Hi we had a vx insignia 2.0ltr Diesel Turbo sri estate in 2018. It was a bloody good car spacious and everything, however towing our van Adra Altea 542uK mmtplm of 1300 Kgs, it was a nightmare. No matter what i did to alter the weight balance in the van and car could iget it to stop swaying at 55 mph. however the car coped with the weight and fuel consumption was 30 ish towing.
No other car prior to and after has suffered like this with the same van, and loadings etc.
I can only put it down to lowered stance of the SRI models and the large rear over hangs of the estate.
Can't comment on the Insignia personally, but can confirm TrigGLX's experience that a perfectly good stable outfit behind one car (well actually many different cars) can become a nightmare behind another for no obviously good reason. You can make all the numbers work perfectly well, but there is always a risk that it's not a match made in heaven! Rarely a complete disaster (if you don't lose it altogether!), generally just a case of maybe driving a little slower, and treating more difficult situations with a little more thought/consideration.
The instability has been my concern. I had an Audi A6 sportline estate a few tears ago towing the caravan mentioned. Every trip , no matter what I did was stressful due to swaying .
I moved onto a mk3 Honda Crv then to the XC90 both of which I would recommend. I don't know if it's because they break the airflow in front of the caravan but they are both great tow cars.
My best towcar ( but only upto 1300kg) was a 2007 Citroën Xsara Picasso.
Quote: Originally posted by bigtimz on 12/5/2023
Thanks for your replies!
The instability has been my concern. I had an Audi A6 sportline estate a few tears ago towing the caravan mentioned. Every trip , no matter what I did was stressful due to swaying .
I moved onto a mk3 Honda Crv then to the XC90 both of which I would recommend. I don't know if it's because they break the airflow in front of the caravan but they are both great tow cars.
My best towcar ( but only upto 1300kg) was a 2007 Citroën Xsara Picasso.
Thanks!
Strangely, my current car is a 2017 Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, and it's an amazingly good tow car. I bought it new before I'd decided to get a caravan, so certainly not chosen for it's towing qualities, all the numbers are pushed quite close to the limits, a 1.2 litre petrol (and only 3 cylinder at that!) engine hardly seems adequate for a 4 berth 1310Kg MPTLM caravan, but it absolutely shines, and after nearly 5 years and many thousands of miles I've pushed it hard dragging the van all over the country, and it's never disappointed or given concern. It's VERY eager to push on, and I've hit well over 70mph when attention has slipped yet it's still rock solid. I think if anything it more than proves that you just can't tell until you try!
I think TrigGLX's comment about the rear overhang of his Insignia may have a point, my C4GP is quite lightweight (lots of plastic and aluminium panels) but pretty much has a wheel on each corner and is very wide, so the caravan has less influence on it.
Rear overhang makes a big difference to towing any trailer. The further behind the rear wheels the towbar is the greater the leverage effect the trailer exerts, both vertically and horizontally. This leverage effect reduces the vertical load on the front wheels of the tow vehicle while at the same time, any yaw from the trailer is exaggerated at the front wheels. This effect is even worse on cars such as sports estates with harder suspension
Nothing to do with an insignia but more a general remark about towcars and a repeat of what trigGLX said, we had a 3 litre diesel BMW X3, which is classed as a great towcar and a 1600KG Swift Celeste, the numbers were great on paper, nose weight, 85% rule, everything, but in reality I found it an awful match, even at 55mph towing through France, it just felt really unstable every time a lorry went past us, it always felt like it was on the verge of snaking, no matter what we did with the weight in the caravan, it obviously has an end bed and we were towing with nothing under the bed, it was terrible
Hi all glad it was not just me then, we have had two BM X1 since then with no issues towing with the same van. Just for ref carsa we have used to tow this van at 1300 Kgs MTPLM.
1. 2006 Ford Focus 2.0ltr diesel estate (Zetec) Brilliant no issues
2. 2009 Volvo V70 2.0ltr Diesel (same engine as above) Brilliant no issues
3. 2012 Vx Antara 2.2ltr Diesel (did not know caravan was there) Brilliant no issues
4. Vx Insignia 2.0 ltr diesel estate, was not stable, and could not get stable.
5. 2018 BMW X1 xdrive (4x4) 2.0ltr Diesel, Brilliant no issues sure footed
6. 2022 BMW X1 sdrive 2.0lte petrol, Again brilliant, but no as sure footed as the xdrive, but amazingly just as frugel, as the diesel on fuel.
Next ??, as looking to get a new heavier van at around 1500 Kgs MTPLM
I had a 2 litre tdci Diesel Hatch a few years ago a 64 plate. Used it to tow Avondale Dart max MTPLM 1260kg the only issue I had was that for me it "bounced" more than any other towcar I had or have had since. I used it for trips out every month March to December and trips to france for a fortnight in August. My opinion is it wasn't the best towcar but was quite ok. The best tow car I had was a 2 l tdci Mondeo 06 plate very stable and lots of torque.
My brother has had company cars for the last 10 years or so, had 2 insgnias, both diesel manuals, and now has a 21 plate mondeo.All estates.
Tows a van aprox 1400 KG so quite lite, and has said the mondeo is the best of the bunch so far.
However our mum has a Passat estate 2015 2.0 diesel.
And this tows the van far better than either of the 2 newer cars !
I use 20ltr TD sri to pull lunar lexon 585 . Tows well enough ,keep under 58mph. Occasional wobble. Bit sluggish on long hills. C5 2.2d was much better.
I had similar issues with my Insignia. In terms of capability it had no issues pulling, but was susceptible to sway and side wind gusts. My biggest issue with the car was it's lack of reliability up until the point the engine blew in Germany on my way to Italy.
I now have a Ssangyong Korando and a larger van which it pulls no problem.
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Topic: Vauxhall Insignia
via mobile 09/5/2023 at 7:17pm
