The older 2litre hdi is probably more reliable that the more highly stressed 1.6hdi that replaced it so it it has fsh of regular oil changes etc then probably a good as buy as any for the price.
Thanks Tentz, I am going to take the mechanic that services The Zafira with me to give it a good going over, really like the car but as i said dont want to buy it then regret it later.
------------- Exercise every day and Die Healthy....
had a brainwave last night as i have been worrying about my choice of car since reading this ,(i know i'm a silly old bugger) one of the neighbours has the same sized van as me and tows it with a ford s max 1.6 petrol ,so i asked him how it performs etc ,now the guy is a motor mechanic and knows his stuff ,NO PROBLEM at all was the reply .sigh of relief from yours truly .
Quote: Originally posted by josey60 on 19/4/2013
Hi there,hope you dont mind me jumping on this thread,We have a 2003 Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 petrol at the moment, tows ok but have to change gear a lot on hills,also not very economical, get less than 300 miles to a tank,we are looking for another tow car, seen a 2005 Citreon Picasso 2ltr HDI,what are these cars like?, its done 65000 miles,full service history,drives really nice but don,t want to buy it and then regret it.
many thanks.
hi josey ,they are a good towcar ,but watch the weight limitations i think its around 1300kg tow weight ,we had the 1.6 110bhp hdi ,same year 05 but have just had to sell it spares or repairs due to the gearbox and clutch both going .well gearbox really but you then need to put in new clutch as well .i was quoted around £1500 to £1700 for the job more than the car was worth in reality due to the mileage .
another thing to watch with the picassos is they do not like high winds and can be scary at times in them .apart from that good all round car
hi josey ,they are a good towcar ,but watch the weight limitations i think its around 1300kg tow weight
Thanks Black fox, we only have a 950kg folding camper at the moment so no problems there,we went and put deposit on car today so no going back now, garage is going to put a cam belt on even though its not yet due for one also going to change oil and filter, and full MOT we have been told by various folks that they are good cars so keep fingers crossed, anyway thanks for your replies.
Regards....
------------- Exercise every day and Die Healthy....
I have towed caravans with petrol cars no problem.
Lexus LS400 with Perle Argos, never noticed caravan was there
Mitsubishi shogun 3000, both ABI award transtar and swift challenger, no problems, acceleration to spare.
Range Rover 4.6 HSE with Lunar Lexon EB, well its a Range Rover, its in it's comfort zone
Sometimes the choices of engines isn't particularly good, but we run two Renault Trafic LWB vans, one is the 140bhp and one is the 150bhp. The newer one has the particulate filter and a warning light, but we've never seen it come on, and service periods were pretty close to optimum at about 11k miles if you followed the service light. The early one has passed 400K km on the original lump, the newer one is at about 180k km.
Apart from those, we run a V8 Discovery on LPG, which gives us all the poke we need with a fully loaded 3.5 tonne trailer behind. The TD5 engine is 135bhp, the V8 is 185bhp, economy isn't bad for a 4 litre engine and the LPG makes it affordable.
Sorry I stirred up a hornets nest. No one really answered my question so I have boldly gone into the unknown and ordered an Audi Avant 1.8 litre tfsi petrol 170hp and 320nm torque (by the way this is the same torque as the 2.o litre 143hp tdi and is available from 1400 rpm this is lower then the tdi which developes the same torque from 1750rpm!) so that should put all the petrols don't have torque arguments to bed, I have a suspicion this will tow better than a diesel its quieter and smoother for starters. Yes it will not be as economical as a diesel but at least I will have a car my wife can drive how and when she wants and isn't fitted with some dodgy filter that may or may not work and for the mileage we do tow the extra fuel we use will not be huge.
Thanks for all your responses.
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Topic: Towing with petrol
