Review automatic towing cars?

knightstyle

Anyone using a 2 to 5 year old automatic car to tow a caravan? If so how is it?
Is there anywhere I can compare these cars? I cannot even find the towing limits of non current automatic cars!

forgotmyname

Parkers have the towing limits, cars upto 10 years old i think.

How is it in what way? Towing what weight? Im sure there is someone out there with a small hatchback with a 1200cc 70bhp engine and sub 1000kg car towing a larger 1300kg caravan with 4 kids and 2 dogs and everything including the kitchen sink loaded to the roof and then some.

They will claim it tows fine.

Someone else may think at least 100bhp per ton and a trailer thats 50% of the cars kerbweight at most.

Marktheshark

Towed with many cars over the years.
The worst, Mondeo TDCI, always in the wrong gear with its 6 speed manual box.
Omega estate Auto was ok but needed revving to get going.
Renault 1.9 RX4, manual, not powerful enough and really struggled.

The best was mercedes E320 CDI auto estate, the levelling suspension keeps it level and with a 3.2 245 BHP straight six turbo diesel, you need a passenger to remind you you have a caravan on the back, it was effortless towing and had the brakes to stop as well.

Silver-Surfer_2

Marktheshark wrote: »

Towed with many cars over the years.
The worst, Mondeo TDCI, always in the wrong gear with its 6 speed manual box.
Omega estate Auto was ok but needed revving to get going.
Renault 1.9 RX4, manual, not powerful enough and really struggled.

The best was mercedes E320 CDI auto estate, the levelling suspension keeps it level and with a 3.2 245 BHP straight six turbo diesel, you need a passenger to remind you you have a caravan on the back, it was effortless towing and had the brakes to stop as well.

All down to a poor driver then.

Herzlos

Might be worth having a look at one of the caravan magazines for current reviews.

How heavy is the caravan?

Hintza

http://www.uktow.com/towing%20capacity.asp#123

marlot

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/reviews/tow-car

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/news-and-events/awards/towcar-of-the-year-2015

http://www.thetowcarawards.com/

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/advice-and-training/choosing-a-vehicle/match-your-car-and-caravan

marlot

knightstyle wrote: »

Anyone using a 2 to 5 year old automatic car to tow a caravan? If so how is it?

Automatics make the best towcars - I wouldn't go back to a manual.

I'd avoid DSG gearboxes though - many now need gearbox oil changes every four years - and that's before you start using them for towing. A traditional torque convertor gearbox may give slightly worse MPG, but tends to cope well with towing.

After eight years towing with a Toyota Landcruiser Auto, I've just downsized to the new model Kia Sorento auto. http://www.practicalcaravan.com/reviews/tow-car/36216-kia-sorento

knightstyle

Thanks Marlot but that Sorento is the latest and too expensive for me, the other reviews were for new manual cars so still looking for a review of cars like the Qashquai, Rav-4, HRV autos now costing around £10k.
For example there are plenty of 1.6 Qashquai autos around from 2010, and a few 2.0 ones, do they have the same gear box and why do some have sat nav and some do not, same model, so I assume there was an update? What else did they update?
Marktheshark, sorry but I won't be getting any of these, my DW has to have a higher sitting position and an auto due to physical problems.
Current car is a 1.6 Juke auto which is OK but want something a bit bigger/heavier.

JP08

Probably doesn't apply now, but "back in the day"* you'd find recommendations to add some means of cooling the autobox. I guess most autos now have their little radiator for cooling the transmission fluid.

* As recommended on my old 3 litre Humber Super Snipe with the Borg Warner 35 transmission if to be used for towing.

Gloomendoom

I tow with a big auto. My recommendation would be to go as heavy and as powerful as possible and stick to a traditional torque converter auto. It's the torque converter that makes the difference.

The only problem is that when you aren't towing, probably the vast majority of the time, you are driving a big heavy gas guzzler.

With regard to the wear on the gearbox, I was given a piece of advice by a chap that retired early after 30 years repairing worn autoboxes. He said to avoid using top (overdrive) gear when towing a heavy caravan/trailer as it over-stresses the gearbox. That was with a five speed box, presumably with an eight speed, you would need to avoid the top two gears.