Have been towing our Swift Elegance 480 with our Forester diesel automatic ( C.V.T. ) for nearly two years now and we have never found the car wanting. we have pulled the caravan out of wet grassy CL sites, up very steep hills and found nothing too difficult. Our mpg ranges from 25mpg if windy to 32mpg on a still day. We would recommend the Subaru to anyone its just a shame they are no longer available new as we would BUY.
My Subaru Forester 2.0 diesel with a manual gearbox is simply not up to the job of pulling a caravan weighing 1450kg (weight upgrade). it struggles to get up to speed when coming onto a motorway to the point of being dangerous. 50 to 60mph acceleration when trying to overtake is nonexistent. definitely not a make of car that I could recommend. my local Subaru dealer is incompetent and dishonest.
Steer clear of Subaru
A great combination, specially when driving with the cruise control. Lineatronic (CVT) is really good transmission for towing caravan like KABE Smaragd. Max power I've ever taken from the engine is (headwind, uphill, ScanGauge-reading) 122 hp. There is still some extra power remaining for accelerating. The best thing is that engine RPM is around 2300 RPM when level road and no wind or tailwind. Average RPM is around 2800 -3200 RPM and max peak around 5700 RPM. This leads to very low fuel consumption. Min. around 11.2 l/100 km, average 11,8 l/100 km and max reading in (headwind / uphill / 90 km/h speed) was 14,8 l/100 km. Measured distance was 180 km. I always used [S]-mode when towing any trailer.
First caravan I've owned and the car doesn't seem to struggle with this heavy combination and has plenty of power to spare. Acceleration is enough to cope with pulling out into a busy road in fairly heavy traffic. The figures quoted here are slightly different from the ones the manufacturer quotes as max towed weight is 2100kg and the car is able to accelerate quicker than stated here when solo along with bigger wheels and tyres.
We have the Forester since june this year and itt owed perfectly our Burstner Averso Fifty 480 TK 2009. We co to pirinees so to drive uphill 20% without problemsMotor enguine teperature Ok and easy going.
My Prodrive Forester is a great towcar. It is still a quick car when fully loaded and towing a big caravan. the only drawback is at the pumps. Expect less than 20mpg with the van on and low to mid 20's solo.
The Subaru towing a Lunar Premiere 516. Fantastic traction in wet and around site, great acceleration, cruising but unsettled by lorries (long single axle van?).
Self levelling suspension a bonus. Economy of 21mpg is fine when normal is 28mpg. Great all round vehicle.
I have over the past seven years towed with this car all vans have been Bailey Senators Performance has been great it does as it says on the tin. exceptional best tow car I have ever had
as long as you keep to the correct towing weight, performs well under all road conditions inc snow.
Safe, stable, powerful acceleration,un-settled by side winds or caravan movement. Spacious, comfortable.....very reliable...BAD POINT...20 mpg..BUT good points definately outweigh
My Subaru Forester 2.0 XT pulls my Bailey Ranger 460/4 like a dream. I have to constantly remind myself that the van is there. Everything seems to be effortless to the Subaru. A really great towing car.
I have over the past eight years towed touring caravans with nothing other than subaru forester, I am on my third new forester, a super tow car, all round good
performer, would not have anything else.
The best towcar / caravan combination have ever had, and I have towed with 8 different ones with 4 different caravans. Even when loading the towcar axles to maximum manufacturers weights and the caravan up to maximum too, the Forrester has power to spare.
What an outfit! Goes very well. Stability is good and the Subaru loves tugging. However it is a bit thirsty. Reversing is easy with good visibility and the all wheel drive makes light work on 'sticky' ground.
my Subaru Forester 2 litre, towed my Bailey Pageant Caravan with ease. It was so smooth that you could have imagined that you were not towing anything at all. Good all round performance, the combination handled exceptionally well.
Have now owned the Elypse 430 for almost one year and towed in UK on motorways, major roads and country roads. Have over 25 years towing experience. Previous 'van was a 1989 ABI; longer but lighter than Elypse. Forester tows Elypse very well. All more stable than previous 'van; maybe due to better chassis with dampers on Elypse. Always been able to keep up with most traffic on major roads; never like being the cause of a holdup and do not need to be! Performance is a little better than the results show, being easy to achieve the UK speed limits, and to achieve higher limits in other countries (e.g. France) but it is always better to get into a lower gear at the start of a hill, even on motorways, to keep the speed up. I have not yet been caught in very high winds, but moderate winds mixed with airflow when passing trucks on the motorway cause no problems at 60mph. Low range gears and hill-holder clutch make hill starts easy, and low range 1st is good for crawling along at tickover in traffic queues! Braking is excellent, and the handbrake easy to use when parking the 'van. I have always ensured I know how to reverse a trailer, and with the Forester's low range & all wheel drive, I have never sited our 'vans manually, always being able to maneuvre onto a pitch using the car, even on sloping and difficult pitches on CLs. Petrol use is a bit high on the Forester - especially if you push the acceleration and hillclimbing a lot. We chose the Elypse carefully for the needs of an active though retired couple, and it suits us perfectly. With this combination, we can go anywhere, stopping easily & quickly for just one night, or putting down more permanent roots for a few weeks. We are planning to take it to Iceland by ferry from Scotland!
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