2.5t towing 4x4 car

[B R C]

Need a family vehicle to tow 2.5t horse box, most interested in cost of ownership, reliability, comfort, high performance not necessary, will do a few miles so mpg is also relevant but not top priority. All I can see at the moment is vw Tiguan, Volvo Xc60 and Disco Sport. Budget £25k give or take. Erring towards Tiguan, views?

 

[ollie989898]

Need a family vehicle to tow 2.5t horse box, most interested in cost of ownership, reliability, comfort, high performance not necessary, will do a few miles so mpg is also relevant but not top priority. All I can see at the moment is vw Tiguan, Volvo Xc60 and Disco Sport. Budget £25k give or take. Erring towards Tiguan, views?

The Volvo will be the best of that bunch by miles.

Make sure it has the automatic gearbox and change the gearbox oil at 50,000 miles. Find a Volvo specialist to look after it. Make sure it is a 4x4 model as I believe not all of them are.

A Disco sport- a gambling man are you?

VW is out because the DSG box won't stick towing.

Volvo forum will be full of very very helpful folk.

 

[bobk]

Disco

 

[335d]

The Volvo will be the best of that bunch by miles.

Make sure it has the automatic gearbox and change the gearbox oil at 50,000 miles. Find a Volvo specialist to look after it. Make sure it is a 4x4 model as I believe not all of them are.

A Disco sport- a gambling man are you?

VW is out because the DSG box won't stick towing.

Volvo forum will be full of very very helpful folk.

What issues have you had with the dsg box. I run a mk2 tiguan with the 7 speed dq500 box from 60000 to 110000, towing at least twice a week with no issues. The 7 speed dry clutch in a golf or Passat is a different beast and has a low torque rating, but the dq500 is a wet clutch and I haven’t heard of any issues round here.

 

[335d]

And as above, both volvo and VW are both available in 2wd, with reduced towing capacity. From memory I think the tiguan is rated at 2300kg braked towing capacity and the xc60 has 2400kg max braked towing capacity

 

[kiwi pom]

I think the Hyundai Santa Fe tows 2.5T. Pretty good car, think the newer shape are 2018 and up.
Might be a bit cheaper than the Euro stuff.

 

[JeepJeep]

XC60 doesn't quite do 2.5 ton I don't think.

 

[Lakesdigger]

What issues have you had with the dsg box. I run a mk2 tiguan with the 7 speed dq500 box from 60000 to 110000, towing at least twice a week with no issues. The 7 speed dry clutch in a golf or Passat is a different beast and has a low torque rating, but the dq500 is a wet clutch and I haven’t heard of any issues round here.

It's not the torque that's the problem its maneuvers/reversing and treating them like a torque converter auto (slipping the clutch if you like) which they are not supposed to like. Dsg likes drive engaged and to be on the move.

 

[335d]

But the dsg has an automated clutch, so the clutch Engagement is controlled By the transmission control unit, so it cannot slip as such. The gear is either engaged or not. Yes there is a split second for the clutch to engage, but that’s it. Of course there are still clutches to slip, but they will outlast any manual gearbox. I do agree however that an auto is easier for manoeuvring, as the dsg is either on or off. You touch the brake pedal and the transmission is disengaged, the you release it slightly and the transmission is engaged again, does take a bit of getting used to. An important thing with the dsg and indeed any modern vehicle is to fit the proper towbar wiring kit, so the car knows the trailer is on, not only does it alter the cars stability program,it also changes the revs the gears shift at to avoid any damage. In the dsg it’s like it has automatically selected sport mode. It will always take off in first gear with a trailer on, whereas with no trailer it will regularly select 2nd gear as start off gear.

 

[Will2May]

Audi a6 allroad

We had a biturbo model, air suspension loads of power absolute luxury better at towing than all the pickups we've had inc. Hilux, navara v6, L200 and amarok v6. Ran it for 4 years and 50k miles with no problems, I still miss it, only went because we needed more seats for the newest child.

 

[George from SJM Planning]

I think the Hyundai Santa Fe tows 2.5T. Pretty good car, think the newer shape are 2018 and up.
Might be a bit cheaper than the Euro stuff.

Yes our Santa Fe (2013) is plated for 2.5t and I have towed that sort of weight with a flat trailer, box trailer and horsebox.
It is pretty useless though when it gets off the tarmac despite being permanent 4x4.

 

[Universe]

Prob just very road biased tyres George.

 

[George from SJM Planning]

Prob just very road biased tyres George.

Yes, it does 95% road work so no point having AT's. Although I did get shown up in a wet grassy field by a Dacia Estate a few weeks back.

 

[BuskhillFarm]

I use a 320d bmw seems comfortable towing. Not big miles towing but is nice for a long trip reasonably economical and bundles of power

 

[ollie989898]

I use a 320d bmw seems comfortable towing. Not big miles towing but is nice for a long trip reasonably economical and bundles of power

Can get away with it but in reality you want a 4x4 and the additional mass in the car to keep it on the right side of safe. Also horseboxes etc taken on to grass is not the job of a rear wheel drive saloon car really.

 

[Oliveau]

Ssangyong worth a look

 

[2wheels]

But the dsg has an automated clutch, so the clutch Engagement is controlled By the transmission control unit, so it cannot slip as such. The gear is either engaged or not. Yes there is a split second for the clutch to engage, but that’s it. Of course there are still clutches to slip, but they will outlast any manual gearbox. I do agree however that an auto is easier for manoeuvring, as the dsg is either on or off. You touch the brake pedal and the transmission is disengaged, the you release it slightly and the transmission is engaged again, does take a bit of getting used to. An important thing with the dsg and indeed any modern vehicle is to fit the proper towbar wiring kit, so the car knows the trailer is on, not only does it alter the cars stability program,it also changes the revs the gears shift at to avoid any damage. In the dsg it’s like it has automatically selected sport mode. It will always take off in first gear with a trailer on, whereas with no trailer it will regularly select 2nd gear as start off gear.

my vw always takes off in first gear. it is too slow to change up to 2nd and too slow to change down to1st in traffic.

 

[Lakesdigger]

But the dsg has an automated clutch, so the clutch Engagement is controlled By the transmission control unit, so it cannot slip as such. The gear is either engaged or not. Yes there is a split second for the clutch to engage, but that’s it. Of course there are still clutches to slip, but they will outlast any manual gearbox. I do agree however that an auto is easier for manoeuvring, as the dsg is either on or off. You touch the brake pedal and the transmission is disengaged, the you release it slightly and the transmission is engaged again, does take a bit of getting used to. An important thing with the dsg and indeed any modern vehicle is to fit the proper towbar wiring kit, so the car knows the trailer is on, not only does it alter the cars stability program,it also changes the revs the gears shift at to avoid any damage. In the dsg it’s like it has automatically selected sport mode. It will always take off in first gear with a trailer on, whereas with no trailer it will regularly select 2nd gear as start off gear.

And thats the issue with towing (or rather manoeuvring and reversing a trailer) the automated clutch. If reverse is too fast unlike a torque converter auto if you start holding a dsg back or start inching it'll be constantly clutch on clutch off clutch on clutch off. They don't like it long term if you do enough of it.

 

[335d]

And thats the issue with towing (or rather manoeuvring and reversing a trailer) the automated clutch. If reverse is too fast unlike a torque converter auto if you start holding a dsg back or start inching it'll be constantly clutch on clutch off clutch on clutch off. They don't like it long term if you do enough of it.

The fact that I have a level yard has probably helped then, as I had no issues. Are you saying the dsg gives issues in traffic then as well? Know quite a few people who have them and never an issue.
just trying to give a view from an owners perspective and not pub chat.
However, I did change to an Audi with the zf auto, and do prefer it over the dsg.

 

[335d]

my vw always takes off in first gear. it is too slow to change up to 2nd and too slow to change down to1st in traffic.

What car and engine? 6 speed in the golf gti and 7 speed in the tiguan always started in second in d. Pull the stick back to sport and they would pull away in 1st and hold 1st longer