I am looking to replace my V70 with a VW transporter to tow my caravan. I know that it is heavy enough but am confused about the different diesel engines and whether they will be powerful enough to tow my van which comes in at 1600kg fully loaded.
I am currently looking at a 2007 (57) - Volkswagen Transporter 1.9TDI PD 84PS Van. Can anyone advise whether this will be powerful enough to tow my caravan?
VW T5 can legally tow any touring caravan, however with only around 83bhp confusingly referred to by VW as 84ps which is metric horsepower you won't have much power to tow a large caravan so it will be slow uphill.
I would look for a T5 with a more powerful engine. The 2.5tdi was fitted up to 2009 so that will be the one to go for. Available in 130bhp & 170bhp versions. After '09 all vans have the higher power 2.0tdi fitted with several versions from 100bhp up to 180bhp.
Thanks, the other one we are looking at is a 2005 2.5 tdi which the seller has quoted as 175bhp. Sounds like that will definitely tow better. I will ring VW to check it's specs...... I didn't know you could do that so thanks for the tip.
had a demo of a new transporter from the vw dealer which had a tow bar fitted,went for a tow test with my 1800 kgs caravan on and got a serious fright with the very light rear end of the vw. in the end bought a hyundia i800 which is heavier than a transporter and is far more stable and a 168 bhp engine. you never feel the van on the back very stable
85bhp is barely enough to pull the weight of the empty van, never mind tow 1600kg of caravan behind it as well. Look for one of the more powerful 2.5 TDI versions (pre-2010) or 2.0 TDI (2010-on).
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