Vehicle for towing a small caravan

Whatever you decide to tow your van with make sure it is fitted with a good transmission cooler and the cooling system is up to scratch.

Thanks for all the responses, lots of good info. gives me a bit to think about. I'm surprised that some think the PT is ok for towing, I figured it is probably a bit light weight. I've just spent $550 having the inner CV's done on it & a family member made a comment that they have probably become worn from towing the caravan, being a front wheel drive vehicle & putting too much strain on it. Guess I could keep it but it would be good to have something roomier. With the pushchair for the wee one in the back there isn't much room for all the other camping supplies & I don't want to overload the caravan. I've spent an absolute fortune on the cruiser & to be honest while I love the styling of it, I'm beginning to resent all the money I've thrown at it. it was an impulse buy & not a very practical one. I'm really surprised to learn that the above SUV's are so crap for towing, always see caravan being towed by huge vehicles down here so I just figured that's what would be best. yes, it's clear I have no clue ;)

thejazzpianoma wrote:

What model/year Golf do you have?

Hi again thejazzpianoma my wee golf is getting on now -it's a 1998 GTI hatch (I think) it always does me right. 160k on the clock but never any majors for wof. Have thought of upgrading but it's probably worth next to nothing so will drive it until it dies. In my previous job I had a 2009 golf TDi as a company car which was so much fun (and economical) to drive, then a year later they 'upgraded' me to the 2010 tdi wagon which was sluggish by comparison. I sure miss having a company car esp with the price of fuel atm!

It's just the low budget that rules out some SUVs that would be better for towing.
If you had say, $20,000+ to spend you could get into some better vehicles.

The Subaru Outback that Tamarillo posted a link to is sort of a cross between an SUV and a normal station wagon, and would be my pick for you if you need space.
I owned one for a year or so and it was a great wagon that gave no trouble, no shortage of power for towing either.
They don't have any issues that I know of, and have good safety features and the 4wd is a bonus with them.

That changes the perspective of the discussion. The PT never has had a great reputation apart from its "cute" looks. I tend to agree with your comments ree front wheel drive, though most of the reliable vehicles with sufficient power in your price range will be.
Some the suggestions here like Maxima, Camery, Forester etc are good, and will leave the PT in the dust for reliability.

Agree also re front wheel drive. Rwd or indeed 4wd is certainly favourable for anything but the lightest towing jobs I think. Makes the aforementioned Falcon a worthy candidate, although as pointed out, not the greatest round town economy. But not shocking either. Has a lot to do with how it's driven.

Ahh that's great so you are familiar with the later diesels etc. I would say the wagon you had may have had a low output diesel, probably just the 1.9. There is quite a difference in the diesels available, even within the same CC rating. The best way to check is to look at the KW output, for what you are doing I would go with the 2.0 with 125KW, those pull like there is no tomorrow. Even the standard 2.0 is pretty good though. As a quick initial check the hotter TDI's tend to have red in the badge on the rear.

With your comments about usable space, I think definitely the Passat over the Golf but also the Skoda Octavia and Supurb may be well worth a look as with those you can have the park-ability of a hatch but load space more like you would expect with a wagon. (if that makes any sense).

Regarding your comments about seeing lots of soft roaders towing etc. That's the difference between "popular" and "best option" our brains are unfortunately wired to follow what our peers are doing. However popularity doesn't necessarily come from something being good/best/correct, it's more likely marketing and other psychological phenomenon. If you read some books on the psychology of making decisions you will see exactly what I am talking about. (Malcom Gladwell and Dan Ariely have some great ones that are entertaining and easy to start with). This is especially apt in New Zealand as we have some really strong and unusual social conditionings that come from our used car industry revolving almost soley around used Japanese imports and the scare story's told to sell them. The result is you get people writing off the majority of vehicle manufacturing country's and trying to get a Japanese vehicle to fit every role, even roles that where there is not suitable Japanese option available. This is a bit like the situation you are in now, where the likes of VW build exactly what you are looking for, while towing with a medium/small vehicle is not on the Japanese manufacturers radar as a serious build requirement at all. Likewise, reliable, economical and powerful diesels are not a key focus for them either, especially with absolutely zero domestic diesel market vs Europe where diesels have been the majority of the market for decades.

As a last note, I agree about keeping the GTI until it dies, it has little residual value now. However, I wouldn't be a fan of towing that weight with it if it's an auto one and it will lack the trailer stability control etc. By all means keep it if you need an extra car, but if you don't actually need another vehicle I would have thought a late model Octavia/Passat would fill both roles. I am just considering paying extra rego/wof etc on more cars than you need.

Best of luck with it all, if you want to run some potential options by me (as in post the links from trademe) i am more than happy to give an opinion.

Hi cherry red, This post is going great, most poster are correct, the odd one is a bit astray, the 4x4 is the best for towing, no doubts about that, I should know having towed with lots of vehicles all around the country for years,They are more ridged and will take the load on the tow bar without sagging in the arse, they are heavy so as to not push the car around,they will not get stuck on grass areas as easily, problem is unless you know what to look out for then you need a decent mechanic to help you, the CV you mention on the PT cruizer has not worn out from towing, for light loads the front wheel drive is great, That comes to the next point that is you do tend to load things up more than you think and the load is heavier than you think, straight roads no problems, winding rads will sway the smaller cars to no end, you need some thing at least half as heavy as what your towing to be safe, that's where the bigger cars, SUV come into it. Just be careful and get someone in the know to help to avoid buying a lemon.Shop around and have fun.

lots of people have mentioned maxima but only older a32 a33 i think have a decent transmission after that they are cvt so i would avoid, i think jazz has given the best advise here so far from a towing, performance, economy perspective. my option would be diesel mondeo or passat

Mondeo was voted best tow vehicle in the UK, particularly the diesel even the 2.3 petrol is very good. Up to 2010 still has 6 speed transmission with torque convertor not the powershift. All running gear similar to Mazda 6 with minor tweaks and they are much cheaper to buy than the Mazda. Most dealerships that have Ford franchise also have Mazda franchise. They are getting good reviews in Australia and will replace the Falcon next year. Check out on-line reviews. You may be surprised

Yeah, just look at this small car towing a 1200KG caravan (same weight as OP has mentioned). So much sag and look how it's being pushed around in the corners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAH-8_x4SuE

The thing is, you can tow around the country all you like with 4WD's, until you actually tow with decent alternatives like the VW's suggested above, you don't know what you are missing. What you say may have made some sense in the 1980's but technology and vehicles have changed somewhat since then, from the better manufacturers at least.

10K buys a pretty rubbish, well used or old soft roader. If the OP had twice the budget there would be some good SUV type options. But for 10K and their specific needs the likes of the Octavia or Passat are pretty much impossible to beat. After all the are actually designed for the purpose.

Incidentally, the 2WD VW/Skoda's have a locking front diff so don't tend to get stuck on the grass. If you really want the last word in traction then just get the 4motion.

Incidentally cherry_red, I was in a Toyota Hilux that rolled half a dozen times while towing due to a fault with the trailer. The Hilux had absolutely no power to pull us out of the jackknifing, it's high centre of gravity made it roll early and roll a lot. If we had been in a VW with tow stability control however, we would almost certainly have arrived at our destination unharmed.

Yes jazz I do agree that 10K is not alot to get something decent in 4x4, With the correct know how it can be done,My experiences are with a heavier load than the OP and with different vehicles, that's all good, as said these posts are great, alot of different ideas out there, some better than others, the Best advise is to get a decent mechanic to check out whatever is bought, reliability is the key to great holidays. Goodluck.

Absolutely, if you are towing 3 Tonne then it's a whole different ballgame (and price range to do it well). But the OP isn't towing that sort of weight so doesn't need the compromise.
Totally agree on a decent pre purchase inspection (Not AA or VTNZ), no matter what you buy or how old/new.

Heck a Corolla has a 1200 kg tow rating (with brakes). Pick the right Camry and it's good for 1500, and you should be able to get a decent one for 10K.

It's not like it's a HEAVY tow, like a 2 ton+ boat and trailer.

I agree a heavy 4WD is better tow vehicle, but where the heck are you intending to haul this small caravan, and how much of a hurry are you in?

Not saying the VW / Skoda is a bad choice, they would handle it just fine too. Just your local mechanic might not be as familiar with them, while any decent mechanic should know his way around a Camry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUaCyfhpUPI

Not sure what tow rating these have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyXgMal3C1U

saw a VX commodore doing that towing a big boat up the bombays once, the driver didn't see all the smoke and steam coming from the car until it stopped.

For 10 grand you would get a lower mileage Holden or Falcon. I tow a 1400kg Caravan a lot with my VX Commodore 3.8l and it does the job really well without having to take out a mortgage for fuel. Been over most of the mountain passes in the SI. Falcodores represent a hell of a lot of car,
in that price range. PLUS. if you need bits like mirrors or the like you can get them from the wreckers

commodore station wagon

Still one of my all time YouTube favourites.
Love the line "he's burning a bit rich I'd say"!

i use to tow my zephyr with a isuzu elf van,i found having a van as a caravan tow was good for the extra junk,but needs turbo diesel,i would look at a ute as an option to

Same here, still cracks me up, and rates in my best ever list, along with whackhead simpsons best automotive prank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S3mzAzOl6o