Hello all, our 2.0 Mondeo(115bhp) is soon for the knackers yard so am looking at a replacement. Now here's the thing, we've just spent a year on a seasonal pitch and loved it so we are looking to do that for the foreseable future. Only towing a couple times in the year I'm starting to look at a more economical tug. Our van is only 1300MTPLM so I'm looking at either another mondeo this time the 1.6tdci (115bhp 199lbs/ft) or Vauxhall Astra 1.7cdti sports tourer (125bhp 206lbs/ft). Both of these will return a reported 60 odd mpg and £30 tax. Any views? You don't often see many Vauxhalls on sites but on paper it looks slightly better especially as a nearly new one comes with 3 year warranty as standard. Maximum spend is going to be about £12000. Thanks in advance Trick
Hi we towed for two years with a 2.0 ltr focus estate II (2006) (1429kgs kerbweight, works weight bridge)and our van is 1300kgs MTPLM, and with this even at 85% the car was still too lite so we towed at 1225kgs until got new car. We always try and still to the 85% guideline with being new caravanners.
Would not really consider anything less than 2.0 ltr unless had a but more weight the Astra, has a limited tow weight due to its chassis, and this goes for the Zafira also. We currently tow with V70 2009 estate (1610 kgs) and consider the focus to tow better, but the v70 has more weight so can tow at the 1300mtplm. just waiting to change to a vauxhall Antara 2.2 ltr, so that should be even better.
Also as per post above smaller engines will be worked harder and increase fuel comsumption when towing, we got 28 mpg with the focus and 31 mpg with the v70.
I have also towed with both a 1.6 and 2.0 diesel Focus estate and the towing capability is excellent on the 2.0. The Volvo V50 is built on a Focus chassis and the V70 on a Mondeo chassis so not much difference apart from the cabin and extra luxuries that Volvo offers. Volvo made a V50 (standard estate) with a 5 cylinder 2.4 diesel called the D5 which I only purchased a few days ago mainly to tow our caravan which also has an MTPLM of 1300 kgs. Having 5 cylinders is extra smooth and a great car to drive. Moving on to the fuel economy, I have tested all three solo but I haven't got a towbar on the Volvo as yet. Anyway, driving solo at about 60 mph. on the motorway the 1.6 diesel Focus returned 70 mpg., the 2.0 diesel Focus returned 55 mpg. and I did a 180 mile trip on Friday with the Volvo with a return of 57 mpg. The outfit match with this Volvo is 83%, the 2.0 Focus 89% and the 1.6 Focus 92%. When towing I actually got 38 mpg. from the 1.6 and 32 mpg. from the 2.0 but the 1.6 did strat to struggle from standing starts and hiil climbs. I wanted an economical towcar that was up to the job with a high brake horse power too so it also has the climbing ability when needed and standing starts with less effort. What the Volvo will actually tow like I don't know yet but going by the percentage match I think it should do well. So basically, the smaller car was best for solo runs but remarkably the 2.4 Volvo solo is slightly better than the the 2.0 Focus but it's trying to find the right balance for solo runs and towing but I think I have certainly achieved that with the Volvo V50 D5.
Thats what I'm concerned about, the lack of oomph.
The astra estate won the C&CC in 2011 in the "green" class and was described as a stable tug. But maybe another 2.0 mondeo will give more peace of mind.
Shame though, as Vauxhall will give a 3 year warranty on cars less than a year old whereas Ford don't and with my luck with cars (4 in two years!!) that was very tempting. Back to the drawing board....
Quote: Originally posted by Trick on 18/8/2012
Hello all, our 2.0 Mondeo(115bhp) is soon for the knackers yard so am looking at a replacement. Now here's the thing, we've just spent a year on a seasonal pitch and loved it so we are looking to do that for the foreseable future. Only towing a couple times in the year I'm starting to look at a more economical tug. Our van is only 1300MTPLM so I'm looking at either another mondeo this time the 1.6tdci (115bhp 199lbs/ft) or Vauxhall Astra 1.7cdti sports tourer (125bhp 206lbs/ft). Both of these will return a reported 60 odd mpg and £30 tax. Any views? You don't often see many Vauxhalls on sites but on paper it looks slightly better especially as a nearly new one comes with 3 year warranty as standard. Maximum spend is going to be about £12000. Thanks in advance Trick
Buy the Mondeo you know its what you really want.
------------- 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