Towing With 1.6 Fsi

[chris p]

Hi
I am thinking of buying a caravan and can't decide if my current car a Octavia estate 1.6fsi will be up to the job, the mtplw of the caravan will be 1200kg.
Does anyone out there have any experience of towing with this model or will I have to bite the bullet and go for the 2.0 tdi?

Thanks

[Ray_Green]

Originally Posted by chris p

Hi
I am thinking of buying a caravan and can't decide if my current car a Octavia estate 1.6fsi will be up to the job, the mtplw of the caravan will be 1200kg.
Does anyone out there have any experience of towing with this model or will I have to bite the bullet and go for the 2.0 tdi?

Thanks

But what a tasty bullet it is

[mdk1]

Welcome to Briskoda,
Iwould recommend the 2.0tdi as the towing limit is 1400kg as opposed to the 1.6 which i belive is 1200kg, the nose weight is 75kg on both.

Good to have another caravanner on board

[Sammycarp]

Originally Posted by mdk1

Good to have another caravanner on board

No its not, spawn of the Devil I tell thee!

[eccleshill]

A bit dodgy asking this question on a non caravan specific forum. The reply you will get from non caravanners will inevitably be that you really do need the most powerful engine available because:

at best - you will decide you can't afford the most powerful engine and give up on the idea of towing a caravan.

at worst - you will be less of a rolling roadblock in the event that you do take to the road

So for my 2 penn'orth - wait until the 170BHP diesel is available

I forgot option 3 - which is to delay you as long as possible because when the 170BHP is available a 190BHP will be in the pipeline and...

[sebulbus]

Having the same engine, I would recommend against it. I once attempted to tow a friend's Golf mk4 which is about 1.4 tons and I could feel there is simply not enough torque to pull such a heavy load for more than a couple miles without ruining the clutch, since it needs to be revved pretty hard when starting or on inclines.
I never tried to pick up any speed while towing, but the car felt powerless and not up to the challenge.
For towing go with a diesel. Not only the allowed towable weight is greater, but it is more suited to the task as well.

[Arg]

The manual for my 1350kg caravan says a 1.6 is powerful enough to pull it. But I wish I had something more powerful then the 200hp I have cause it struggles with hills. I have to keep changing down to 5th to keep at 70.

[chris p]

Thanks
this is what I was afraid of, although it is quite powerful for a 1600 it does seem to lack torque.
My previous octavia 2.0 petrol (old model) did seem to have loads more torque.

[Marcus100]

Ooops just suggested on Caravan Talk you ask here! And you've been gone and done it!

Happy caravanning!

[mdk1]

Originally Posted by Marcus100

Ooops just suggested on Caravan Talk you ask here! And you've been gone and done it!

Happy caravanning!

I didn't want to put another link to briskoda over on caravan talk as i've already placed a few