We recently purchased the Hyundai and started towing the caravan with it and found it woefully underpowered on inclines and hills, even though we only have a 2 berth van it still struggled. We recently went tip Whitby and found the hills around there a real struggle . My advice is go with the diesel not the petrol
My first outing towing with this outfit, around 150mile round trip on motorway and country roads Central Scotland also caught tail end of weekend storms to add flavour to the journey and whole outfit behaved impeccably, loaded the van sensibly and kept speed to legal limits. My 2.0 Ltr diesel Tuscon manual pulled no problem I wonder how a 1.7 Ltr will cope being the more popular spec of engine, be interesting to hear other reviews.
I have driven this set up now for one year and have found this to be a great combination.No problems pulling van up hills and down dales.No snaking at high speeds on motorways.Overall a great set up
Drove from home to Portsmouth, then off ferry at Santander, Spain. Drove down to the Algarve for 3 months. Same mileage back. Performance of the Hyundai was perfect. No straining. Towed like a dream.
I tow our Coachman with a 54plate 110hp diesel Tucson.
Perfect match, very lively performance solid as a rock with the coachman ATC.
Very comfortable, full leather plus loads of features, excellent value as a tow car.
Have 4x4 tucson limited can not fault it towing on the flat but not imprest With its ability on hills steeper than 1in12 or long motor way inclines , sometimes having to drop down to 3rd with 6 gears and down to 1st on 1in 7 not good, don't know where some. Of these other caravan ears tow must be the ironing board
Bought hyundai tucson limited 6gears tow old Grampian van found car was stable in all conditions and could forget van was attached poformed well on flat but was not impressed with performance climbing any hill steeper than 1 in 10 don't know where all the reviewers caravan but not in mountains or hills
I tow a Bailey Senator Oklahoma with 54 plate Tucson 2ltr diesel manual and I am very disappointed with the performance,I have just had it remapped with very little improvement.Most other outfits pass me like I am going backwards yet reading reviews most people seem happy with this as a tow car unfortunately I can't afford to change at the moment so I am stuck .with this prodded,anyone else feel the same or have advice.cheers
This is an excellent car to tow.
I have commented earlier on the Tuscons ability as a tow car with my old caravan (a Bailey Ranger) I now tow a Swift Charisma which is a somewhat bigger van, but the same applies. The car is now showing almost 40.000 with no problems. 60mph is held with ease in 6th gear. I only have to change down on long drags. Drove to Western France last year and I am still very pleased with it.
My Hyundai Tucson performs really well towing the Elddis Xplore 540. On the flat at 2000 revs she will go all day at a steady 60mph. The Tucson allways seems to be in control and the tail never wags the dog. I must confess to having the Tucson remapped as the original was 111bhp and 181 standard torque, it is now 146bhp and 242 torque, and it improved the mpg by an extra 5mpg
On first outing I was more than happy with the towing combination, however the last two outings have seen the tucson struggle when towing. Vehicle is 4 years old with 22000 on the clock. I have had it back to the dealership and examined by Hyundai regional technician, who to be honest was baffled by the handling and poor performance. He came to the conclusion that a new gearbox was required; this was replaced, at great expense to them but to no real avail. They have now decided that the 4 x 4 dif. unit is at fault; this will be replaced this month ( Sept 10 ) I am hopeful that this will rectify the poor handling and performance of the vehicle.
Incidently i am informed by Hyundai that the dif is a common problem with the Santa Fe model.
Have towed from Liverpool to France IOW Cornwall and Yorkshire with no problems very stable holds 60 with ease in 6th gear 08 model ,howeevr as with other users have noticed clutch burning when reversing, invested in motor mover,but look like novice especially if using to get into a big pitch.
The Tucson 2005 with chip has no problems towing my Swift Challenger. We have travelled in France and through out UK and it easily keeps up 60mph and returns between 27 and 30 mpg every time. The only problem I have had is a smell of burning from the clutch when reversing the van. I solved this by fitting a motor mover, how ever I have read that if you disengage traction control this also solves the problem, not tested that theory yet.
problems with clutch on tucson when reversing disengage traction control this i am sure will stop clutch burn and help steering
I bought a new hyundai Tuscan 4WD(premium) in June 09. I towed my caravan 250 miles to Dorset, it towed like a dream and you couldn't tell the caravan was on, 6th gear all the way on the motorway. You get alot of car(and gadgets) for your money compared to other 4WD models. I also enjoy driving the car solo as it is very comfortable, l would recommend the Tuscan as a towcar.
Bought Nov08, a pre reg (May08) Tucson and a 09 Pastiche in Feb09, after a lot of research and the better then 85% numbers etc on this site for the combo.
Used the car to tow my boat from IoW to Berks (Dec08) and all OK until reversing the rig into parking position when there was lots of smell and smoke from clutch!.
(Feb09) Towed caravan from dealers to storage (10mls) and all OK until reversing into parking position when smoke and smell again but not as bad as before with the boat.
Did two trips to Hants and Derby with caravan and same thing towing great, backing into park position smelly, talked to dealer after both instances and was told it was just clutch bedding in!!
On way back from Derby on M40 clutch started slipping going up Stokenchurch cutting, managed to change down and get to the top when the clutch failed completely but was able to coast to the hard shoulder.
Car was lifted to dealer and caravan towed to storage by Hyundai Rescue.
Total Clutch Assy was subsequently changed under warranty (4300 mls on clock).
Because of (a) not being happy in reversing the rig and (b) the apparent susceptibility of the Tucson clutch when reversing the rig; I have since invested in fitting a caravan mover.
The mover has on the whole been a great success but not without its own component failure problems!!!
Apart from reversing with a load I am very happy with the Tucson, so you pays your money and takes your choice.
The Tucson 2005 with 29hp chip is more than able to tow my Bessacarr Cameo 495SL.my last trip of 200 mile each way ,27 mpg out of Cornwall 28 mpg home.
My Hyundai tows this outfit a real treat, I am so pleased with the all round performance, it could`nt be bettered of that I am sure.
Bought Hyundai Tucson (140 bhp) in Jan 09 having read many good reviews of its capabilities (to replace a Mazda 6 140bhp petrol which, sadly, was lacking in the towing department). OK, it’s not the most good looking or technically up-to-date but now, after its first towing outing, it is acknowledged that its engine is v.good, having pulled our Bailey Pageant Provence over 300 miles with consummate ease. MPG returns are 37+ solo & 30 towing. So far so good.
4 years on and 45000 miles on clock I have enjoyed towing both home and abroad with Bailey 460/2.
However this year in 4 months of towing season first front near wheel bearing had to be replaced foowed by the prop shaft then gear linkage broke down during tow 86 pound to get back to garage lost holiday. the clutch then went needing new beraring and fork and now we have a high pitched wine when in drive not apparent if we free wheel.
Yes 5 year warantee but is it worth all the hassle we are getting.
Davies37@btinternet.com
I have towed with many cars over the years but none had the low down torque of the Tuscon.The initial running in period before you are supposed to tow is 1000mls, so this out of the way, I left Suffolk with only 1200 miles on the clock travelled to Derbyshire up and down hills only changing out of 6th gear occasionally, then back through Lincolnshire and Notts, much of the time in high winds, If this is what it tows like now I am looking forward to the engine loosening up! My Hyundai is the 4wd limited addition [not listed].
After years of ongoing problems with Landrover products got out and into a Tucson. Yes its a bit plastic inside but brand new top spec 140bhp, 6 speed SUV for price of a second hand Freelander. Towed 2006 Lunar Quasar Fb (Approx 1450kg) over 400miles like a dream never out of sixth gear on motorway and over 30 mpg (Which may be US gallons) indicated. Felt stable and safe. No problems with buffeting from HGV's Just be careful with 75kg nose weight. I would recommend.
The Tucson CRTD (2006, 138 bhp model) is superb towing my Pageant Burgundy. Comfortable, quiet, relaxed, and returns about 25 mpg when towing at 60 mph and that's fully loaded, with 2 bikes on the back of the Tucson. Very pleased!
Very Good car for towing you only notice that your towing on pulling away from 0 - 60 mph as it takes about an extra 5 sec's :) & on steep hills you have to knock cruise controll off to drop to 4th gear, i did 1400 mile round trip (with days out) from manchester to cornwall average mpg 29.5 towing & 32 solo. not bad for a 5 speed box, 138bhp.
VERY GOOD CAR FOR TOWING. GO FROM HULL TO CORNWALL AND FIND TOWING IS EASY EVEN ON HILLY ROADS.
I find my Hyundai tucson very able when towing my bailey pageant champagne, on motor ways in cruise control at 57mph it will go forever, also 30 mpg towing is readily available.
Hyindai tucson update Nov 2007. This year we went to France towed 2500miles. No problems at all average fuel consumption 35mpg 80% towing very stable tow upto and above the legal limit. Towed in 6th gear most of the time. Highly reccommended as a tow car 50% better fuel consumption compared to the Mazda.
Sept 2006 Tuscon. Towed from Craigavon N.Ireland to Dawlish S.England via Rosslare/Fishguard ferry.No probs whatsoever, very rarely out of 6th gear the whole time, only if sharp incline. Averaged 39.2 MPG (excellant). The height of the Tuscon sorted the wind out instead of drag on the caravan. Tuscon highly recommended for a tow car. ****
I have a Hyundai Tucson 2004 2.0 CRD model, It was an absolute pleasure to tow my caravan, it had more than enough power even on a slop / incline.
I hade a 2.0 Grand vitara petrol version before this & I could not wait to get rid for the Tucson & have not looked back yet so far as it looks the part as well.
2006 Hyindai Tucson 1000 miles on speedo at first tow from Durham to York=168 miles round trip. First impressions EXCELLENT held maximum allowed speed no problem at all even in windy conditions and on long inclines only ever changed down to 5th on long inclines. I used to tow with a Mazda Tribute 4wd estate (petrol) which was o.k but there is so much power in this engine that it would leave the Mazda standing so for now i am verry happy with the car and can't wait to see how it performs when we start touring again this year. Will keep you updated in april. Frank.
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