2011 Ford Mondeo Diesel - yes... a front wheel drive wagon!!

[Deleted]

Our tow vehicle that we have been using for the last 8 months is a Ford Mondeo Diesel Wagon - front wheel drive.

On paper it looked good, with a 1600kg towing capacity and the grunt to pull it along... not to mention an average fuel consumption of 5.9L/100km.

In reality as a tow vehicle it has more than proved itself. We have taken the van around Tassie (hilly, windy, rough roads and gravel roads), and it has been a dream. It has plenty of grunt to pull our van (which is only 1100-1200kg approx loaded). The rear suspension in the Mondeo is self-levelling, so no sagging rear end.

The diesel consumption is about 10-12L/100km towing the van, as long as we don't go over 95km/hr (ish), the old van isn't so aerodynamic, lol
It also has an 80L fuel tank, so we are only filling up when towing every 700km or so.

The only time we've struggled with the front wheel drive aspect of it was getting the van into a free camp spot on a steep grassy paddock, we were spinning the front wheels a bit as the traction control just couldn't pull it up. We ended up going in backwards... no problems (understandably this won't always be possible, but we found out what our limits are

In summary - if you have a light van, I would definitely recommend the Mondeo

[bobt]

gidday caravanovice

Welcome aboard. Me Little Brother has the petrol version and he loves it. He does not tow. I would be very happy if I was getting those sort of fuel consumption figures when I was towing my van.

A wind deflector will help with the Aero dynamics if you want to go to the expense.

bobt

[doublechevron]

I'm not sure why your surprised.... Citroens have won the european tow car of the year awards since the 70's ... (or as far back as I've found the awards). FWD seem more stable to me, you pulling from the front, rather than the middle. awd is obviously the best of the lot. Also see your picture above ..... I've towed with one of these old citroens for decades



Look at the distance on the european cars between the rear axle and towbar .... the towbar is almost over the axle. Next time your in a carpark have a look at one of the modern twin cab utes. The towbar is so far behind the rear axle it's just insane. The leverage effect would be incredible. Citroens all self level too... so you drop a loaded car trailer on them, the front lowers back to the right height, and the rear lifts back up regardless of the weight placed on it.

I've retired my old Citroens from towing to take the pressure off them... I used an old range rover now, that is full time 4wd and has a boge load leveller on the rear axle. So it "pumps" itself back to the correct height as you move along. Pretty nifty really (if you ever see an old range rover, look under it, the rear axle has a coil spring each side, but the middle of the axle has what appears to be a 3rd spring, it's actually a hydraulic ram that lifts the rear back up from the central pivot point, but still allows the car to ride really nicely on soft springs).

I'd go front wheel drive everytime for towing if I could. Way, superior to trying to drive the vehicle from the center. You only issue will be moving off on slippery ground on a steep slope.

I reckon the ultimate setup is ute/twin cab ute with a 5th wheeler, the ball is slightly forward of the rear axle in the tub.... so it'll tow like a semi trailer and spread the weight over the both axles.

[tedalley]

Bobt said ---- A wind deflector will help with the Aero dynamics if you want to go to the expense.

OR you could just leave your tailgate up....
i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss150/jmurfet/image.jpg1.jpg

[Mustang]

Sharp!!!!