advice please - thinking about renewing my vehicle

 Hey I am thinking about salary packaging a new car.  A mate of mine has towed my fully loaded boat to denham twice now with his 3.5 l petrol subaru outback.  On occasions it struggled up the hills.  At the ramp on the second (we discovered after the first occasion), the low range switch made a big difference.

I am thinking about the same vehicle as my new car, but would prefer the 2.0 litre diesel motor to keep the day to day running costs down.

Will the 2.0 l diesel have the same, better or worse towing capacity as the 3.5 litre petrol motor?

 

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heath's picture

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Date Joined: 06/01/12

Fuel

Mon, 2014-03-17 07:25

 How much fuel did the outback use? I went through around 30l/100km in my forester 2.5l turbo towing a 5.2m ali  genisis.

sea-kem's picture

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 30L/100km Jesus that's up

Mon, 2014-03-17 07:34

 30L/100km Jesus that's up there. I get 14-15L/100km in my Triton towing my  5.4m Quintrex. I'd be going for a mid range 4WD Randell, Dmax for my next ute.

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Vinesh87's picture

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 13-14l per 100 in the jeep,

Mon, 2014-03-17 12:53

 13-14l per 100 in the jeep, trophy fully loaded haha!!

sea-kem's picture

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 Oi! That's enough of that

Mon, 2014-03-17 13:25

 Oi! That's enough of that cheek 

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jeep

Tue, 2014-03-18 06:24

if its not someone banging on about jeeps its collingwood on this forum these days

Vinesh87's picture

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 Hahaha I support freo too!

Tue, 2014-03-18 08:10

 Hahaha I support freo too! Only bang on because it puts my 200 series cruiser to shame!!

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 We reckon the 3.5. Litre

Mon, 2014-03-17 16:49

 We reckon the 3.5. Litre petrol outback used about 21 litres per 100 kms towing the fully loaded boat. My mate reckons he uses 13 litres per 100 kms in heavy city traffic (no towing) and about 9 litres per 100 kms on the highway (no towing).

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Lastchance's picture

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Holy shit. I go through that

Tue, 2014-03-18 14:07

Holy shit. I go through that amount towing my boat. What speed were you doing?

black gen's picture

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2.0L diesel you will

Mon, 2014-03-17 07:58

2.0L diesel you will literally watch the fuel tank drain as you drive

if the funds allow as already suggested, id be going for a mid range 4wd or a dmax style ute

Swompa's picture

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  Will never complain about

Mon, 2014-03-17 08:11

  Will never complain about my 20l/100 towing back from Jurien.

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dmax

Mon, 2014-03-17 08:21

picking up my new damx this week, alot of people have reported getting 12-13l per 100km towing 5+m boats.  when I have been test driving them around the city the computer states about 5-6l per 100km, it is supposed to average out to 8l per100km

I cant see the subaru getting that and a ute will generally have stronger rear suspension better for frequent towing

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 Can I ask what you're paying

Mon, 2014-03-17 08:47

 Can I ask what you're paying for it?  PM if you prefer.  Looking on line, I think the MU-X would suit more as this needs to be a 'family' car that the missus will drive (most of the time), as well as tow the boat.

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pm sent

Mon, 2014-03-17 09:17

pm sent

I havent really looked at them but think the MU-x is the exact same as the dmax but just a wagon version so should be fine for towing, just check the weight capacity as apporpriate to your boat.  I would expect the ute to have a heavier capacity

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Dont lease a brand new

Mon, 2014-03-17 12:13

Dont lease a brand new vehicle!!!

Buy something thats 2 years old, still has warranty.

Im leasing my Challenger.. has been leased for nearly 2 years, and if I want to get out of it, broken lease fees etc come to $65000..

Full price of car NEW 2 years ago was $58000!!

I STILL owe more than the car was worth new, and its now only valued at $20000 - $25000.

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 Deisle will have more toque

Mon, 2014-03-17 15:08

 Deisle will have more toque for towing and will keep running costs down

on another note I have an 09 Colorado I'm selling dirt cheap I have a cruiser now and  need to get rid off it 

clogwog's picture

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 Those mu-x look pretty good,

Mon, 2014-03-17 16:24

 Those mu-x look pretty good, don't think you can go wrong with a diesel isuzu. I had a 98 jackaroo (isuzu running gear) for a few years and was very happy with it. Fuel efficiency looks good for the mu-x and will likely have a nicer ride then a dual cab ute (particularly for rear passengers) good luck with your purchase.

Dale's picture

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Subaru's

Mon, 2014-03-17 17:43

 I've had 5 Subaru's and I love em, but I have not found them very good for towing. My current Outback which is a H6 was not very good for towing my boat, but as a normal day to day vehicle, I love it.

cheers

Dale

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can I ask what it is that you

Mon, 2014-03-17 18:02

can I ask what it is that you don't like about towing the boat?

Is it a diesel or petrol?

How big is the boat?

Is it a lack of power or bad fuel economy?

This will be a day to day car for the majority of the time and we are a one car family, so I want something that is economical, and comfortable every day, but can tow the boat ok every now and again. My mates petrol outback towed it fine as long as we weren't in a hurry. As long as it is capable of towing, fuel economy whilst doing so isn't as much of a concern as to day to day running. I currently have a terrecan that costs us a small fortune every week with the fuel bills....

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shonky's picture

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Don't hold back

Mon, 2014-03-17 17:55

 Do yourself a favour and take a jeep grand Cherokee diesel for a test drive and do your sums, you might be surprised. I know I was!

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I have looked at the pricing

Mon, 2014-03-17 18:06

I have looked at the pricing for the jeep and over the course of a 5 yr lease it works out to be quite a bit more. more for the lease (purchase price) and more to run day to day. unfortunately I don't have oodles of surplus cash in my net pay, so I have to stay within a tight budget.

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black gen's picture

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also look at the costs if

Thu, 2014-03-20 14:31

also look at the costs if things break.

jeep=$$$$$ to fix anything

tim-o's picture

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Iv seen your boat and if I

Mon, 2014-03-17 19:02

Iv seen your boat and if I was to tow it with a vehicle the size of an outback, it'd be because my house was a couple of kays up the road, and it was temporary, planning on getting a larger tow rig, and that's it. I'm not a fan of some towing capacities these days. I see boats that look way too big for the tow vehicle and thing f@#k me, that's a death trap on the open road. Subaru Outback- 6x4 trailer to the tip or a budget camper trailer, that's all I think the vehicle can safely tow. I have a 6m aly now, weighing about 1500 all up including trailer and think its a good and safe combo with our late model hilux 4x4. Any heavier and Id be pushing the boundaries I reckon. Oh, and its my Mrs' daily driver. Safe for the kids and no need to worry about rims getting smashed by kerbs etc haha

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I hear you about seeing big

Mon, 2014-03-17 19:24

I hear you about seeing big boats being towed and thinking that can't be legal, but mine's not overly big (I wish it were).

Rig sent me this:

http://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/advice/2013/tow-test-subaru-outback-20d-cvt-38030

"With all this low-rev pulling power, the diesel Outback made light work of a Jayco pop-top weighing 1343kg; accelerating smoothly and willingly from standstill without the need to over-rev."

No way that my boat weighs more than 1343 kgs fully loaded. I reckon about 1000kgs.

Also found this:
http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-reviews/car-reviews-road-tests/top_10_vehicles_for_towing
top of their list is the Forrester.

"The Forester's 2.0-litre turbo diesel is matched only with a six-speed manual, geared tall to maximise fuel efficiency, so you'll have to use the stick early and often. However 350Nm from just 1600rpm is more than enough to haul its maximum rated trailer weight of 1600kg... ...You can have the same drivetrain, in a bigger wagon, in the Outback. It's rated to pull 1700kg."

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tim-o's picture

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Maybe I thought your tub was

Mon, 2014-03-17 20:25

Maybe I thought your tub was bigger than it is, looked to be an 18-20' high sided plate ali, so 1T is pretty light. Being a mechanic, Im not a fan of subis, and being a first time diesel subi (that Im aware of), Id be weary too

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I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.

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 5 metre.  Feels bigger and

Mon, 2014-03-17 20:58

 5 metre.  Feels bigger and looks bigger I think because of its beam which is 2 metres.

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hey, does anyone know of any

Mon, 2014-03-17 19:40

hey, does anyone know of any public weigh bridges, metro area, preferably swan valley / great northern hwy / brand hwy?

this talk about towing capacities got me thinking about checking my towing weight. as we are off to monkey mia soon it would be a good opportunity to weigh it fully loaded.

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sarcasm0's picture

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There is one on Guildford road?

Tue, 2014-03-18 00:46

 http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/PDF/Misc/Public_Weighbridge_list.pdf

Its not listed there, but its opposite Guildford Grammar where they sell tubs/plastic/44 gallon drums.

 

big blue's picture

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 Stay clear of the novated

Mon, 2014-03-17 23:00

 Stay clear of the novated leasing ..... bloody expensive unless you buy a car under $50k & do more than 45000 K's a year In my experience

as far as a tow vehicle some really good 200 series petrol around for the $45 -$50k mark ,will return better economy than your previous car.& a whole lot more comfy

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 All the rules have changed

Tue, 2014-03-18 05:07

 All the rules have changed regarding kms.  They realised it wasn't enviromentally ethical to be encouraging people to drive JUST to get their kms up.  Its no longer necessary to do lots of kms to make it financially worthwhile.  Do you mean series 200 patrol as in nissan?  I certainly wont be getting a big 4WD and having to pay the day to day running costs on something like that.  I do that now with my terrecan.  Thats one of the reasons I want to change.

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no wonder you want to upgrade

Tue, 2014-03-18 05:40

 my missus has a terracan and its by far the worst car i have ever owned ,fuel econemy is shocking,her v8 statsman used less fuel 

big blue's picture

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 Just got out of aease as

Tue, 2014-03-18 07:18

 Just got out of aease as well as my son & daughter your right about rule changes ours was for 25k per annul was really expensive

BTW do the sums on owning a diesel compared to petrol L/C 200 not so expensive to tunas you may think 

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 Thanks for the input

Tue, 2014-03-18 05:08

 Thanks for the input everyone.  Some good things to consider and in the process been given some pointrs towards extra reading.  Cheers.

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