What size car would tow something like a Jaguar 21?

[NealB]

And yes......I mean sensibly and legally?

Displacement given as around 2500 lbs.

Just rough ideas if possible eg 1.4 Fiesta? Obviously a straight 'no'?

But: Ford Modeo 2 litre? Jaguar X type 3.0 litre?

I know this is something of a minefield, but any informed thoughts welcome!

 

[Lakesailor]

It has nothing to do with the size of the car. You need to match the towing weights as homologated by the manufacturer with the actual weight of the boat and trailer.

You can check here http://www.uktow.com/towing capacity.asp

 

[William_H]

Setting aside the legalities almost any car will tow the boat. But if you want reasonable speed especially on hills you simply need more power. The legal plated towing limit is a result of considering the rear suspension capabilities for a decent draw bar weight. The capabilities of the brakes. The engine power and the mass of the car to control the weight on the towball.
I had a 2litre Toyota Camry auto that pulled once my 21fter (less than 1000kg) up quite steep hill from the yacht club. However I have always used larger heavier 6cyl cars. More common in Oz. Similarly i have always used auto cars. Except for a period of using a 2.6l Mitusbishi 4WD van. (Sadly many cars same boat.)
So for a short trip you might risk the law and use a small car but for any distance /speed you need something big. good luck olewill

 

[TQA]

I towed my jaguar 22 from the midlands up to Scotland and down to the Adriatic with a Citroen CX 2.0. No problems.

 

[ukmctc]

I used a Ford Cortina estate/ Rover 4000 SL estate
for my Hunter 701, towed from Glasgow to Cromarty with an old transit van. (£24 per day hire)

 

[Neil_Y]

Don't forget to add the weight of the trailer probably 300-400Kg for a boat that size and the boat with bits will probably be heavier than designed weight.

HP just makes it slow up hills what you need is a heavy car, new cars have towing limits on the plate on the car older cars the advice is that the car should be heavier than the towed weight dry. Also your licence may have a max weight limit, or towing limit, depending on when you got your licence.

 

[Avocet]

I think a lot depends on whether you intend to launch and recover it a lot. Most reasonably sized cars will probably tow a load that size, but you'll end up giving the smaller ones a really hard time recovering it.

Just an aside, in Europe, towing weights tend to be limited not so much by pulling, stopping and rear suspension carrying capacity as by driveline warranty. There's a type approval requirement to be able to do "x" (can't remember how many) hill starts in "y" minutes with the car and trailer loaded to the Gross train Weight. Some small cars have a surprisingly high capacity and some big ones, a surprisingly low one. The thing is, the manufacturer is going to have to warrant the car even if used at it's stated maxima every day of the warranty period!

 

[fergie_mac66]

better rear wheel drive IMO

 

[Neil_Y]

better rear wheel drive IMO

Best Volvo 245 estate? I'm biased

 

[fergie_mac66]

I use a volvo 940 estate .Its getting a bit long in the tooth now and the newer ones dont have the same rear door capacity