Good CX life

[scooters]

Ok

So Friday morning I'm towing with the Discovery 1 when I notice the temp gauge is off the scale. Pull over and pop the bonnet. Sure enough glowing. ..

Back into seat and put on heater...Full blast hot...cold air.

Water pump is dead. Lots of cursing and swearing as I have an urgent requirement to tow 700 kg of machines 250 miles to Chester on Saturday.

Step up the only car available for the job. The CX GTI.

 

Left at 5.30 am hitched up a tonne and headed off. arrived at site at 11. Unload and headed back with empty trailer. Arrived home at 4.15. Car didn't miss a beat. Temp never got out of control and it only burned 100mls of oil.

 

It's a 29 year old car.

[twosmoke300]

What a car. Quiter and smoother than the disco too I bet.

When I had to pick up a 4 post ramp from derby (im in Cornwall) I had the choice of my dad's terrano van or my Saab 9-5 . Used the Saab and so glad I did . Avg 25mpg with over 1.6 ton behind it as well as all our tools and me and brother on board . And comfy and quiet .

[Tetleysmooth]

 

Blimey scooters, do you ever stop towing around the UK?

 

You pull more trailers than me, and I drive artics for a living.

[HMC]

Great! That's what people forget, yes there's a lot of engineering at work but actually that means they're brilliantly capable cars, especially hauling stuff about with the constantly self levelled suspension etc, bet you turned a few heads whilst doing it scooters!

[NorfolkNWeigh]

This thread reminds me that you rarely see ordinary cars pulling caravans these days. It's all soft roaders and SUVs . We've got a Gaylander 2 and a Chrysler 300 as everyday cars ,both have tow bars fitted by previous owners ,I know which one I'd rather tow a fucking great caravan with and it's not the wobbly,manual 4 cylinder rattllebox,but every other new caravan I see is being towed by a posh giffer with a brand new Gaylander ,I've never seen a 300 towing anything.

[forddeliveryboy]

Once towed a big 27' wooden sailing boat behind a Range Rover - great for slipway work but not happy beyond 50mph on the road, it scared me at times. Think the short wheelbase and long overhang was the main trouble. So brought it back with my own car, a CX Safari diesel. What a contrast - sat at 55-65mph and felt as if it would be happy even faster. The worse the conditions or the more you ask, the better one gets. It's like a rain-lashed M-way, you wonder why everyone else has slowed so much.

[mat_the_cat]

This thread reminds me that you rarely see ordinary cars pulling caravans these days.

 

Is that partly because most things are FWD nowadays? And therefore GR-1 for traction on a wet (i.e. UK) campsite. That was one of the reasons my Dad moved to a Freelander, that and my Mum finds it easier to get into a higher car rather than lower herself into a normal one.

[richardmorris]

The only real issue with the GTi is that the auto gearing is quite low. I nearly bought a prestige back in '97 (should have done as it was very solid and cheap) but I didn't like the auto - at 80mph it was over 4,000 I think, which to be honest so is the x1/9 but that's not supposed to be a relaxed cruiser.

 

I only had the 2CV at the time and I remember being very impressed test driving this prestige when joining the sliproad to the M3 the guy said put your foot down - so I did. It went 60, 70, 80, 90 faster then you would think possible for a then 22year old limo.

 

My CX DTR manual by comparison was at 2500rpm at 75mph.

[dollywobbler]

Yet the BX and (I think) CX both won tow car of the year. Perhaps traction isn't everything? Or is it just that a soft-roader 'looks' like it should be better at towing?

[Shep Shepherd]

Bouncy Cits FTW

[forddeliveryboy]

Yet the BX and (I think) CX both won tow car of the year. Perhaps traction isn't everything? Or is it just that a soft-roader 'looks' like it should be better at towing?

 

Pretty important, when towing - I've had white knuckles towing a trailer (about 900kg) with a Xantia TD when the front tyres started slipping going up a short little hill with a sharp corner half way up. The road was wet, it was cold. The tyres weren't Chinese cheapies, but they weren't new Michelins either. I kept the wheels spinning a bit faster than we were going, didn't dare slow any more than necessary. I'd done the same hill countless times in a CX TD with heavier trailers, never a hint of a problem even with a tonne and a half behind.

 

A CX has a tiny rear overhang and the engine is well over the front wheels, awesome towcar, No rubber in the suspension like on most, which makes many a modern car feel far better than it is and goes all horrid when there's a big load up or you're towing. It almost played with this massive, heavy boat which the Range Rover had struggled with - it was another of those Citroen experiences where they spring yet another surprise on you and leave you quite in awe.