Am still on the lookout for a tow car and as yearly mileage is relatively low at 6-7k I'm considering a petrol instead due to hearing bad things
regarding modern diesels.
I was looking at various diesels like accords,avensis,kias etc but they all seem seriously flawed. I was surprised to hear of the clutch and dmf
problems on the Hondas with huge repair bills!
This got me looking at luxury petrol saloons and I stumbled across a few 3.0 lexus gs300 with low mileage (<50k) and pretty much all the toys. From
reading on line reports,it seems that apart from a few interior rattles they are pretty much bullet proof!
Anyone have any experience with these cars? Cheers
If you're doing relatively limited mileage, why not do the job properly and get something like a Range Rover?
I've got a 4.6 petrol P38, and it is a superb towing car, thanks to the torque, the weight and the self-levelling air suspension...
providing you can live with the 16mpg (towing)/19mpg (general) fuel consumption.
If you don't want to risk fragile modern diesels, why not get a low mileage 10 year old diesel? Would be hugely more economical than a large petrol, and conveniently you'd also save thousands on the purchase price! Get a family wagon rather than an ex rep car.
Leus returns around 27 mpg witout towing look for one with a gas conversion. Im looking at a Kia Sportage at the minute, Currently have a T% transporter 1.9 and its excellent for towing (after the remap) the DPF's are a problem on diesels especially if they are not getting the mileage
7k miles at 20mpg is £2.5k, so you could realistically save a grand a year on fuel.
As for the range rover It would take me over the 3500kg limit and finding a good spec low mileage diesel with reliability is tough. I had seen a few 3.0d bmw's with under 70k but I'd imagine once things do start going wrong it will hit the pocket hard. Should have said kerb weight needs to be under 2t if possible
quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
As for the range rover It would take me over the 3500kg limit ...
My t5 transporter had 176k on it and only started to have problems at 196 k so nor too bad for an old diesel
quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
As for the range rover It would take me over the 3500kg limit and finding a good spec low mileage diesel with reliability is tough. I had seen a few 3.0d bmw's with under 70k but I'd imagine once things do start going wrong it will hit the pocket hard. Should have said kerb weight needs to be under 2t if possible
Dan
You're taking far too long over this 
Every make and model has its foibles and weak spots. Set a budget, set a distance and see what's available at the time you want to buy. At your
price point, buy on condition and history not specific age and make our model.
Gas conversion on a Lexus is not a good idea, as with most Japanese cars the higher exhaust temperature of LPG is just enough to trigger valve
recession.
The partial work around is to fit a system that injects a vavle seat protecting upper cylinder lubricant into the inlet manifold, which adds to
conversion costs and more than you might think the running costs.
[Edited on 14/9/14 by britishtrident]
You can buy my car if you want, it's a 2001 2.3 SEAT Toledo. In it's day it was given a 'top tower' award!
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/archive/1999/10/27/6634939.Toledo_named_top_tower/?ref=arc
It doesn't actually have a towbar, but one can be fitted.
I'm ready to buy now,but don't want to make a bad buy!
Might seem a dumb question and maybe I have missed a previous post, but what are you planning on towing?
Anyway my two pennith worth
If it's your kitcar on a trailer the choice is massive, but there is a chance you'll be towing weight such as an 8 meter twin axle Coachman
Caravan then realistically your choice is 4x4 or van, there are plenty of cars that have the power it's the weight and control of the weight you
need. We've all seen the results when the tail wags the dog. I seem to remember an old rule of thumb that the total weight of what you tow
should not exceed 75% of the tow vehicle, that's probably different today.
I grew up caravanning and still do today and had many tow vehicles. The 4x4's have been the best for control and ease of towing by far, although
if you buy an auto find out where the gear change is set because last month I borrowed a Kia Sorrento, the mk1 3.5ltr petrol which has the higher
torque, the auto box changed around the 60mph limit, so on the motorway it kept "hunting" and if you didn't keep it about 63mph it
would settle in 2nd gear (3 speed box) and mpg was 15 
had the same issue with a older 4.2 Jag XJ6 that was 11 mpg. The Amazons and Shoguns we had
were also gas guzzlers, the worst as in single mpg figures was a petrol Jeep Cherokee.
I have towed with two P38 Range Rovers, one had the gas conversion, I am not a fan of towing weight on gas, even with the multipoint sequential system
we blew an engine with the gas jets pretty much punching holes into the block, this could well have been an installation error, who knows, those
engines were renown for being poor anyway, there is also less power on gas.
On the Range Rovers and Land Rovers we used, we fitted a Dixon Bate Shocklink which is a height adjustable tow hitch with two inbuilt shock absorbers,
this was a great invention it almost eradicated the pitching you get from bumpy roads and makes long distance towing far less tiring, you barely knew
the vans were on the back and we used to do a 700 mile in one go trek to the North of Scotland.
Having just read your previous post, I seem to be barking up the wrong tree, you're after lighter options, sorry, anyway might as well post
seeing I've written it
Enjoy the hunt
I tow with my Saab 9-5 Aero 2.3 turbo auto. Copes very well
quote:
Originally posted by mookaloid
I tow with my Saab 9-5 Aero 2.3 turbo auto. Copes very well
And mines the Estate so room in the back for a bed and a workshop
Have a look at these
jeep cherokee 2.7 diesel
pick one up really cheap & voted one of the 10 safest cars.
Jeep
I tow with a BMW E63 compact 316i, its not overly powerful given the kitcars trailer is large square edged enclosed box trailer... but there's
nothing wrong with towing with a petrol per say.
Went down to Devon and back this weekend with a sailing dingy, similar size/drag than a seven type on a single axle if a bit lighter, barely any
noticeable change in fuel consumption.
Daniel
[Edited on 15/9/2014 by dhutch]
I towed my locost with an XK8 for a couple of years towed perfectly but running at higher speeds it would wear the inside of the rear tyres away due
to squat under load, at 60moph it was fine
Best car was a 4.6 range rover, you would not have known it was attracted and you could sleep in the back as well
Hi Daniel
I tow with my Merc C180 Kompressor Estate Auto it towed mine to cadwell fine for my 1st track day.
Car weighs around 530kg about the same as the twin wheeled trailer.
Normal around town I get around 35mpg up to 45 on a long run.
Towing it dropped to around 25mpg.
Loads of room in car for gear.
Something like a Hilux Surf 3 litre D? 24mpg all day long, towing or not, air con or not. Wont even know you are towing.
buy my volvo for 250 quid.
taxed , mot'd.
at that price just , use it a second car .
max tow weight 1500kg.
quote:
Originally posted by Volvorsport
buy my volvo
I'm selling my volvo s60 d5 for something a bit bigger. Has a few minor issues but been 100% reliable for me in over 2 years.
I tow with swmbo's petrol 2.0T Saab 9-3 Auto Estate. Otherwise known as the Dog car!
I just averaged 27mpg from Manchester to Zolder and back and you barely notice the trailer is there. Day to day does 31mpg.
It was cheap to buy, has been very cheap to run (apart from Road Tax) and is well specced.
9-5 might be better if you need a bigger car.
I'd recommend the Saab route, don't rule it put because of the name! I have a 2.0 aero Saab 9-3, it has a turbo, is great fun, loads of
power, reasonably good mpg, unbelievable quality for such an amazing price, I got a 2007 with full cream leather etc etc and 65k for only £4000, has
been very reliable and it still puts a smile on my face whenever I drive it. I'd seriously recommend test driving one as it has to be seen to
believe it! It is up to the same standard as any other brand but so much cheaper! There is also a more powerful v6 model but mine does 0-60 in 7
seconds (although not when pulling a trailer)
Another vote for Land Rovers. I used to tow plenty with my 2.5DSE (2.5l BMW diesel-engine) P38 Range Rover, although have towed using the V8 model as well. Obviously the derv was better on fuel, but felt it didn't quote have the same grunt as the petrol. I now use a Defender, but have you considered a Discovery? Cheap as chips, and the usual thing that gets them is rot! And I'm pretty sure most people on here have access to or can weld to sort it out....
Strangely enough I've been looking at a saab 9-3 estate with the 2.0t engine.
The only thing that put me of was that it shared many vectra parts including engine which I was a bit wary of. But from reading forums it seems they
are pretty reliable
quote:
Originally posted by raplma
snip
I have towed with two P38 Range Rovers, one had the gas conversion, I am not a fan of towing weight on gas, even with the multipoint sequential system we blew an engine with the gas jets pretty much punching holes into the block, this could well have been an installation error, who knows, those engines were renown for being poor anyway, there is also less power on gas.
snip
At the opposites of extreme, I often tow industrial trailers with a Mondeo 1.6 diesel and it is fine. Empty trailer is 1.1 tonne.
I recently collected a 2.75t boat from Suffolk to take to Rutland and decided to use something bigger. Borrowed an Overfinch range rover supercharged
with 500 and something horsepower. Didin't even notice the trailer's brakes were jammed on for the first few miles!
[Edited on 19/9/14 by simonrh]
quote:
Originally posted by simonrh
At the opposites of extreme, I often tow industrial trailers with a Mondeo 1.6 diesel and it is fine. Empty trailer is 1.1 tonne.
I recently collected a 2.75t boat from Suffolk to take to Rutland and decided to use something bigger. Borrowed an Overfinch range rover supercharged with 500 and something horsepower. Didin't even notice the trailer's brakes were jammed on for the first few miles!
[Edited on 19/9/14 by simonrh]
Ok, I will rephrase, the brakes were dragging so heavily so that once we reached the first road wider than the boat we stopped and found smoke pouring
from the drums.
The beauty with that much power is that getting going again is a breeze
I used to tow with a Seat Leon Cupra 1.8t that was converted to run on lpg. Plenty of grunt and cheaper than running a diesel!
quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
Strangely enough I've been looking at a saab 9-3 estate with the 2.0t engine.
The only thing that put me of was that it shared many vectra parts including engine which I was a bit wary of. But from reading forums it seems they are pretty reliable
quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
Strangely enough I've been looking at a saab 9-3 estate with the 2.0t engine.
The only thing that put me of was that it shared many vectra parts including engine which I was a bit wary of. But from reading forums it seems they are pretty reliable