I'm thinking of getting a used VW Passat Wagon. Anyone out there towing with this vehicle? Planning on leaning toward a 5 speed V6.

Thoughts??

I think the 1.8L 4 cylinder would be a dog with the 20 behind it. I currently have a 2.4L 4 cylinder 4WD Nissan truck that get's 15 miles to the gallon, and even worse when towing in addition to being a dog.

Bottom line, need better mileage for most of my driving, but still gotta tow the boat to regattas and have reasonable power.

Thanks,

Tim

I think someone said that they saw some canadians tow two I-20's behind a yugo or something.

just for perspective.

I have a VW Jetta with the 1.9L TDI in it and I tow a H16 without any problem. You might want to take a look at the towing capacity of the vehical before you buy though. The owners manuel in my jetta stated that the gas engines were not rated to tow anything, but the diesal was rated to tow 1000 pounds.

I just recently started towing with my jetta, and I still get in the mid 30's fuel economy wise.

The Skier
1973 H16

I'm towing an Hobie 16 behind a 1999 VW Jetta TDI.My tdi gets 50+mpg on the hwy and 46mpg in the cty. A diesel has gobs of torque and pulls nicely.With all of the available torque, it drives like a higer hp vehicle.Just in case you think I'm a slow shitbox kinda guy,my last car was a BMW M6.

Hey skier, don't you hang out at tdi.com also?

I used a VW Rabbit GTI - 1.8L 4 cylinder - to tow my NACRA5.2 and lots of camping gear for several years. Lots of pep, no problem pulling. For a while I had a 4x4 S-10 Blazer - 2.8L V-6. It did not have good power, but braking , storage and lakeside traction were much better.
I really believe the Rabbit GTI with trailer could beat the empty Blazer in a 1/4 mile drag race (dry pavement).

Currently, I tow my N5.5uni, with a Chrysler Sebring convertible (2.7L V6) - unless my wife lets me have the Tahoe for the weekend. It handles nicely, but I notice a lot more brake dust on the wheels than normal.

I would think the VW Passat wagon with V6 would be a very capable catamaran tow package. But if you really like VW, what about the Touareg? TV ads show it pulling an Airstream trailer!

I have a Vw Passat 4cylinder Turbo, I dont tow with it, but it has plenty of power to tow a small cat. I towed my 5.2 with 2 different Honda accords, 4 cylinder, and they pulled nicely.

David Mosley

Tim, I've been towing my cats with VW Rabbits. I'm on my third cat since '95, and second VW. Currently towing a Hobie 17 with a '84 GTI. Seems to do very well.

Nope, i dont hang out there... buy maybe I will visit. I also am on the new Hobie Forum.

I am surprised at how many people are pulling with different VW's. I think that just goes to show how the manufactures underrate their vehicals.

The Skier
1973 H16

I tow my 17 with an isuzu trooper and have problems.

Probably because my trailer is so F#!@$)!# heavy.

Need sail tube.

I have an 89 Ford Tempo
I wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

Tim,

You can draw your own conclusions from all the replys, but I would suggest for best fuel economy, getting a VW with a diesal engine. Just make sure that before you buy that you their is a after market hitch for it that can be installed.

I know that my TDI Jetta is great with fuel, and there is plenty of power for towing. I can still hold my own off the line even with the cat behind me.

I should also let you know that mine is a 5 speed manuel, so I control the shift points... I just love manuel transmissions

The Skier
1973 H16

I test drove a gas engine with a 1.8L Turbo 5 speed in it yesterday, and boy was it nice!

I haven't even stumbled upon any diesels, so I'm guessing there aren't many in my area. I did notice though that you can go 80 in 4th, and not even notice that there's a 5th gear waiting for you to try out!

So...we'll see!

Cheers,

Tim

Tim,

Being that you live in MN I would recommend against the diesel. Diesel's have problems in severe cold weather like you get.

Mike Hill

Good plan...not sure I could find a diesel if my life depended on it!

Thanks,

Tim

I highly recommend the VW tdi (turbo diesel). They're easy to find at most VW dealers. It's in jetta wagons, golfs, and beetles. They are sold all over Canada and have only minor issues with cold weather. Mike is a little misinformed. If you want one used, look at www.tdiclub.com and go to forums/cars for sale. You can also read all about the cold weather issues there.

It pulls my P19 with no problem. It also gets almost 50 mpg without the boat and will cover 700 miles on a tank of fuel.

The VW TDI does not have the cold weather problems ususally associated with diesels. This is of course provided you use an anti-gelling additive such as PowerService. Also you must use the recommended 5w40 sythetic oil as it has the cold pumping properties needed for cold climates.

I know because I have subjected mine to several trips into the colder climates with no problems at all. My TDI came from Maine and the guy raved about the cold weather operation.

Buying a oil cooler is a must. Setrab makes a good one for any newer VW. Other wise plan on letting the thing idle for 5 minutes after you have been pulling for a while. Or plan on shelling out some $$$$$ for a new turbo. The TDI clutch is a piece of !@#$#%%^%!!! Known for slipping with all the low end torque available. A VR6 clutch is a direct replacement and a much better choice.

Happy pulling....... At 80MPH all day long....

AJ
96 B4 Passat TDI
Nacra 6.0 Express

The Passat 1.8 should be strong enough, here in Europe I see a lot smaller cars towing trailers each day.

I use a Alfa Romeo 1.9 JTD Sportswagon and have no problems towing my N6.0 + heavy trailer.

Note here in The Netherlands we are always on a flat surface do you have to climb ?

Not sure if you got the car yet, but this spring we traveled from Burlington VT to Annapolis, MD in a VW Passat wagon (~1996 V6 5 spd manual) towing a Melges 24! The boat and trailer are about 2000#! We had a cartop carry full of gear and 800# of bodies in the car. We made it up mountains with this car, in second gear! Great car, I have a 2000 Passat wagon.

Good luck.

Wow! Haven't gotten the car yet, but hope to get my pickup sold soon, and get one. I'll give a full report when I do!

Thanks,

Tim

Nacra 5.2 or 5.7 behind my Audi w/1.8t is not a problem. I wouldn't hesitate pulling a H20 or I20.

A couple of years a go, we went from Switzerland to Spain (1000 km) in this tiny car, one hobie 16 and a Laser on the trailer with 4 people in the car. Lots of waterproof bags on the trailer too and a large box on the roof.
we didn't had any Problems at all, and were still going with 90 km/h ~ 55 m/hour. (all the way down and up, going at full power :-} )

To bad I don't have picures ..