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Ime thinking of buying an astra 1.6i.16v club, and just wondered if it will pull a 2 berth caravan. The van must be a very light one so we can move it around when we return home. What i want to know before i buy the car is will it tow the van easily.

Thanks, Christina

Buy a Skoda Octavia 1.9 tdi hatch, all the power you need, and cheap rfl only £120 a year, group 6 insurance, 50 plus mpg solo

can tow up to 1400

you will find loads on the auto trader site, and don't worry about the mileage they are good for 500,000 miles

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/skoda/octavia/postcode/td12ly/radius/1500/sort/priceasc/fuel-type/diesel/engine-size-cars/1-7l_to_1-9l/body-type/hatchback/page/10

Quote: Originally posted by Zafiral on 05/4/2011

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Do you work for Skoda??? The engine may last, but the rest of the car suffers from wear & tear too!!!

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Skoda stopped making the sdi when they brought out the mark 2 in 2004 and the 1.9 tdi does not have a dpf the 2ltr 140 and 170 vrs does, but they can be removed

ESP is on all models except for the classic

 All the face lift and new superb models have dpf but it has been placed near the engine so no more dpf worries

The only problem with the old sdi apart from a lack of power was the gearboxes as they kept on disintegrating, on or just after 100,000 miles, skoda told the dealers to fit the boxes off the turbo version and that cured the problem

This is the kind of question where everyone has a different point of view. I've towed with Fords and Vauxhalls. The Fords tow well but fall to bits very quickly. The Vauxhalls also tow OK (we have a 4 berth van weighing 1100kg fully loaded - with 2 adults & 2 teenagers) - reliability has been excellent.

However, many people I know who've had the Focus haven't had the problems we had, so it's pot luck I guess.

Be careful on many modern diesels. They tow like trains, but when they go wrong they are expensive to mend. My current choice for a medium sized towcar would be the Astra 1.9 CDTi - BUT MAKE SURE IT IS THE 120PS 8VALVE - NOT THE 150PS 16VALVE. The 150PS 16v engine suffers a lot of problems. The 120PS 8v engine is more robust and is the one the tuning lads go for because it doesn't fall to bits. For the size of 'van you're considering it would tow it fine.

Quote: Originally posted by Grad Sailor on 06/4/2011

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This is the kind of question where everyone has a different point of view. I've towed with Fords and Vauxhalls. The Fords tow well but fall to bits very quickly. The Vauxhalls also tow OK (we have a 4 berth van weighing 1100kg fully loaded - with 2 adults & 2 teenagers) - reliability has been excellent.

However, many people I know who've had the Focus haven't had the problems we had, so it's pot luck I guess.

Be careful on many modern diesels. They tow like trains, but when they go wrong they are expensive to mend. My current choice for a medium sized towcar would be the Astra 1.9 CDTi - BUT MAKE SURE IT IS THE 120PS 8VALVE - NOT THE 150PS 16VALVE. The 150PS 16v engine suffers a lot of problems. The 120PS 8v engine is more robust and is the one the tuning lads go for because it doesn't fall to bits. For the size of 'van you're considering it would tow it fine.

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To my knowledge it was only earlier 16v engines that had issues.  My personal choice would be the 150bhp from 08 onwards to ensure it was an updated one.  The 150hp Astras & Zafiras came with ESP & sport suspension as standard to improve the towing ability.