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Anybody know of a list online of tow cars, good and bad

regards all

hi chubby

look on what car site or www.kerbweights.co.uk

Louise

Hi Louise

I am interested in a suitable saloon car to tow my 1460kg caravan & would like a Skoda Superb but can,t get this website u recommended - any other sites or suggestions

Brightspark....

I tow with a 2.5 V6 TDi Superb (Manual)  - what do you need to know?

Generally we like it - we have towed a 2005 Abbey GTS 418 with a max weight of 1445Kg and now a 2006 Swift Challenger 470 with a max weight of 1405Kg - it is a great towcar though we did fit spring assisters as it is rather softly sprung.

We bought ours at 1 year old and saved a lot over the new price.

Downsides - all the other ones you see on the roads will be taxis and its not very exciting!  As a couple in our mid 30's it doesn't set the pulse racing but all in all its a cracking car.  Certainly in a long line of towcars we have owned it is the best.

Hope this helps.

Have a look here http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/skoda.htm#superb03

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=66

atb

Wizard

Hi IanM

Thanks for your feedback. We bought our caravan from Barrons (originally looking at campervans) without doing our homework first.Never thought about the towing vehicle & have now been told that unless there,s this 85% difference between car & van if we were involved in an accident or stopped by the police the insurance company would not pay out.When looking at cars we always get the o.k. from the salesman, in particular a Ford Mondeo 2.2, which when we looked at the brochure it said "this vehicle should not be used for towing".My wife does not want a 4x4 because of the emmision data & we both like the Superb but was just thinking of the 1.9 That only gives 91% with a caravan laden weight of 1460 Could you recommend any sites for 2nd hand Skodas for a 2.5 ?

Regards

Terry

Hi wizard

Thanks for those 2 excellent sites plenty of info on the cars I,m interested in.Still find it confusing about 85% kerbweight figures & max towing!

terry

this may help from PC/MAG

Safe weight ratios
For stable and safe towing we would always recommend that you choose the smallest and lightest possible caravan suitable for your intended use. The less the laden weight of the caravan is in relation to the weight of the towing vehicle, the safer and more stable the outfit will be. The Caravan Club, for example, advises that you should aim for a towed load that is no more than 85% of the car's kerb weight for stability and safety. The CC advice is NEVER to tow above 100% of the car's kerbside weight.
N.B. The car manufacturer's specified maximum permissible towload is always the absolute towing limit regardless of any 85% or 100% weight ratio guideline. This is especially important in those cases where the manufacturer's figure is particularly low - in a few cases even below 85%.

Load distribution
Proper load distribution, in general, must be ensured too, with all heavy items in the caravan low down and directly over the axle wherever possible. Correct tyre pressures for car and caravan are absolutely vital.

Noseweight
It is a legal requirement that the noseweight should be 4% of the weight of the trailer or at least 25kg, whichever is the higher.. For safety you should aim for, but not exceed, the lower of the 2 figures specified for caravan and car respectively.

Quote: Originally posted by brightspark on 09/12/2005

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Hi IanM

Thanks for your feedback. We bought our caravan from Barrons (originally looking at campervans) without doing our homework first.Never thought about the towing vehicle & have now been told that unless there,s this 85% difference between car & van if we were involved in an accident or stopped by the police the insurance company would not pay out.When looking at cars we always get the o.k. from the salesman, in particular a Ford Mondeo 2.2, which when we looked at the brochure it said "this vehicle should not be used for towing".My wife does not want a 4x4 because of the emmision data & we both like the Superb but was just thinking of the 1.9 That only gives 91% with a caravan laden weight of 1460 Could you recommend any sites for 2nd hand Skodas for a 2.5 ?

Regards

Terry

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Hi Terry

I have no experience of the 1.9TDi unit in the Superb, though have the 130bhp version of the same in my Fabia vRS - needless to say that engine in a teeny tiny car fairly flies!

Beware the 1.9TDi Superb comes in 100 and 130bhp versions - go for the 130 or better still the 2.5 V6 TDi like ours - it has a kerbweight of 1706Kg so would make an 85% match with your 'van.

As for websites selling cars I dunno, we bought both our Fabia and Superb from our friendly local dealer, though I think there is maybe a used car section in Skoda UKs website.

Hi Yorkshirelass , welcome to UKCS , your right we're a friendly bunch and free with good advice . Can't help with your tow car question , but i'm sure someone will be along soon with the info you want .

Anyway WELCOME

atb

Wizard