Been a while since I've posted here and thought I'd share...
Decided a few weeks back it was time for a change of tow mule, went to a great deal of effort to choose the successor to our trusty C5... the contenders were numerous,
Decided I didn't want a large 4x4 as the car is used daily for taking kids to school etc and whilst 4x4's mostly tow very well I still fear stability is not all it could be with high centre of gravity but that's a whole different can of worms for another day...
So with a budget of £3,000 and bearing in mind our van has a maximum weight of 1500kg I ended up with the following
Vauxhall Vectra CDTi
Saab 9-5 3.0 TiD
Merc c220 CDi
BMW 320d Touring
VW Passat 1.9TDi
Audi A4 TDi (1.9 or 2.5)
and Audi A6 2.5 TDi
So after much deliberation I threw caution to the wind and bought a 2001 Audi A6 2.5 TDI SE Quattro Avant which with full history, more toys than you can shake a stick at and a factory fitted detachable towbar it fitted the bill.
Now for a car with 180 Bhp and in excess of 270lb/ft of torque it's not as quick as you may think but at a little over 1800kg kerb weight it's not a surprise but don't get me wrong, this is not a slow car.
Anyway, solo it drives as you would expect for a car in this class, very well and will cruise at just about any speed you choose... not to bad on fuel with mid-late 30's solo on a run, again it's a big, heavy car with 4wd so not to bad.
Enough of all this, how does it tow? Now I always thought the C5 was a good tow car and in many ways it is, what it shows is just how exceptional the A6 is. It is completely un-fazed by cross winds, passing or being passed by large vehicles and made light work of the relatively steep inclines on the A9 whilst still returning 22-23mpg. Okay the fuel consumption isn't great but I am more than happy with that compromise.
Yes you can get a newer car for that budget but I struggled to find anything else as well engineered that could handle the weight, all in all I am pretty pleased so far, just thought I'd share and hopefully may be of some use to someone.
We've got an a6 allroad with the same engine. I think it's a fantastic car both solo and as a towcar. Driven 200 miles today and got 39 mpg solo. About the best we've ever got.
Quote: Originally posted by 888dee on 23/4/2011
I did look at superb's but discovered they are quite a rare car and only come with the 1.9tdi....
2.5 TDI V6, same engine as yours, 1.9 tdi engine in 130bhp best all rounder, 2ltr 140 tdi do not get one as the oil pump goes and nacks the engine, and 2ltr 170 tdi more power than you will need, all man or auto
There is also a 1.9 100 bhp with max tow of 1450, all the above have a max tow of 1600 revised by skoda
All tdis have been replaced by the new common rail engines providing even better economy and are as quiet as a petrol engine
Skoda is a bloody good car, build quality not quite as good as Audi, but you get what you pay for. Take no notice of those who still think Skodas have the engines in the back. They make REAL good tow cars.
well been away this weekend, down to Blair Drummond Caravan Park (review to follow) and still very pleased with the A6.
Fuel consumption on the way there was not great due to stiff head wind all the way there but was able to maintain 60 no problem and superbly stable.
On the way back tail wind was noticed by a 5mpg improvement
only thing which has taken a little getting used to for a fairly big capacity diesel it doesn't have huge low down torque so is actually quite easy to stall when close in manoeuvring...
I suppose it could be re-chipped to give a bit more grunt I am sure some one will come along and tell you one way or t'other but I have to say it looks rather nice
Stew
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Topic: Audi A6 2.5TDi Quattro
