Attn: Caravelle Owners - What is realistic towing ability of Caravelle's TDI340?

[VeeDubVanMan]

I currently own a 2006 2.5TDI T5 Multivan, which tows a two-tonne boat long distances (and big hills) with ease. Nowadays I need extra seats, so am looking at buying a new Caravelle, but the only engine option is the TDI340. Very interested to hear from Caravelle owners who have had experience towing a heavy trailer long distances (with a cabin full of people).
My gut feeling is that 340Nm of torque is far-less-than-ideal to tow a big load with 8 people in the cabin. Would love to be proved wrong!

[Umai Naa!!]

The old 2.5s were rated at 400Nm from what I can tell.

Maybe take a new one for a spin? They do deliver the torque very differently.

[VeeDubVanMan]

Thanks Ultimate Dubber. I neglected to mention that I live in Wagga. The dealer here doesn't keep Caravelles on the floor. Not sure how many dealers would be keen to fit a towbar on a showroom Caravelle and let me take it for a test drive with a two tonne boat and trailer. Hence my question to other owners who tow big loads.

[Tornado T5]

I don't have a Caravelle, instead a Transit Custom auto with 385Nm and a Trafic Crewvan with 340Nm. Just this Friday I towed a 1200Kg load in my tandem trailer so say 1800Kg inc trailer while also carrying a 1000Kg load in the rear of the Trafic. From a standstill the Trafic was fine, on the move however such as pulling out into the right lane for overtaking and needing to maintain speed up a hill requires far more effort and concentration. My old T5 2.5 tdi with 400Nm with auto was simply better. If I could have waited, I would have bought a tdi450 T6 with maybe 4motion but again they don't come in a factory Crewvan in Oz and it's nearly 6 months wait.

I strongly believe that if you are more relaxed while driving, and with your scenario of 8 people and heavy tow load at max. towing capacity of the VW you don't want the added angst of having to take even greater care to plan overtaking moves, or actually forego them because you just don't have the ability to accelerate easily. Seeing your speed drop off or having to shift down 3 gears and rev the head off the engine also can be painful to see and hear to you and those following behind. This could potentially only add to your driving frustration. See if you can get hold of a Transporter with tdi340 to test drive, it will weigh less then a Caravelle but will be a better guide. Maybe even second hand.

[VeeDubVanMan]

Thank you, Tornado T5. Much appreciated. Yeah, I've got a 2013 Kia Grand Carnival diesel - 143Kw - 429Nm. The Grand Carnival certainly has enough grunt to tow the boat with 8 people in the car, no problems at all. But I would still much prefer to tow the boat with my Multivan because it is such a heavy vehicle and sticks to the road beautifully. The Grand Carnival's lightness feels much more unstable in comparison, and the Kia's cabin is so much more cramped than the 'ballroom' of th VW. Only problem is that I have to leave someone at home if I want to take the Multivan! From what you have said, I am strengthened in my suspicion that the Caravelle just hasn't got enough grunt to do the job without blowing the head off. Keen to hear from Caravelle owners.

[TheKiwi]

I've got a T6 multivan TDI340. I've had a dual axle trailer with decent load on it (from memory weigh bridge van and trailer came in at 3.49T) with 2 passengers in the van.

It towed fine. Very stable, very comfortable at 100kph. Much better feel when keeping the transmission in sports mode. But as mentioned above, would want some room for overtaking. I don't think there would be any issues with hills etc, as it can hold it's own no issue, but lacks the acceleration "punch" that the bigger motors give.

[VeeDubVanMan]

Thanks for your feedback, TheKiwi. Much appreciated. The kerb weight of the Multivan is a bit over 2t. Right now I just want to find out if there's any way to drop a TDI450 donk in a Caravelle. That would give me much more peace of mind. Can't believe VW don't allow that as an option.