and the santa Fe, and have also considered the Trajet. We must have an automatic due to health problems, and a car that is not to low to get in and out of.

We tow a Bailey Ranger 500/5 weight is 1149 and need something that does'nt drink the juice.

Any help and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Richard

Richard,

An idea of budget and whether you're looking to but new/used would help everyone trying to advise. We have a Kia Sportage (56 plate) towing 1400kg comfortably - the Kiaeffectively being the same as the Tucson of a similar age. The only slight issue that we have is that fuel economy is not great...

Paul

Quote: Originally posted by alan29 on 14/3/2011

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You should be able to tow 1149 kg with a diesel estate, a passat or vectra or mondeo etc. Or you could posh up to a Volvo/Saab/Audi etc. It will save you a fortune in fuel etc.

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True - my Santa Fe only gets 35mpg if you're a gentle driver and only 25mpg if (like us) you do lots of short, rush-hour journeys. Towing is 23mpg which is OK for a reasonable size 4x4. The Tuscon is very similar but shorter, so less boot space.

However, if the extra height is an issue, you're scuppered with an estate - after my SF, I always feel like I'm falling into them. Problem is, high cars tend to be 4x4s and none of them are great on fuel. The only other option may be the large MPVs (Ford Galaxy, S-Max etc) but their economy isn't that much better.

The Skoda yeti with dsg gearbox

http://www.skodastore.com/models.asp?id=507

We are on our second Trajet now, We had a petorl manual one which towed ok, but drank the fuel and on hills needed a bit more power, then decided to buy a VW Sharan, £2200 in repair bills, we decided last month enough was enough and have now bought another Trajet, but diesel auto,

Towed great down to wareham last month, good enough fuel economy and really comfy,

It also is very comfy round town, and i can easily fit 4 kids in it, my 2 dogs and a pushchair.

We are considering eventually swapping our smaller runaround for a sante fe to use for towing in the winter or if we go to CL's

We we're really pleased with the last Hyundai so hope this one is as good, My mum also has a little i10 and she has been thrilled with it.

I know some people slate them for being a bit cheap but we love ours.

hi, i have a Santa Fe 2.6 petrol automatic (but also has the option of using in 'manual' mode which is now LPG powered, its expensive to have converted, but if you do the mileage and keep the car you will get your money back and save - i save around £30 every time i fill up and get the same like for like mileage whether i fill with petrol or gas. the car will also be worth more when you come to sell it (i hope!)

saving £30 - fillling up 60 times (around 300 miles per tank driving carefully) = £1800 (approx cost of installation - though you can get it done for less if you shop around), so depending on how often you fill up will determine the saving overall. if you keep the car for 5 years and fill up 26 times per year = 5x26x30 = £3900 minus initial installation cost of £1800 = £2100 saving !!!! bigger savings if you do more mileage and fill up more often than twice a month!

lpg prices in france are similar to uk, but a lot cheaper in belgium for some reason?

there is an lpg car forum so you should log on and read up first to get some ideas of if you want to go down the route of having an LPG car.

perhaps an lpg version of any of the other vehicles youre looking at may be worth exploring? there are plenty out there on ebay etc to take a look at? just be careful about vehicles which are old/high mileage and have LPG conversions RECENTLY fitted. some of these have been done just to sell and make a bigger profit than selling it as a petrol guzzling vehicle.

though i must fiinish by adding i do love my santa fe - its the only car i have bought the same model of in succession after over 30 years of driving - i suggest you try the car auctions for big savings on initial purchase, go for one around 3 years old if you cant afford newer, that gives you enough 'age' on the vehicle to be able to sell after 5 years (or just keep as a tow car?) i reckon youre looking at around 5k for a car around 50k mileage and fully loaded with lots of extras (my last santa fe had 150k on the clock when i sold it to someone who just wanted to tow his van with it!!) - i put 100k on it and it still drove like a dream. LPG does no damage to the engine (no carbon deposits) so it should drive for ever in theory!

 ps - NO i do not work in the lpg industry - just in case youre thinking i would be a good salesman LOL - just retired after 32 years in the fire brigade, which suggests i wouldnt drive a vehicle that some might think a bit dangerous in a collision - they are just as safe as petrol/diesel fuelled vehciles.