Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Modernish transit and similar vans are quite nice. More thinking a jap 4x4 Toyota/nissan/ford copy

Would not want to be a commercial van as you may get in to tachograph territory. As in one is there and if stopped you have to prove it's not in commercial use.

i did ask "what car..." not "what van..."

also to require a tacho the vehicle plus trailer needs to weigh over 3.5t which is unlikely in the scenario i outlined.

Impreza WRX. That's what I used to use to tow my race car on its trailer. Superb towing car, if a bit thirsty.

My parents have a Hyundai i40 which is used for caravan towing. Has a pretty high towing capacity, seems nice enough to drive and is reliable.

i40

no longer sold in the uk due to declining sales, but they do have a hydrogen model in their range...

yeah a non crazy subaru is a good shout.

SG Fozzy, 2.0 Turbo, you know you want to.

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ideal for an extended tour of the UK's petrol stations. i had a bug-eye STi years ago... 18 mpg / 55l tank.

Yeah, I did almost a full tank on my drive to Twin Peaks and back on Sunday. But still worth it. 💸

True, so not even the similar size proper off road vehicle.

Great fun, quite intense with traffic, bit damp, a few very minor moments but came out unscathed, unlike an MX5 and M2 that both smashed into the barrier. Will pop a bit more info about it when I get a mo, thanks again for the awesome advice 🙏

My blobeye WRX wasn't quite that bad. 23mpg usually. Towing didn't seem to make much difference oddly.

Hahaha. side of a mountainous road than you very much

I do like them and like the rear lights.

Quite like to find a cheap one to use for a bit, but cheap ones are really shit and feels the value is little above scrap

I had a Passat TDI for towing, it was great (until it got written off)

I considered buying an XC70 instead at the time as they were a bit cheaper but less good on fuel

Currently using a friends Outback 3.0 H6 and it's also good (but much thirstier)

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E400d estate.

I'd say E400d too. Although if you've got the trailer saloons probably represent better vfm and will likely give a wider choice of used options. Edit: actually they're not common so it looks like a 350 is more achievable.

Also https://www.practicalcaravan.com/buying-guides/10-best-cars-for-towing-caravans-new-models

Octavia scout?

I put some injector cleaner in today, only had one tiny little burble but I may have been concentrating on my driving a bit more than usual.

Took the car up a mountain on a 4WD track today, by accident. But we pushed on, it was great! This car can do almost anything.

E class is probaby the ultimate vehicle for this sort of thing (I've never driven one but been a passenger odd times and they seem like nice places to be).

Are any of them 4wd?

Quite a lot of the newer ones are- I don’t know if all the E400d’s are but I think the ones I looked at all were.

So my first track day, an open pit lane day arranged by Track Obsession at Brands Hatch (Indy circuit). I took my brother as a bit of a birthday treat and we drove my 996. My main takeaways:

• it’s great to know what your car feels like and how it behaves when close to the limit, so much grip!
  
• It’s quite stressful doing it in your own car, that you’d like to keep in one piece and have to drive home, especially when it’s damp and you see some crashes! Quite overwhelming initially as a newbie.
  
• Navigating traffic (it was quite busy) doesn’t take too long to get to grips with.
  
• Watching the other cars go round and mooching round the garages is a lot of fun in itself.
  
• Brands hatch Indy is great and perfect for a novice for exactly the reason @NurseHolliday said - fewer corners = more practice and improvement. Paddock hill bend is bonkers!
  
• It was great to go with someone else as a newbie, deffo recommend that you get to share the experience (and cost!).
  
  

Really enjoyed it, my brother also recognised a couple of people from YT/sim racing originally - Super GT and Jimmy Broadbent driving a ratty but very rapid flame-spitting mk4 Supra. Id deffo do it again 👍

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I used to use an Octavia Scout, the 140bhp TDI one was pretty good.

Has anyone had a W163 ML270?
I'm thinking about going to look at one for sale over the next week or so.
219,000 miles but looks pretty clean and rust free and just been through the test last week.

@ChasnotRobert I've always put tow bars on my cars. Last three were A2, Swift and now my Ignis. With the weights you have suggested doesn't really matter the car.