Best bomb proof tow vehicle.

T

The Bear78

150 000 miles and just broken in!
VIP Member
T6 Guru
Evening.
We fairly regularly tow a horse box with one or two horses behind the T6. As capable as it is, it's clearly not the best option for this so we are looking to buy something better suited to towing. Additionally, being half decent off road and not too blingy in the process would be a bonus. You should see the state of the T6 after some events...
We are planning to part with the wife's Kia Rio as I need my van for far too many other hobbies! Also, it can't be too big and cumbersome as, replacing the Rio, it will likely do a bit of running around the town too.
So far the shortlist is;

Mitsubishi Shogun SWB (LWB just too big)
Toyota Hilux
Toyota Land cruiser Colorado
VW Amarok
Nissan Navara

I'd love a normal Land cruiser but they're thirsty beasts and so coveted that they're silly money.
As much as I like some Land Rover products they're just too unreliable. Similarly the Ford Ranger looks a decent proposition but they too don't fair well in the reliability stakes.

Any other ideas out there?
Ultimately it needs to be 4x4 with 4 seats, reliable and happy towing over 2000kg (most of the above have 3000 - 3500kg towing capability).
 
Landcruiser Colorado, reliable, well made, nice to drive, good tow vehicles. Unless you need a pick up, it'd be my choice.
 
We got the XC70 for similar events in field reasons thought with lighter loads.

While the XC70 is pretty much done as a model the XC90 appears quite capable with no worse reliability than a modern emission compliant diesel and might be worth a look.
 
VW Touareg perhaps? A friend has one and regularly moves heavy loads on tri axle trailer, farm machinery etc... Had a new discovery but mpg was down to 17mpg... Delighted with Touareg. Some dough though!
 
I’d go for Nissan Patrol. My 5 door 2.8td 6 cylinder could take anything. I even pulled a Bus off a ditch :) and pulled my friend’s Eurostar to the repair garage no bother. What a beast! Main issue 5th gear synchro gone… after 160k miles… repaired it and done another 100k miles before selling it. 25mpg regardless of speed, towing or not. Not sure about reliability of the 3 liter 4 pot diesel though.
 
I‘d suggest looking at a Volvo XC60 Mk1 D5 AWD. I ran a 2017 D5 AWD Volvo XC60 RDesign Lux Mk1 from new until this year. With all season tyres It’s a terrific package for towing in all weathers and it was reliable too with only a boost pressure sensor failing in 6 years. A vastly underrated and capable car that I rather miss.
 
I had a Touareg, great understated vehicle.
our new Discovery 5 ticks all the boxes, but for a tow tug you can’t beat a Discovery 4 (not a 3!)
 
I hadn't realised how well regarded the Touareg is as a tow vehicle. It certainly seems to be more than capable and would satisfy many of our other requirements.
@Loz are the later Disco's more reliable?
 
Another vote for a Toureg...I had a 3.0 V6 TDi and remapped it. It would tow a twin axle caravan like it wasn't there and was a lovely car to drive.
 
Pick ups are great, but compromised if you want to use them as a car. I had an Amarok. The rear seats are not overly comfortable. The rear bulkhead makes the back rests very upright. If you have people in the back, then stuff you need to carry has to go in the bed. Whatever top or roller cover you have, water will get in. I used to load everything into plastic boxes to keep it dry.
 
dubber36 said:
Whatever top or roller cover you have, water will get in.
Click to expand...
A friend with a Navara also found even if you have a decent hard top type cover the thing he didn't anticipate is that grub gets into the gap between the two glass panels where the hardtop meets the cab and it used to drive him nuts. Very much a first world problem but I guess if you use the vehicle every day little niggles like that can really annoy.
 
Loz said:
I had a Touareg, great understated vehicle.
our new Discovery 5 ticks all the boxes, but for a tow tug you can’t beat a Discovery 4 (not a 3!)
Click to expand...
Second the D4, the best tow vehicle I've ever used.
 
The Bear78 said:
Is the crankshaft issue not a problem? I've seen a few for sale with new engines...
It's worrisome enough waiting for the DMF to go on the T6!!
Click to expand...
We got rid of out 2016 D4 because of concerns about the crankshaft.
A friend has a Touareg and tows a big ’van with it. They are well specified and when in day to day use get far better fuel consumption than a Discovery.
Some other friends have BMW X5s as tow barges and rate them highly.
 
Wasn’t the 2.7v6 diesel with crankshaft issues?
Euro6 tdv6 and 2.0 diesel euro 6 all suffer from oil dilution in the sump and consequent dpf issue Problem never solved by jaguar/Landrover.
I have sold my Jag 20d after 16k miles. Light on the dash every 2k miles, oil and filter change. They have then updated the software to tell the light to come on when the dilution was at 7%. So oil and filter change after 3k miles after update. Genius.
I liked the car and got a decent deal to get the same car with the 3.0v6d, oil change every 6k miles. After 10k miles I have sold the car. That was my last Jaguar/landrover diesel ever since.
 
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