Difficulty buying a daily to meet criteria

[Scottie - NW]

Having sold all three cars over the last 18 months I am in the nice position to be able to buy two.

I need to find the replacement daily first and am struggling to find cars to meet the criteria :


- Budget £20 to £30k
- Up to 5 years old and 50k miles (could move a little on this)

- Has to be able to tow my weekend/track car when i get the next one (think twin axle trailer is 600kg, car could be up to 1500kg) so ideally 2200kg tow limit
- 4wd helps for remote work locations

- Although I prefer estate cars an suv is helpful, as I look after my Dad who is over 80 and struggles to get in and out of low cars, i.e. saloon car low
- can be petrol, diesel or even mild hybrid

- safe/comfortable/reliable (last daily I took to 175k miles)
- good level of spec and equipment


The only car I can find so far to fit the above is a 69 to 22 plate Mercedes GLC 300d Premium, which I do like the look of.

I am hoping the collective car brains of PH can help me extend the short list to great than one!!!

Many thanks!!

[Matt_T]

Mistubishi Shogun Sport (it's basically an L200 pickup with a SUV body and 7 seats). Looks like it would be a good tow car?
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17585569

[Scottie - NW]

Thanks, that's a really good suggestion and I had never even considered one of these!

I also looked at some X3's but I think even the 3.0d which looks great is a 2000kg tow limit which is borderline, it just means the weekend/track car would have to be under 1400kg.

Someone also suggested to tow with a dolley as long as the tow car is 2wd and manual, this gives then brings many more cars into scope as a lot of estates meet the 2000kg tow threshold.

Having never towed before this is all new to me!

[nobrakes]

An all-terrain m/ XC Volvo ?

[Mammasaid]

nobrakes said:

An all-terrain m/ XC Volvo ?

Correct answer, the V90CC

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17683952

[255SNK]

Touareg would be the first car I'd test drive

[blue_haddock]

My first thought was an Audi A6 all road

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502199...

A quick google say 2500kg tow capacity.

[MisanoPayments]

blue_haddock said:

My first thought was an Audi A6 all road

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502199...

A quick google say 2500kg tow capacity.

Was going to respond with the C7 Allroad too given the OP's slight leeway on age - a decent late one such as the above.

[paddy1970]

Audi Q5 (2018-2022) - 2400kg towing capacity, 4WD (quattro), comfortable ride, premium interior, good spec in S-Line trim

Volvo XC60 (2018-2022) - 2400kg towing capacity, AWD available, excellent safety features, comfortable seating, upright position good for your father

BMW X3 (2018-2022) - 2400kg towing capacity, xDrive (4WD), sporty handling with comfortable ride, available in 20d/30d diesel variants

VW Touareg (2018-2022) - 3500kg towing capacity, 4Motion AWD, spacious interior, possibly at upper end of budget for higher mileage examples

Skoda Kodiaq vRS/Sportline (2018-2022) - 2300kg towing capacity, 4x4 versions available, practical interior, good value proposition

Land Rover Discovery Sport (2018-2022) - 2200kg towing capacity, excellent off-road capability, comfortable ride height, spacious

[Scottie - NW]

paddy1970 said:

BMW X3 (2018-2022) - 2400kg towing capacity, xDrive (4WD), sporty handling with comfortable ride, available in 20d/30d diesel variants

Thank you all and Paddy for some excellent suggestions!

Just on the X3 i had a look at a 2020 3.0d but the towing limit was specified at 2000kg, which is also what it says on Parkers where I also checked.

Can I please ask where you are looking to get these figures? Thanks.


One other slight issue with the X3 was there is no room under the floor for a space saver, which seemed odd that BMW could not find the room for this as they did on my little old Z3

[Scottie - NW]

255SNK said:

Touareg would be the first car I'd test drive

Thanks, that's interesting, was working on Automotive sites in Germany last summer and the hire cars we were provided with where all VW SUVs, albeit smaller ones, like Polo or Golf size SUVs but they were well specced, had DSG boxes and drove really well.

[Mr Tidy]

Scottie - NW said:

One other slight issue with the X3 was there is no room under the floor for a space saver, which seemed odd that BMW could not find the room for this as they did on my little old Z3

They didn't bother because I expect the X3 came with run-flat tyres.

My E46 3 Series had a space-saver, my E90 3 Series has run-flats instead.

[ZX10R NIN]

Genesis GV70:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503039...

Grand Cherokee:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412177...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501077...

Ford Edge (make sure the wet belt service has been done)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502269...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502118...

Sorento:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502259...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501308...

Santa Fe:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502129...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412046...

[Scottie - NW]

Just to clear up some confusion i couldn’t understand why different sources quoted various tow limits for the same car, eg 2020 bmw x3.

It appears a factory fit tow bar is 2400kg rated but aftermarket ones 2000kg rated.

If this is correct I never knew tow limits varied depending on when the bar is fitted!

[Scottie - NW]

Again thanks for some great suggestions, I have some days off next week to continue the search.

[bennno]

As already suggested id look first at a just superseded Touareg - 3.5T towing capacity.

Or a Q8 if you prefer, same car underneath.

[Scottie - NW]

bennno said:

As already suggested id look first at a just superseded Touareg - 3.5T towing capacity.

Or a Q8 if you prefer, same car underneath.

Thanks yes i have looked at them, they come with two good v6 diesels both with plenty of potential.

They are big beasts though and if I was towing more than a couple of times a year would probably be top choice. I will try and get a good look at one. I guess they are similar size to x5’s. Saw a x5 2018 with 55k miles 30d m sport for £25k that looked similar to the Touareg for size and towing.