Tow Vehicle

[Herbmiester 923]

I bought a boat a while back and my Toyota Highlander is on the limit for Towing it. The Highlander has a 2t braked tow rating and the boat trailer is about 2.2t. I have been looking at vehicles with better tow ratings and found that the Touareg, Q7 and Cayenne all have a 3.5t rating. As the are all built on the same chassis and even share some engines I would like any thoughts on suitability, reliability and maintenance issues. I did consider an E70 X5 but it has a 2.5t rating, so I guess its still in the mix.Thoughts?

 

Edited December 16, 2018 by Herbmiester

[andrewm 236]

A few other options

Ford Ranger 3500kg

Everest 3000kg

Landrover/Rangerover upto 3500kg

 

 

[Gabe79 410]

I'm sorry, but have you considered selling the boat? You'd have so many more car options then... 

[Herbmiester 923]

24 minutes ago, Gabe79 said:

I'm sorry, but have you considered selling the boat? You'd have so many more car options then... 

No boat wont be sold. neither will other BMW's just the Toyota. 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

7 hours ago, Herbmiester said:

I did consider an E70 X5 but it has a 2.5t rating, so I guess its still in the mix.Thoughts?

 

E70 X5 can have 3.5tonne towing rating if it has the factory fitted tow-bar option (3AC) plus the Increased Towing Capacity option (233), local fit tow-bars are only 2.5t. I would say that the E70 3-ltr diesel is a great tow wagon, lots of grunt, still drives nice and enough weight up-front that it doesn't get pushed about by the load. Still pretty economical when towing (and not slowly either..).

Look for those options, were very popular for NZ New vehicles to be fitted with them.

[dirtydoogle 383]

If it helps we tow a 10m three axle with two to three side by sides with both an e53 and e70, with a combined milage of around 300,000km and have yet to rip a draw bar out or run out of brakes

[WYZEUP 283]

Most large passenger SUV's are only rated to 2.0t because of the transmissions they use.

You want something with a traditional automatic gearbox. How long do you want the list? 

Hilux

Fortuner

Prado

Colorado

Trailblazer

Navara

Pathfinder (D40 shape)

X5

Q7

the list goes on....diesel is the best way to go for towing, gives you more pulling power, just depends on the budget you want to spend

[coop 261]

Consiser the mercedes GL320 cdi or GL500 both can be had for around $20k now. 3.5t rated. The Petrols are better value for money. 

 

Jeep Grand Cherokee WK with the Mercedes diesel running gear can be had for as low as $10k. Probably the best value true 4wd on the market. 

 

i think the ranger is the most over rated vehicle of this decade. 

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

ill never forget being in my dads mates V10 TDI toureg many moons ago when it was nearly new. had what i remember to be a 40 series Cruiser based off roader on trailer on the back. lights went green at the Haywards lights (back when there were such) and 5 up in the toureg we dragged off a 4/5/6 Evo (i remember the triangle lights) which at the time was crash hot to a young impressionable teen such as my self.

so although they have the wrong badge on the front, they do alright by me.

[Ace Of Spades 51]

The 3.0tdi q7 (s line) is my pick, Have had 1st gen and 2nd gen now and rate them highly, chew through tires and brakes tho.
Towed a 1.5t trailer an a hilux fine, 3.2t boat/trailer easy. No major push from either, plenty of brakes and grip to play with. 
4.2 TDI is fast, v10 TDI is crazy fast.

[Herbmiester 923]

So I have been test driving, The Q7 's even the early ones are quite nice, the Toureg is a bit small on interior space but again a nice drive (All diesel 3l). I drove utes as well and dynamically they are a long way behind but that is to be expected. I thought the Ranger and Amarok were a way ahead of the Hilux, Colorado and Triton. Amarok's out though as no rear airbags for the kids. Yet to drive an E70 but definitely on the list but it seems like the Q7 has more interior room and its a 7 seater which is a bonus.