Getting a x5 as a Tow car

[pistol pete]

Hi All

I am looking to get a more modern daily which is used as my race car tow car.







currently using a 2.8 pajero, its great i love it... but being an old school diesel engine it will only tow at the pace it wants to..

so i am thinking of moving to a common rail diesel engine that can cope with going up motorway inclines at more than 40 mph when towing..

now i have had plenty of bm's and recently had an x3 2.5,

now what i am towing is 750kg trailer with a 1070kg car..
being this heavy it really needs to be a proper 4x4 without having to worry about snaking etc.

after looking at xc90s touregs etc it seems the x5's are the most reliable.. i did look at a cherokee but i hate the front

also my wife has back problems so the elect memory seats and parking sensors will help her too

Now which one should i be looking at, whichwill tow happily the weigh i want without really causing me any issue
looking at spending up to 4k.. there re plenty of early ones out there, i do all my own work on cars so its really only parts i needs to look at

how will the 3.0i do at towing?
3.0d?

and just cos i want the noise how thirsty is the 4.4... i expect far to thirsty..

any help/ experience people have had towing with these would be great..

thanks

[shadrack]

try and get a facelift 3.d 53/04 plate onwards i think, 6 speed box, lots of the early niggly problems rectified imo, plenty of power/ economy will pull like a train, i used my old one with a trailer like that and a 3 series on.

[TimX5]

I've got a 06 3.0d and tow a 24ft 6 caravan the x5 pulls like a train and does about 27mpg it's a great tow car although it is a hard ride on the suspension , I borrowed a mates discovery 3 and towed with that and imho the disco is a better tow car  , when the time comes to change I'll be choosing something that isn't as harsh a ride when towing.

[X5Sport]

Defo 3.0d or V8.  I think you will find the 3.0i is underwhelming power/torque wise. The facelifted 3.0d has the same torque as the 4.8V8 - albeit without the same soundtrack (or fuel bill).

[Horizon]

As mentioned above 3.0d sport facelift(2004 ) would be my weapon of choice. I had a 2.8 challenger, which was the shogun sport import, we used it for towing a horse trailer 2.5 tonne gross.
The X5 is far far more able ! Loads of torque. The shotgun is more agricultural in comparison.
V8 is a fine soundtrack , but thirsty without a trailer on the back.

[chrisn7]

I currently tow a 1700 kg caravan and the 3.0d does this with aplomb, achieving 27 mpg.  We shall be shortly switching to a 1900Kg caravan. As noted above, the ride is a little choppy because of the caravan twin axle set up, but is otherwise an excellent tow car,though I haven't seen many others on caravan sites...

[Greydog]

Brought the X5 to pull a horse trailer, we went for a 4.4 running LPG a £40 fill up would give around 180/190 miles range while towing. Without the trailer 200/250 miles per fill up and all with the right sound track.
When buying my advice would be, make sure the history is good and make doubly sure that everything works as it should the forums are full of tales of woe from folks who fell for the £5 of ebay to fix speal. These are complicated cars but there are loads out there so take your time get the right one and enjoy