I was looking at a MINI countryman to use for towing, the Mini sales guy said it's best to spec the towbar from new as to retro fit it is is a nightmare and very expensive.

Hot countries? I towed our Eriba 180 miles yesterday along the M3,M25, A1M and A14 at temperatures of 29C and my Volvo V70 2.0l diesel's fan ran on when I stopped at services - the first time it has ever done so. Not so sure you can class the UK as a country where you don't need proper cooling systems any more...

Quote: Iana1212 wrote in post #15

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I was looking at buying a Skoda and flagged up that I needed a tow bar. One dealer investigated and confirmed that it couldn’t be retrofitted and in fact had had to replace a car that they had sold where the customer had specified that they needed a tow bar. Our local dealer said it was no problem and they continued to fit tow bars and didn’t seem interested in the brochure wording. I suspect that in practice there would be no technical problems and the heating/cooling issue would only be an issue in hot countries where you were towing something at the heaviest range that could be towed. In the end due to these issues and that the Skoda dealer didn’t seem interested in selling me anything I bought a Toyota even though I have had 2 Skodas.

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Would that be wine glasses, Colin?

I am looking at buying a 2yr old Skoda Karoq 2.0 diesel . Will I be able to have a detachable towbar fitted ? . I have a 2004 Triton , has anyone any experience of them towing

Hi Wynnie, back in July we swapped our 9 year old Yeti for a 2 year old Karoq. It came with a towbar, think it was a factory fit. Clever bit of kit. By flicking a switch in the boot it drops down and then you lock it into place. We had a detachable swan neck type on the Yeti, luckily it was attached when someone drove into the back of us. This happened twice more unbelievably with no damage to our car but plenty to theirs .All at low speeds thankfully. We had it checked each time it happened with no issues raised! We leave it place all the time since then.
The Yeti towed ok but always thought we could do with a little more bulk and power. In our opinion the Karoq is a better tower, just feels more stable on the road and copes with the hills more easily. Very happy with all aspects of it, a good upgrade.

Hi Wynnie & welcome to the site. we have towed our 540 Troll with 2.0 litre Skoda diesels since 2016. First we had the Octavia Scout and then the Karoq Scout. We have now replaced this with a Karoq Sportline 2 litre petrol' which is probably the best of the lot.

We have always gone for 4x4 as we live in a hilly area but to be honest we haven't needed it and the 4x4 has never kicked in when we have been towing. The 4x4 kicks in automatically if needed in the Karoq.

We have always found the 2 litre diesels brilliant for towing and sometimes I have forgotten that I have been driving with the Troll on the back - not recommended! I am not technical but it is something about having a lot of torque.

We got the Sportline 190 BHP Petrol this June as Skoda was struggling to fulfil our order (made the previous October) for a VRS Octavia Estate Diesel and this was one of only two Karoqs available nationally with the brilliant ready fitted drop down tow bar already fitted by Skoda. (mentioned by Chasnick above). They couldn't source me a 2 litre diesel at all with the tow bar.

Do be really careful that the model you intend getting is homologated for towing - Colin is right you need to check on the Vin plate if it says 0kg Gross Train Weight walk away. He is also right about some of Skoda dealers not being knowledgeable about the issue.

I phoned up a Skoda dealer about a Kodiaq Diesel (too big for us really) that he had in stock. When I asked if it had a tow bar fitted he said no but he could get one fitted as part of the deal. I asked him to double check that one could be fitted as I didn't think it could. He phoned back in 15 minutes to tell me that it couldn't - he was really shocked, and he sold the flipping things.

I'm sure that you will be able to find one that can tow, and if you do it should tow your Triton with no trouble

Good luck

MikeT

I chatted about the issue with both our local towbar fitter and both local Skoda dealerships (two branches of the same company).

The towbar fitter is a long established one man business and he said he checks the VIN plate of every car he's asked to fit a bar to and has had to refuse fitting on a couple of occasions because the train weight figure was blank.

The dealerships told me that they use P F Jones fitters and don't fit towbars themselves. Some sales staff were aware of the issue but others professed not to have heard of it. Given the built in desire to make sales, I wonder if there's a bit of Nelson's eye going on among some sales people, though given consumer legislation and the oversight of dealers by the FCA these days, they might be heading for trouble if they don't qualify a sale properly.

I'd add my support to Colin's point about the 1.5 turbo petrol. Our Karoq has it and it's fine pulling any Eriba Touring range caravan. Turbo charging petrol engines changed the long held perception of diesels. The 1.5 VAG motor makes as much torque as a diesel and it's available over a wider rev range than a diesel, meaning less need for constant gear changes to keep within the narrow sweet spot torque band of a diesel. The petrol 1.5 petrol Karoq is warranted to pull up to 1500kg, so a 1200kg or 1300kg van is well within its capabilities..

Hi Andy

I think I would agree with your point about the petrol Karoqs being good for towing the Eriba but also being excellent when not towing.

We have owned diesels for so long I had forgotten how quieter & smoother petrol engines are in comparison. The 190 BHP Sportline DSG 4x4 we ended up getting is really a bit too fast and powerful a car for me at my time of life but it tows like a dream and is a lovely sophisticated drive when not towing.

We now get our cars on PCP and when we look to change at the end of the contract we will probably look first at he 1.5 petrol version or by then make the big move to something electric that can tow and has a decent range.

MikeT

I have just received my new Karoq and having a tow bar fitted next week.
There was no problem with my dealer.
Didn’t need a preparation.
I have got an email from Skoda as I got in touch with them.

That sounds good news, Greycamper.

What model have you gone for?

MikeT