I'm not even going to bother writing to the Caravan [and Motorhome] Club this time.
In this month's magazine there is a test of the C4 Cactus Ripcurl. This includes a report on the towing test which gives 0-50, 0-60, 30-50 in gear times etc. but makes no mention of what they were towing.
The "technical" (haha) summary gives the kerb weight of 1068kg and the 85% figure to a precision of 100 grams, 907.8kg. Nowhere is it mentioned that the towing limit for this car is only 825kg.
Neither is it mentioned that the towing capacity is likely to be further limited by the train weight unless the car is lightly loaded.
The purpose of this post is not really to rant but to inform anyone who might be considering the car, so I will give the full info (5 door manual diesel):
The basic payload of the car is therefore a very respectable 542kg.
If you were to tow 825kg, you would have 317kg left for passengers, luggage, and the noseweight (say 50kg). 267kg is about 2 people plus c. 100kg of luggage and equipment.
Incredibly, this car won Towcar of the Year in 2016 in the under-£20,000 category. Good luck even finding a caravan with a MPTLM of 825kg or lower, let alone one you could tow with the car loaded to anywhere near its capacity.
At the time I wrote to the CC, suggesting they should make the limitations clear - it isn't unreasonable to think people might want to go and buy a C4 Cactus, having seen their results. The reply I got, in full, was Thank you for your email. The Citroen Cactus was the best towing vehicle in its category, despite its GTW limitations. Please note that the Peugeot 2008 was also restricted on its towing weight based on the GTW.
I wrote again, politely of course, "Can I just add, for your information, that the matching tool that might alert members to the limitations of this car will not currently help, as it is using an incorrect value for GTW (2435 rather than 2210) and the noseweight limit figure is not populated."
Having seen this month's article lauding the C4 Cactus, I checked back to the CC matching tool. The train weight is still shown as 2435 and the noseweight remains blank.
Anybody can make a mistake, but it seems not all can admit to it or put it right.
Do you think the CC really care?
They get paid for the article, people will buy and get ripped off because the CC recommend it.
They are a rip off all the way.
No you are not being unreasonable, daft maybe for staying in a club like that, Do not think though that because your a member you can change anything. That's not cricket old chap.
They need money to buy that duffer another van to wreck at this years CofTY.
I like some of the sites, Peter:) There's nothing you can tell them about cleaning the facilities, and most of the wardens are great, although in recent years they have seemingly been asked to impose some silly rules with apparently very little flexibility.
I'm sure some of the people higher up are good too, but there's really no excuse in my opinion for giving patronising non-answers and continuing to provide duff information when it has been pointed out to them.
Quote: Originally posted by Alan Partridge on 12/5/2017
I like some of the sites, Peter:) There's nothing you can tell them about cleaning the facilities, and most of the wardens are great, although in recent years they have seemingly been asked to impose some silly rules with apparently very little flexibility.
I'm sure some of the people higher up are good too, but there's really no excuse in my opinion for giving patronising non-answers and continuing to provide duff information when it has been pointed out to them.
Too true Alan, maybe if they listened to members and took heed of what they were pointing out, the Club itself might be better thought of.
Matching sites are just a computer generated guide. One needs to refer to manufacturer literature for both car & caravan in order to decide what is a good match.
Quote: Originally posted by Opensauce on 12/5/2017
Matching sites are just a computer generated guide. One needs to refer to manufacturer literature for both car & caravan in order to decide what is a good match.
I quite agree, and I always would check, although this is the "member only", "detailed outfit matching service"; it is not unreasonable to think that members might rely on it or that the Club might ensure that the data it does give are accurate.
It can be quite tricky to get car data. It's common for brochures not to give the maximum gross train weight.
Having done this sort of check 'for real' a number of times, I would say use every source you can find. Manufacturers tend to refer you to dealers, and I have had vert variable experiences with those.
Ultimately, you need to look at the weight plate on the vehicle, but that is not so easy when you are researching what to buy.
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Topic: Citroen C4 Cactus
