VW tow car

[Cam A]

There is no doubt that the torque characteristics of diesel engines makes them ideal for towing. There a few diesel SUVs in the works, a 2.2 litre diesel Honda CRV, the diesel Subaru Forester, and the new Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDI. If these survive "americanization" with their 3500 pound tow ratings intact, they would pretty much fit my needs exactly. 40 mpg when you're not towing, and 20-ish when you are, and AWD all the time. I've owned a lot of VW's, but I'm a bit leery of their reliability/dealer service these days. I really like my Forester, so I'm pulling for Subaru. Having said that, I will likely get whichever of the above gets to market first....

[CindyL]

Even though we have 4 VWs, we actually tow with our Eurovan. It does a great job! We just towed a trailer filled with donations for the Lakota out to Pine Ridge and then stayed there for a week to volunteer. We really do not plan to tow with my Beetle.

CindyL

[Pete Dumbleton]

I met a German couple who had a Nissan 4x4 diesel pickup with a nifty Tischer fiberglass camper on it that they had shipped over to travel US/MX/CA. Dunno what they got without the wind and weight load, but they were getting 23-4 mpg fully loaded. I was a bit envious of the whole package!

http://www.tischer.ch/Home.html

[CindyL]

I was just reading our VW magazine. I see that VW is trying their hand at a US minivan again. They are partnering with Chrysler to produce the Routan New VW Mini Van. Even though we are VW enthusiastists (We own 4!!),I think we will pass. Notwithstanding that our Eurovan is in great shape, and our daughter just called with a rod problem in her car (a Chrysler!), it has a name that does not work for me. My sister went to school with someone whose last name was Routan. He had a problem that caused me to refer to him as "Rootitoottoottan." Unfortunately, she sat behind him.

CindyL

[Gina D.]

the rootitooti looks very much like an Odyssey.

I would LOVE to be able to tow with a VW bus or Eurovan. But, alas... a Bus wouldn't do it. I have the scale balanced to the opposite side of the 13 ... with the 13, weekend trips were a bit easier as far as travel went... but none of the amenities I needed for long term travel.

If I had a bus or Eurovan, my weekend trips may not involve a trailer at all.

Maybe I'll just go buy another 13 and emulate Roger. I'll have a herd...