Wagons used for towing in Europe

On Aug 27, 10:47 am, Papa3 wrote:
On Aug 24, 2:22 pm, John Galloway wrote:

The UK magazine 'What Car' published a supplement magazine
on towcars a month or so ago. They tested 50 (non
US) vehicles in the full range of sizes from Golfs
up to Range Rovers. The 'clear winner' (their words)
overall was the VW Passat 2.0 TDI Sport 4motion wagon.

(kerbweight 1609kg, Max towing weight 2000kg, Max hitch
weight 85kg)

John Galloway

I currently tow with the VR6 version of the Passat 4 motion wagon.
It's a great towcar. I suspect the TDI would only make it better.
Unfortunately, I suspect there's pretty much no chance of that
configuration making it to the States.

P3

This may be an idea if you can hold out for a while:

http://tinyurl.com/3dh24f

I am normally limited to the current Ford UK range of vehicles. Various satisfactory estate variants I have used for towing include a 2.0 L diesel Mondeo automatic estate, Focus 1.6 L diesel auto, and currently 2.0 L petrol automatic Focus estate. It happily towed my glider up the one in four hill at Sutton Bank, and I have similarly had no problems towing up Glenshee on the way to Aboyne.

Not sure how it would operate with a heavy two seater, though I did tow the Lak 12 with one of my Mondeo estates, but automatics give you a super extra low gear at low speed, because of the torque converter, which so far has never let me down.

Chris N.


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Erik,

If I were to replace the 2000 Accord V6 today, I would
go right to the current generation Toyota RAV4 and
probably get the four wheel drive version, but definitely
with V-6 engine and towing package.

V-6 power: 269 hp.
EPA mileage, 21 city, 28 highway. Heck, 28 is what
the 200 h.p. Honda gets! And it's only front wheel
drive.

On a cross country tow this past spring, a friend and
I towed the same route in our little own convoy. He
with his RAV4 and me with my Accord. I didn't check
his mileage, but since we tanked up at the same stations
at the start and at the end, I do know he used about
2 gallons less than me.

The RAV4 has a strong engine, available with 4 wheel
drive, and good mileage.

Now, in 08 or maybe 09, Honda will have their turbodiesel
available in America. What will they offer it in?
An Accord sedan? Accord wagon (which we don't have
right now), or maybe the CR-V? Only Honda knows.

One wagon you haven't mentioned: Mazda's Six. It's
a nice looking vehicle. Not as nice as the V-Dub,
but pretty close.

Let us know what you get and how it works out.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

Eric,

I don't know if it's available in Europe, but another
wagon to consider is the Dodge Magnum.

You can get one with all wheel drive and a 5.7 liter
V8. Mileage is rated at 17 mpg and 24 mpg. Horsepower?
345.

Towing capacity is up to 3,800 lbs.

It might, almost, keep up with an average Gee 29.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

Ray Lovinggood wrote:
I don't know if it's available in Europe, but another
wagon to consider is the Dodge Magnum.

I believe it's called the Chrysler 300C Touring in Europe, and they even
get the option of a Mercedes diesel. But in any case, it's a still a
frackin' huge vehicle if you're used to something smaller.

Two potential tow cars I haven't heard mentioned:

Volvo V50
Volvo C30 (for the bleeding edge types)

I use a '97 Volkswagen Eurovan (Transporter) Camper myself, with the VR6
engine. It pulled our Duo with ease over the steepest western US
mountain passes, while delivering a little over 20 MPG...

Marc

Erik,

One other thing you might consider: Required octane.
I believe the turbo Subaru's require the expensive
high octane gasoline.

The Volvo V70 wagon with the five cylinder non-turbocharged
engine tows well and the Volvo web page shows a 3,300
lb towing capacity for all their engine variants (in
America). A friend previously had a V70 non-turbo,
front wheel drive wagon and pulled his glider with
it. I drove it a few times, with and without the glider
in the trailer :-) and it drove nicely. But, the
thing required high octane fuel. On one retrieve,
he left the car with the tank mostly empty. I was
not a happy retrieval person, so I ordered a bigger
steak and a couple of glasses of wine upon our eventual
stop for dinner.

He is the pilot who now tows with the V6 RAV4. The
Volvo got taken out by a wreck (nobody injured, and
the car didn't look that bad, but the insurance company
totalled it out.) The V6 RAV4 requires only regular
fuel.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

P3 wrote, 'Anyone out there know if the 325xi wagon
is available in Diesel engine in EU Land?'

P3, I did a quick check on the bmw.de and bmw.co.uk
web sites and neither listed an 'x' version. They
do offer a couple of diesels, it seems. A four cylinder
and a six cylinder. Wonder if they'll ever bring them
to the US?

Please note the term 'quick check'...

Ray

On Sep 4, 4:34 pm, Asbjorn Hojmark wrote:
On 4 Sep 2007 01:16:31 GMT, Ray Lovinggood

wrote:
P3 wrote, 'Anyone out there know if the 325xi wagon is available
in Diesel engine in EU Land?'

There is no such thing as a 325xi with diesel... since the "i"
signifies gasoline (originally injection). A 325 with 4-wheel drive
and diesel would then be 325xd, but there is no such thing either.

There *is* a 330xd (over here): 3 litre, 6 cylinder, 170 kW and 500
Nm. 0-100 in a lot less than 7 seconds. That's a very fine car, but
it's totally overkill for towing. A 320d would do very nicely.

-A
--http://www.hojmark.org/soaring.html

Thanks. Should've realized that the i's were all gas and the x's were
all wheel drive.

In case anyone's interested, here's what I got back by email after
requesting from BMW USA what they were planning for 2008:

"Dear Mr. Mann:

Thank you for contacting BMW of North America, LLC regarding diesel
models in the US market. We appreciate your interest and enthusiasm
for our vehicles. I am happy to confirm that yes, BMW NA plans to
offer diesel models in all 50 states beginning in 2008. At this time,
a model line up has not yet been released.

In 1998, we demonstrated the superiority of our diesel technology on
the racetrack by winning the 24-hours of Nürburgring in a race-tuned
320d Sedan. This grueling test of endurance not only proved the 320d's
ability to run longer between fuel stops, but on a larger scale,
demonstrated that performance and fuel efficiency are not mutually
exclusive.

Today, we offer a wide variety of diesel engines across our entire
model range in Europe. Taking home the prestigious Engine of the Year
Award several times, our diesel engines are renowned for their
unequaled harmony of dynamic performance, innovative technology,
surprisingly low fuel consumption, along with a smoothness that is
uncommon for a Diesel. The pinnacle of BMW diesel technology to date
is the 3.0-liter variable twin-turbo inline six-cylinder introduced
recently in the 335d and 535d. With 286-hp and 427 lb-ft of torque,
the 535d accelerates to 60 mph in less than 6.5 seconds, while
delivering an average of 37 mpg on the highway.

Clearly, this level of technology is predestined for the U.S. market -
not only in terms of power and efficiency, but for its potential to
help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, this enhanced concept
for minimum exhaust gas emissions has been developed to meet the
strict emissions standards in effect in California and other states.
With its carbon emissions down 10% - 20% from comparable gasoline
vehicles, and near-elimination of both smoke and NOx emissions, BMW
Advanced Diesels will be every bit as clean as CARB-legal gasoline
engines when they are introduced in the US in 2008.

As a means of producing so much power with a minimum of environmental
impact and a maximum of fuel efficiency, it is no surprise that BMW
will be among the first to introduce 50-state clean diesel technology.
After all, it often takes an independent company like ours to bring an
idea like this to the public. For the most up-to-date information, I
recommend regular visits to our dynamic website www.bmwusa.com; when
you visit, be sure to sign up for diesel e-mail updates.

If you have any further questions, please respond to this e-mail or
contact the Customer Relations and Services Department at
1-800-831-1117, Monday through Friday from 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.,
Eastern Standard Time. Again, thank you for contacting BMW.

Sincerely,

Amber Wood"

recently in the 335d and 535d. With 286-hp and 427 lb-ft of torque,
the 535d accelerates to 60 mph in less than 6.5 seconds, while
delivering an average of 37 mpg on the highway.

This is just plain insane. Nobody needs 286hp and an acceleration to
60mph of 6.5 seconds to tow a glider. For single seaters, 100hp is
plenty enough even in the mountains, which will give you 50mpg with
modern diesels when not towing. Double seaters may ask for a bit more,
but not much. BTW, I regularly tow single seaters with an Opel Astra 1.6
(gaz). Front drive, no 4x4. Plenty enough power, the speed is limited
not by power, but by the stability, he upper safe limit being somewhere
around 60mph. But does this really matter, and btw, in most places the
allowed speed isn't higher anyway.

Clearly, this level of technology is predestined for the U.S. market -
not only in terms of power and efficiency, but for its potential to
help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

If that was their intent, they wouldn't push engines with 286hp and
above. I'm afraid that they are correct, though, that this insanity is
predestined for the US market.

On Sep 5, 7:30 am, John Smith wrote:
This is just plain insane. Nobody needs 286hp and an acceleration to
60mph of 6.5 seconds to tow a glider.

Eh? Who is suggesting that you do?


Dan