decision time !!! Got a chance of buying a Terrano ,95 LWB for £2500 all towing gear fitted etc would make an ideal towcar.The fuel economy concerns me as does parts if owt goes wrong , ie gearbox / drivetrain etc.
Do i stick with the old Xantia or take the 4x4 route , especially in the light of the thread regarding the safety aspect of these vehicles ??
I know it would widen my choice of van in the future , i could tow whatever i wanted where the Xantia although very good , is limited slightly.
The wifes all for it , im cautious , i know it is a very cheap 4x4 , a workmate is selling it , now urgently due to divorce / CSA etc.
Thoughts please , especially anyone who has or still owns one or its twin the Maverick.
Xantia v Terrano totally no match, Terrano every time, as for safety aspects hwat were they exactly???????
i have towed many miles at a constant 60mph in all weather and never had so much as a snake.
i have also off roaded my Terrano in places most would pass out from disbelief, just an honest non big headed comment from a terrano owner and caravaner,
p.s i drive a artic for a living so used to towing, but no one who is sensible when towing and courteous to other road user should never have a problem with a terrano/ maverick 4x4, take a look at my owners club wewb site, Nissan & Ford Maverick 4x4 Owners Club UK
shark1e
rob
------------- What goes up must come down, so make sure it's in a Nissan
Quote: Originally posted by shark1e on 07/05/2005
Xantia v Terrano totally no match, Terrano every time, as for safety aspects hwat were they exactly???????
i have towed many miles at a constant 60mph in all weather and never had so much as a snake.
i have also off roaded my Terrano in places most would pass out from disbelief, just an honest non big headed comment from a terrano owner and caravaner,
p.s i drive a artic for a living so used to towing, but no one who is sensible when towing and courteous to other road user should never have a problem with a terrano/ maverick 4x4, take a look at my owners club wewb site, Nissan & Ford Maverick 4x4 Owners Club UK
shark1e
rob
instability mainly , narrow high sided vehicle ,saw the top gear prog where they rolled a range rover at 40mph . also no airbags or abs unlike the xantia were my main concern 6 months ago.
3000 miles & 6 months later and none of these have been an issue as yet.
My concerns about changing to a terrano were that the Xantia was such a good car , quick, smooth extremely economical,great towcar and to be honest the terrano aint alot better other than the fact it will pull a heavier van ( the xantia would have struggled with our current van i feel ) and its obvious off road capabalities .
You can't go wrong with a 1.9 td xantia, plenty of power , self leveling and a pleasure to tow with. I tow a coachman mirage 550 and b4 that 20 ft 1984 adria twin wheel base, with no problems.
i throw my terrano round bends like it was a go-kart, never once had call to worry about it tipping over, the choice is yours at the end of the day,
i missed that top gear program but if it's the height and width you are concerned with, then the patrol would be your best bet, don't know what your finances are like but if it's abs, weight and airbags you are looking for in a towcar then you will need to spend more than £2500. and look towards at least a p reg say terrano which have all these on the right model, and as good as the xantia are, it won't pull you out of a caravan site when the good man above decides to drop 3" of rain over night just before your ready to set off for home in the morning.
vehicles are expensive and a hefty investment, choose right first time,and as you know never pull over 85% of your vehicle weight, sorry just to finish on, a terrano has a 100% pull of 2850Kg,
good luck with your search,
rob
good luck with your search,
------------- What goes up must come down, so make sure it's in a Nissan
I am looking to buy a replacement car and all my research so far recommended the Torano II, £2500 is a good price and I would go for it. tyres are not excessively large, wieght is good, power available for towing good, parts easily available and not too big to park in a car park.
MMMMM wonder what we will be doing over the next few weeks LOL
But must say I do like the look of the terrano
Post last edited on 08/05/2005 01:09:34
------------- I..R..E..N..E
I Really Ear Nuffing Ever
Before you criticise a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way when you do criticise him you'll be a mile away and have his shoes
go for the terrano not bad on fuel and good towcars i got mine last year haven,t looked back since mine cost me £3500 the bloke was leaving the country for australia so only had 5 days to sell it so as they say right place right time on a R-plate and only done 29000 when i got it nice car to dive you will love it.........
I tow with a 16v, 2 litre Xantia. No problems at all with the self levelling suspension, good ride, stability and more than enough wellie to get along at a good pace.
I personally wouldn`t have a 4x4. You have to lug the things around for all the time you don`t tow. The cost of them if they go wrong can make suspension troubles on an Xantia look cheap..Those tyres can`t come cheap, nor the fuel needed to get something that heavy moving, time and time again in traffic.
A fair few 4x4 owners seem to want to hang the biggest caravan they can on the back, bung all the gear in( thinking thats it`s ok, it`s a 4x4), then wonder why it all goes horribly wrong when van overtakes 4x4 on a downhill stretch because it it too heavy, and not loaded correctly .
I also drive 44 ton artics for a living and when I see an accident involving a caravan outfit, it always seems be a 4x4 on the front of a wrecked outfit. Next time you see a caravan prang, just observe what the tow vehicle is.
Oversized, over thirsty and over here
This is of course only my opinion.
Regards,
Greg
Ps. The Andyspares Citroen forum is their new one. The original, started by Andyspares, was kicked into touch last year, and taken over by the members. Andyspare were good enough to let 5 years of posts be transferred to the ; http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/. Also spares are found at GSF; which used to be Andyspares; http://www.gsfcarparts.com/. Hope this helps.
Hi,
I don't know if there is another option. e.g. we have just bought a 95 Maverick 2.7TD to tow with, but we kept our Peugeot 406 HDI for every day (fuel economy better and includes climate control). Just a thought, although running two cars does bring a whole pile of expenses, at least then you have the best of both worlds.
As far as car v 4x4 goes, my Peugeot is perfectly capable of pulling my van, but with two kids (14 and 10) and all thir junk the back end was getting lower and lower (cars not mine) and the 4x4 just has all that extra weight and power to make the van pull like a dream.
Mike
Just to throw my hat into the ring,I drive a Terrano it does everything I ask of it and pulls our caravan like a dream.I suppose you could say its not the most economical car in the world but you cant have everything, oh and I think it is a bit of a myth about 4x4 being expensive on spares, I can get a fuel air and oil filter for aroud £22.00 which I dont think is too bad.
We have had french cars and I think they are very expensive on spares and having self levelling suspension on the back, would scare the hell out of me if it went wrong.
Oh and just to add I drive an artic for a living, covering a lot of miles and I've never seen an accident with a 4x4 towing a caravan, but plenty of mis matched saloon cars pulling caravans .
yeh, usually have 2 or 3 a year from the auction mainly. buy em cheap, sell em on. be keeping this one though, seems to do everything very well indeed. if anything looks like going wrong i`ll offload.
lol Bev...we bought a mondeo tdci a few weeks ago...we were going to keep our old mondeo mark II for a bit longer but we think the clutch was starting to go...got a quote £400!! so we thought...right time for a change :O)
------------- The futures bright the futures podding!!!!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Xantia 1.9td V Terrano 2.7td
our little lady
