Hi All,

I have a friend who's looking for a new car (really it's not me, honest).

He'd quite like a small estate, front runners being the Fabia and the Focus, and looking to spend 7-8k.

The problem is that he needs to tow a trailer-tent with the car.

The Focus has a choice of 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre petrol engines, all of which seem powerful and torquey enough to tow with.

The only suitable Fabia engine in the price range is the 1.4 16v and it seems a little low on torque (93 lb/ft).

Would it struggle or would it be more than up to the job?

Thanks folks. :cheers:

Honestly it's not me, I really have no intested in towing things (hence why I can't answer his question).

Hullo

The logical choice would be a diesel Fabia I reckon, but I don't think they do the estate with the TDI engine, only the SDI... :(

I'm not convinced how well a 1.4 16v will pull anything as they don't have much torque I think.

Hullo

The logical choice would be a diesel Fabia I reckon' date=' but I don't think they do the estate with the TDI engine, only the SDI... :(

I'm not convinced how well a 1.4 16v will pull anything as they don't have much torque I think.[/quote']

The 1.9TDi is available in the estate. I think only the low power 1.2 is excluded from the estates.

The TDi is a fair bit more expensive and since the car will only be doing around 8000 miles a year it won't make big fuel savings.

I think you could be right about the 1.4 16v's lack of torque. If only the 2.0 was in the price range.

It depends on how old a car you were looking to buy.

The 2.0 is pretty rare anyway , but there should be some 1.9TDi estates around that would be within budget

Would it struggle or would it be more than up to the job?

Course it'll be up to the job.

I'm guessing by the fact he's looking at a Fabia/Focus estate and contemplating towing that he's not some kind of speed-hungry petrolhead, so he's obviously not going to be in a hurry when he's towing stuff. Therefore it will be adequate.

I mean, people used to tow *caravans* with Vauxhall Vivas and Austin Maxis, doubt that had 200+ lb/ft of torque...

*Or* tell your friend to get an even cheaper car and put the difference towards staying in hotels...

Rob.

dont think that towing is just about power torque.. i've found the tuscan is useless as a tow car... however it is good for pulling :evil:

dont think that towing is just about power torque.. i've found the tuscan is useless as a tow car...

Where does the tow bar fit? :p

Rob.

I would have hesitated to recommend a 1.4 16v manual for towing until I reread the initial post and saw that the towed vehicle is a trailer-tent. A diesel would be ideal, or the 2.0 with 170Nm at 2400rpm - a nice low rpm. The 1.4 16v manual develops 100bhp and 126Nm at 4400rpm - but the latter figure is a bit too high in my experience to make towing relaxing. (In further comparison the 1.9SDI 64hp develops 126Nm, but at a lowly 1600-2800rpm). The 1.4 can tow up to 850kg braked so a trailer-tent should be well within its capabilities. But it boils down to a question of how it would tow, and there are better engine options in the Fabia range.

Course it'll be up to the job.

I'm guessing by the fact he's looking at a Fabia/Focus estate and contemplating towing that he's not some kind of speed-hungry petrolhead' date=' so he's obviously not going to be in a hurry when he's towing stuff. Therefore it will be adequate.

I mean, people used to tow *caravans* with Vauxhall Vivas and Austin Maxis, doubt that had 200+ lb/ft of torque...

*Or* tell your friend to get an even cheaper car and put the difference towards staying in hotels...

Rob.[/quote']

Cheers guys.

I think I've gotten myself into a, torque = pulling power = towing, confusion.

You're right in that he's not a petrol-head. He's a mountain biker who needs a good amount of boot space but he's just passed his test (at the ripe old age of 27) and therefore would like a relatively small and easy to park car.

He learned to drive in a Fabia SDi, which he liked, but found very slow.

I'm with you on the hotel vs camping question To each his own I guess.

To my mind it seems like a waste to buy a car on the strength of something it will only have to do once or twice a year.

The trailer-tent used to be pictured on my profile.

Maybe it's worth considering a 2.0 Octavia, plus parking sensors of course.

Not a whole lot between the 1.6 Octavia and 2.0, apart from when it comes to insurance...

Parking sensors? Tsk, surely he's just learnt how to park properly?

Rob.

Not a whole lot between the 1.6 Octavia and 2.0' date=' apart from when it comes to insurance...

Parking sensors? Tsk, surely he's just learnt how to park properly?

Rob.[/quote']

You're right. A 1.6 Ambiente hatch would probably do nicely.

Equipped with all the essentials + more and plenty available under 7 grand.

The last friend who asked me what car to buy ended up getting an Octavia 1.6 GLXi. I see a trend emerging.