caravan towing

[zipdip]

Hi a pal who likes to tow his van has asked me what Peugeot he should get either the 407 or 607 and and what engine 2.0l or 2.2l as I have never pulled a van I thought I would ask you he has a price in mind that would get him a 2007/8 motor.

[Peter.N.]

Depends largely on the size of the van, either of those engines will pull an averaged size van with no problem, the 607 will be heavier which is always an advantage.

Peter

[JohnD]

a pal who likes to tow his van has asked me what Peugeot he should get .

Tell him he shouldn't - but instead get a Citroen. The C5 tows wonderfully well with either the 2.0 ltr of 2.2 with no bother about a sagging rear end. I've just brought my 1200Kgs van back home on a 1300 mile journey from southern Spain. Much of the journey over four days was driven in 6th gear with a fuel consumption of 28mpg.

[Citroenmad]

Both will be decent tow cars and weight is often on your side when towing, so the 607 might be a good choice. The 2.2 can be a little more problematic and so I would go for the 2.0HDi. You can get the 2.0HDi 110 8v and also the 2.0HDi 138 16v in the 607 (only the 138 in the 407) and so the 2.2 136 is not worth bothering with, in my opinion. As the 2.0 is more reliable and also far better on fuel.

I agree with JohnD though, your pal needs a C5, with its self leveling suspension it lends itselt to towing duties. Having a heavily loaded car with a caravan attached will give the car no rear suspension travel. You often see cars nose high and on the stops at the back towing a caravan, its not comfortable and no doubts impacts on the stability of thr rig too.

[Lighty]

The late 607 has a completely different engine to the 2.2 that is common in the C5 etc, and is a real flying machine, not sure of the engine code or bhp output, but if your friend is buying an 08 plate car it would be one of these I guess.
Typical psa, in that they just get a car right and then stop making it

[Citroenmad]

That will be the 2.2 173bhp then Lighty, it was available in C5s from around 2006 in VTX+ and Exclusive spec, quite rare to find though. Its also the same engine used in the C6 and other cars too, though I didn't know it made it to the 607, very nice! It is indeed a good performer and seems to have some problems ironed compared to the earlier 2.2 136s.

[Peter.N.]

I would agree on the C5 being best for towing but you need one with hydropnumatic suspension, all the early ones have but it became an option on the late ones where most were fitted with springs - a retrograde step.

Peter

[Citroenmad]

As Peter says, C5 S1s and S2s have hydropneumatic suspension, the C5 3 only has it on top spec Exclusive trim level.

[Dippy]

http://www.towcar.info/gebruikservaring ... &serie=607" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dieselnutjob]

The automatics may or may not be up to towing in some of these. I know that Peugeot say not to tow with my 607 2.2 HDI automatic at all. The maximum torque of the engine is very near to the torque limit of the 4HP20 gearbox, though funnily enough peugeot say that you can tow with the 3.0 litre petrol auto even though it has the same gearbox.

As I have read elsewhere the tow hitch on my 607 is very low. Instead of plugging in horizontally it plugs in vertically and goes under the bumper looking like a U bend on a sink waste. The bottom of the U is only a few inches off of the ground, so if you buy a 607 to two with be more careful than I was about selecting a tow bar.

[zipdip]

thanks for the help I think he is going to buy a c5,well he is looking at two this week,one a saloon and the other a estate both exclusive on air,I let him have a go of my vtr+ but I run the petrol one but he was impressed with the ride and my one is on springs so,the point a couple of you made about the car being level made him think also 28mpg towing a van is good also it would seem for the money he has to spend he can get a 2009 one so I think we have a convert