BMW 3-serie
BMW Compact 320 td 2.0 aut. and CaravanI have a lunar 516L. The automatic didn't like towing it. Revs was high, the gear selector didn't know what gear to pick. I was worried the head gasket was about to pop. (Had that happen before). I wouldn't recommend towing with this car. I can't say about the manual version. As on paper the auto has apprently enough torque and power. I don't trust it
BMW 320i and SwiftPicked up our 560 Challenger we were able to get up to speeds of 60 on motorways caravan was lightly loaded there was no loss of control or swaying our BMW 2lt touring was perfect though I would recommend 50 to 55 tops for beginners always be alert and don't get Distracted by the wife 🤔
BMW 335d xDrive aut. and AbbeyCurrently tow with a 335d touring, absolutely effortless, bags of power for any hill that you can throw at it,also has the xdrive, so the extra traction helps on all surfaces.
Still getting 27mpg with a fair sized van on the back.
Just have to watch your right foot as it still accelerates quicker than most average cars with the caravan in tow....
BMW 320d aut. and LunarGreat car for towing plenty of power and the auto gear box handles it a dream . The bmw 320 is a very underrated tow car they are heavy and with plenty of rubber on the tarmac towed all over Europe with it no problem
BMW 320d aut. and AbbeyI have not yet purchased the 2009 320d auto but according to this page its a good match for my caravan and legal to tow I only have a b licence passed 2010 so I am limited to 3500kg
BMW Touring 320d aut. and EribaThe BMW 320d auto tourer is a great combination with my Hymer 470 two berth . I have never had any snaking and the outfit pulls like a train up and down any hills that the Uk can throw at it. It’s good to know that trailer stability is also included with the car. My last model manual 2007 BMW 320d did encounter snaking and the trailer assist slammed on the brakes momentarily and cured the problem.
BMW Compact 320 td 2.0 and BuccaneerWas previously concerned even though all manufacturer figures stacked up for this combination. However I cannot praise my baby beemer highly enough, across the M62 and A55 it just kept on pulling like a train, even accelerating up hills, set cruise control and let it do the rest. Brilliant car.
BMW Touring 320d and AbbeyAfter swapping my Audi A4 3L TDi Quattro Advant for a BMW 320d M Sport Touring I was concerned about the loss of power and a lower weight tow car from the Audi to BMW.
How wrong could I have been! After towing to North Cornwall and the Lake District from Hampshire this car still astounds me.
On motorways and A road dual carriageways 60mph comes up with ease and is comfortable in 6th gear. The Blackdown Hills on the Somerset / Devon border where tackled with ease and Shap Fell on the M6 was tackled at 60mph and in 6th gear with ease. When overtaking HGV\'s care has to be taken to remain within the legal speed limit.
The outfit is very stable in crosswinds and there is little fuss under breaking.
There is no loss of grip on wet roads either.
I generally tow in Sports mode to allowing me to have all 184bhp under my right foot. Saying that the car still returns 300 miles plus from 57 litre tank.
BMW 320d and SpriteI find towing my sprite musketeer a breeze. I am an in experienced tower but have had no issues yet with either caravan or car. on most A & B roads I agree with above post I find it more economical to tow in 4th, the mpg is much better than slugging along in 5th or 6th. same with motorways I stay in 5th. I average between 30-40 mpg roughly this way.
BMW 320d and BaileyThis summer took the BMW 320D M-Sport & Ranger 470/4 on a tour of Spain & Portugal covering 4000km. Performance including economy was great but a warning - had a rear tire failure on the BMW which as the tyres are run-flats and uncommon size we had no spare and needed to wait 3 days for the local BMW dealer to obtain replacement - lesson - always carry a spare even if you have run-flats. Fitted a rear view camera to the c'van with a monitor on top of the dash which was always on and this gave a great view of traffic behind the unit which made driving in Europe very easy.
BMW 320d and EribaI have used this combination (BMW320D) for two and a half years. We have travelled to south east Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Brighton. The car pulls the caravan easily and has plenty of acceleration on any road. I often tow in sixth gear. The unit is always stable and hardly effected by bow waves. The towing has had an effect on the mpg it drops by at least a third. I also had to replace the rear tyres at 22000 miles. Traction with the bikes and caravan attached is excellent in a wet sloping field in fact much better than the front wheel drive cars I have towed with. However once the caravan is detached traction especially in reverse is poor. The car is very quick and fuel efficient solo. On a long run during the day it is difficult to get the mpg below 60 if you keep to the speed limits. If you buy a BMW it is advisable to get one with the five year service pack. The caravan is good but the car is outstanding.
BMW 320d and Elddisdidnt realise this van was as heavy as it is but towing it is quite easy lots of power and being sensable and it's quite safe and does'nt snake.
BMW 320d and Baileyfirst time I pulled the Bailey 470/4 with the BMW 320D today. The drive included city, rural (including steep grades in north Peak District) and motorway. The unit behaved perfectly and at no time was I unable to maintain the legal speed limit. Fuel consumption appears very good. Highly recommended combination.
BMW Coupe 335d aut. and BaileyNo lack of power at all. Was a bit concerned to use the car instead of my sprinter van. No regrets at all feels smoother than my van. And I got 26mpg great!!!
BMW Touring 320d and AdriaI've been towing the Adria 542DT with my 2008 320D Touring for the past 3 years. Towing performance has been always been great including each annual trip to Spain through France and the Pyrenees.
BMW 320d [5MT] and BaileyThis is my second Ranger GT460/4 and found both very good being towed by my BMW 320d es 150bhp 6 speed
no lack of power anywhere.
BMW Touring 320d aut. and AbbeyWe chose the caravan to match the car and it has been a good choice. The car tows really well and with auto box the whole towing experience is much more pleasurable than previous manual cars. We have not loaded the van too highly and tend to keep the awning and step frame in the boot of the car. Really pleased we used this site the do checks before purchase.
BMW Touring 320d aut. and Lunarthe series 3 tourer auto does an excellent job of towing the lunar 560. I have found that while towing on the motorway its better to use manual mode to keeps the engine revs down.
BMW 320d [5MT] and ElddisJust changed my caravan and was slightly apprehensive at first, big van for the BMW, but cruises along very nicely, travelled to Cirencester from Caerphilly along the M4 and country roads, effortlessly.
BMW 335d aut. and SpriteIts early days to give a true picture as we have only towed the Sprite a couple of times since lollecting the van from the dealer.The first thing one is aware of is the bulk of this van in ones mirrors compared with our previous Ereba Trole pop top van.This is because the BMW 3 series tourer sits so much lower than a VW Tiguan As a towing 4x4 the Tiguan was exemplory.Its still very new and strange and will have a better idea in the spring hopefully
BMW Touring 320i aut. and AbbeyMy BMW touring is actually a 1996 model 320 straight 6 engine. With 150 BHP as standard and updated sports suspension as standard being the touring model this car happily pulls my caravan along no problem,in fact at times I have to check my rear view mirror to ensure the van is still attached to the car. Truly a pleasure to tow. Really IS the ULTIMATE (TOWING) machine.
BMW Touring 318d and CompassBMW brilliant for towing and everyday use,great electric towbar that folds underneath car at the touch of a button.
BMW 320d and Coachmanfirst time last weekend pulled my caravan which i just purchased back home from kent to norfolk.the chap i bought it off used the anti snake bar for a hammer hence it didnt fit the the slot.any way came home no problems with any sway[60/70 mph].fuel went from 50mpg down to 32mpg, changed 5th gear to 4th up long drags .overall well pleased my beema .never ceases to amaze me love it.
BMW 320d aut. and BaileyThis combination worked well except I think that the 3 series isnt wide enough, however saying that the engine and autobox made easy work of the caravan. I am changing to a new 525 auto, will post about that when ive had first outing
BMW 320d and SwiftI find my 2009 320d M sport struggles with the charisma 565, especially when pulling of from a standing start, even on the flat.
I find I have to slip the clutch substantially to get her of the mark. Also on A-B roads I rarely get into 5th gear never mind sixth. It's probably down to the M sports gearing, but i do find it a struggle.
BMW Touring 320d and AbbeyThis car has no problems at all towing, plenty of torque allows for smooth pull aways at lights etc, hills are no problem for the same reason. Fuel consumption is not affected much if driven sensibley and using correct gears for the conditions you face, there is no need to use 6th gear at all.
Overall I am very impressed with this as a towing car, it offers the acceleration, torque and towing weight without having to go for a 4X4.
BMW Touring 320d and CompassTows very well with plenty of power and stable with my 2005 Compass Omega 524 (With 75kg nose weight and little load in the van) only problem is weak clutch with judder & smell if moving off on an incline (Less than 12%)
BMW Touring 320d and CompassTows very well with plenty of power and stable with my 2005 Compass Omega 524 (With 75kg nose weight and little load in the van) only problem is weak clutch with judder & smell if moving off on an incline (Less than 12%)
BMW 320d and SwiftA very competant tow car, with more than enough power and stability. I tow mine all the way down to Spain with a full outfit and four of us in the car with no problem whatsoever. Thos of you who know the caravan club reccomendations will have worked out that the outfit is nearly at 100%, but with sensible driving I have never experienced a problem.
BMW 320d aut. and BaileyReally good tow car-better than my Volvo V70 diesel makes the difference
BMW Touring 320d [5MT] and BaileyI have not yet towed with the car but I am looking forwards to it tremendously, after my first tow out I will inform your goodselves of the result.
BMW Touring 320d and CaravanEXCELLENT TO TOW WITH CAR THAT SEEMS TO BE MISSED OUT ON ALL TOW CAR AWARDS BECAUSE ITS SO GOOD, BEING REAR WHEEL DRIVE YOU GET PLENTY OF TRACTION AS ALL WEIGHT IS ON THE REAR WHEELS IDEAL CAR IF YOU DONT WANT TO GET A 4X4 AND BE TAXED SILLY
BMW 330d and AbbeyWe've had one of these for 4 years and used it to tow first our Elddis Avante 475 and now our Abbey Vogue 540. The car has bucket loads of torque and tows extremely well.
Solo the fuel / performance balance is great, acceleration is available in any gear and overtaking multiple vehicles can be achieved with a gentle push of the accelerator in 5th gear.
As a towing vehicle the only thing limiting this car's potential is it's 1585kg kerbweight. However we currently tow @ a 92% match without any problems.
BMW 320d and Abbeyvery happy with the bmw i find it has plenty of power per weight ratio ,good braking, handling on bendy roads very good very pleased with fuel economy, was surprised to find that the caravan is somewhat heavy for this vehicle as i have found no difficulty with braking ,handling or power.
BMW 320i and SpriteI have a old BMW (1991) 3 series 320i and a Sprite firebrand 474. Bought the caravan 2 years ago. Never towed before.
Plenty of power from the BMW if you gear down to go up the steeper hills. Fuel economy at best is 24 mpg at worst 20mpg. Unit is fine upto 60mph, had a scarey moment on M5 last year, had a snake that lasted for 30 seconds plus caused by me going too fast and passing a lorry. The uint finally became stable when my speed reached <55mph. Thankfully the unit is a good match otherwise I would have lost control of the unit. Break the 85% rule and drive over 60mph you are asking for trouble. Very Happy with unit now!
Getting a Skoda next fancy the 35 mpg.
Mark
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