So, my new to me car, has broken down again. 2014 Vauxhall insignia country tourer bought in January. New engine fitted under warranty in May as it had “destroyed” (garage’s words) the old engine. Its broken down again. I’m sick of it, which is a shame as its a nice car, or would be if it worked for more than 2 months.

Long story short, what estate car to tow 1500kg caravan for max £5k. Will do max 10k miles a year but probably closer to 8k as working from home most of the time.

Anyone been in same position? Octavias are lovely but too light. Some Mondeos are too. Volvo would be great, but not sure about one in my budget. Cheers

I’m assuming you’ve got a pre 97 license?

Does it have to be an estate? My Dad tows a similar weight caravan with an 09 Santa Fe.

I currently reside on a none working farm. We just did that fields and made hay etc. I wound up driving the trailer with all the bales on. Old Kia Sorrento towing a triple axle flat bed trailer. Handled it all very well indeed. Not sure what the second hand prices of those are, but they’re both very well thought of tow cars.

If the Octy isn’t enough car maybe consider a Superb. They are huge

Merc AMG Sport?

3 series bmw should be fine, maybe go to to 5 series. We tow 1200kg with a petrol 318 touring: ok, diesel would be better for towing but we only do about 4 to 5k miles per year, of which we will probably tow less than 1000 miles. Given this, the time we spend using the car too tow is not worth the premium of a diesel, plus the rest of the mileage is relatively short trips, so petrol is better for that

Ford Ranger, you won’t notice if you have anything on the back.

Ford Ranger, you won’t notice if you have anything on the back.

or anything in front of you. there’s no place on UK roads for vehicles like that

But a one live live it Transporter, loaded up full time is tickety boo though?

But a one live live it Transporter, loaded up full time is tickety boo though?

My thoughts exactly. 😐

Merc AMG Sport?

Damn too slow.

XC70 or V70

Our Mondeo 2.0 hatch managed that, granted its on the light end of weight distribution but we managed. The estate will be better for towing that weight.

SMax?

Bit more mass than the equivalent Mondeo, 90kg nose weight (except the very early ones which may only be 75kg), drives ok, tows decently (based on me pulling 750kg unbraked trailers), seats are comfy, ergonomics generally good unless you get one of the ones where someone sneezed the stereo buttons onto the dashboard.

If you want a photo of the towing limits page of the manual for a 2011 facelift car send me a PM with an email address and I’ll send you a copy of mine tomorrow.

I’m not sure an Octavia would be too light, especially a 4×4 or Scout. Is that 1500kg MRO or MTPLM? If you do want heavier than an octavia (and to be fair you might, I didn’t like towing 1500kg with a yeti), @neilnevill’s suggestion of a superb is good.

Anyway, you should just try some options for your caravan model on https://towcar.info/

Dunno about the 4x4s but yes, a standard Octavia is far too light for 1500kg. Bear in mind it’s the equivalent of a Focus sized platform,

Not sure many normal saloons can cope with that weight, especially if thats unladen. You’d need to find something that could comfortably tow 1700k to be properly safe.

We went for a 180bhp Kuga to tow our horsebox. But they’re not in your price range yet.

Ugly as ****, but early Sportages had a good towing capacity…
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101178062386?advertising-location=at_cars&make=KIA&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&price-to=5500&model=SPORTAGE&sort=price-desc&fuel-type=Diesel&postcode=de43au&include-delivery-option=on&body-type=SUV&radius=1500&page=4

You should be able to get a tidy Honda CRV for that money too…
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107235378576?onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&body-type=SUV&advertising-location=at_cars&fuel-type=Diesel&sort=price-desc&radius=1500&include-delivery-option=on&make=HONDA&postcode=de43au&price-to=5500&page=1

Thanks for the suggestions folks… Merc AMG!!! 🤣
Had a kia sorento in the past and whilst a great tug at 20mpg and £500+ tax its a no. Prefer estates as easier for bike trips with roof bars and load carrying space. 1500kg is MTPLM but I do not like towing close to car kerb weight. Its a personal thing as i know others look at things differently. Might have to review budget a bit.

If it’s a heavy car you are after what about a Mazda 6. Judging by the weight of my bonnet plus lack of acceleration it must weigh a couple of tons minimum

Some good info on here…

https://towcar.info/towing.php

Cheers @the-muffin-man I’ve been on that site loads of times and hadn’t spotted that look up feature DOH. Cheers

Don’t go up to the max towing weight in the manual – stick with the 85% rule or (maybe 95% on modern cars, according to some). On many diesels the max towing weight in the manual is much more than 85% but on other cars it’s much less.

With a 1500kg caravan you are looking at either a big high end estate (e.g. Merc/Audi A6 etc), an SUV, an MPV or even a van.

We are currently towing a 1500kg caravan with a Subaru outback. We have very little weight in the caravan & heavy stuff in the boot. It’s ok, it could be more stable & very sensitive to nose weight. So, it is getting changed for something heavier soon though as we are planning overseas trips over the next few years.

IMO, you really want something with at least 1800kg kerb weight (makes the caravan approx 85%). I’m not aware of a practical, affordable estate that heavy.

We are fans of Jap cars. Having spoken to a few friendly German car specialists who maintain Tourags & similar, the maintenance costs are often significant.

We tested a CR-V and a D-max pickup recently. The CR-V was boring, but ticked slot of boxes.
The pickup will take bikes without needing a step ladder, and will carry kayaks & all the other clobber for an outdoor weekend easily & safely.