Good Tow Cars?

[iplen]

There are plenty of people about now who rate Hyundai build quality over Toyota etc, I know 3 people with ix35s, and all of them rave about them. I will still hassle you for owning one though Chub

[260DET]

Kia Sorento is another diesel SUV but once again hard to find one for ~$20,000 without the high k's http://www.carsales.com.au/used/kia/sorento/diesel/

[warps]

Auto Tdi's just work. I've gone from a 6 speed manual pathfinder to a 5 speed auto Pathfinder and the auto is much smoother and better for towing, specially reversing into the driveway, manoeuvring around the paddock at an event etc, I'm not a fan of autos either, but for towing, auto tdi is the only way to go. Just be careful as some might need a trans cooler fitted for heavy duty work.

Huyndai have lifted their game, and the drivetrain in the santa fe (same as the Kia I believe) was actually euro designed and built. I don't care what anyone says - the euros have the expertise in turbo diesels, and Japan is only now cstching up with them.

The mid range suv's make great family cars, by the way. Our pathfinder gets used most of the time, and it's easy to park, great visibility, comfortable and cheap to run. The rex only gets taken out when I want to get from point a to b quickly, or want to have a bit of fun.

I don;t know what kind of TDI SUV you're going to get for $20k though. We sold our 5 year old pathfinder for high 20's, and it spent a good deal of time belting around mine sites and towing rally cars through the bush. Still, scrubbed up clean enough so we did ok on the resale.

[260DET]

Going x eyed trawling through Carsales, need a break, Mercedes ML270 diesel SUV with reasonable k's for $15000 anyone? Unpleasant parts and repair costs would put me off but then I'm not a Eurotragic

[evil_weevil]

Ian, I wouldnt expect anything less haha

[Marlin]

Early ML270 are pretty terrible things Rich. Very rattly, fair bit of lag, and don't really drive nice. Poorly built too.

A mate had one from new. Even then it was a bit ordinary.

[260DET]

Seeing I have to get a tow car sometime have done more research in the $20,000 diesel SUV/4WD category. Quite a few various model Nissans, some with quite reasonable k's for that money on Carsales. Thanks for your tips Ben, no Merc for me then

Edited April 17, 2012 by 260DET

[zebra]

Ok...I remember Jeeps being mentioned before (the V8 ones)

any one have thoughts on teh mid 90's Cherokee with the 4L six?

seem to have a 2.2ton braked tow capacity which is perfect, what are they like to live with, I hear they are pretty bullet proof too

[warps]

Definitely need to fit a trans cooler if you want to tow with the 4L Jeep. We towed from Maitland to Coffs, and the transmission nearly shat itself going up the range north of Tamworth. It overheated and started doing all sorts of weird stuff

Apart from that, it seemed ok for towing, but it was nearly new at the time. don't know how they would have fared with 15 years and a couple hundred thou on the clock.

[zebra]

Wont be towing any great distance (wakie is only an hour away and mostly flat)

Transcooler is a must for any auto imo anyway

What was it like to live with? I know they are a little truck like but I can live with that if they are resonably comfortable

It will be a daily most of the time and the missus has to drive it too

[warps]

It wasn't mine, so I didn't have to live with it. At the time (about 96 or 97) it seemed pretty plush for a 4WD, and I got the impression that it was a luxo SUV without any real SUV capabilities, but I've always been that way about Cherokees, so probably a biased viewpoint. From memory, it seemed to do everything else well enough, the overheating trans was the only thing that stuck in my mind. It belonged to a company director, so he only had it for a couple of years before moving on to something else.

[zebra]

Fair enough

I wont be doing any serious off road stuff anyway

maybe a few dirt tracks/beaches to go fishing/camping etc

[fatz]

Three months in and I am happy to wave the q7 flag again

Awesome tow car(so much better than the potoroos and prado I have had)

Tow rags can be cheaP and are the same cars but smaller

[JAS-25T]

3.0 tdi?

[fatz]

Yup

Two years time I'll upgrade to he v8

[260DET]

Anything over 2000kg with power to match will make a decent tow car, trick for some of us is to find a DD that will do the tow car thing reasonably well. Not everyone wants a stump pulling 4be truck in the garage

Edited April 20, 2012 by 260DET

[essay]

Three months in and I am happy to wave the q7 flag again

Awesome tow car(so much better than the potoroos and prado I have had)

Tow rags can be cheaP and are the same cars but smaller

Q7 is AWD, very unlikely to get you out of slippery situations towing.

Touareg pre 2011 is 4WD with low range, gets out of slippery situations towing whatever.

Talking from experience after owning both, unless you particularly wanted Q7, VW does the job better, quality is on par with Audi

[fatz]

Yea low range is a bonus for reversing with a trailer

Tow rage is cheaper so a good buy

Boot space is shit for a family truckster though

[260DET]

Euro problematical life span plus multiple rapist parts/service costs? There is a reason why they depreciate faster than Visa can do the calculations.

[essay]

Yea low range is a bonus for reversing with a trailer

Tow rage is cheaper so a good buy

Boot space is shit for a family truckster though

Fatz, I'm not doing this to get into an argument, just so the facts are there for anyone considering a good tow car.

Not only bonus for reversing?, I was more thinking of driving forwards through say, a wet grassed parking area. Have been stuck with Q7, never with Touareg, even in mud.

Depends what year, but yes, generally VW 3.0TDI is cheaper.

Never found VW lacking in boot space, compared to Q7, remember Q7 is longer but roofline tapers down, VW is upright, more rectangular.

Just sayin'.