The blame for this 4x4 towing thing can be laid at the feet of marketing departments.
Softroaders are the root cause. Mrs Joe Public decided she needed a 4x4 to drop the kids off at school yet all the mainstream ones were too big. Cue marketing directing the construction of smaller less capable 4x4s . These are often fitted with automated 4x4 systems such as Haldex which simply cannot deal with the demands of towing. The mainstream big stuff in the meantime is trying to justify its cost so moves up market to the luxury end, the buyers of which frequent cities and large towns. The 4x4 has transitioned from being a work horse into a fashion statement and suddenly towing capacity is unimportant so the necessary hardware removed as a cost cutting exercise.
Obviously should've been Yanks ..... not Thanks
Can I just say that towing with my ML350 is effortless
I didn't fit extra coolers or fans to my previous Vauxhall tow cars & towed considerable distances here & in France with no temperature problems.
I didn't fit extra coolers or fans to my previous Vauxhall tow cars & towed considerable distances here & in France with no temperature problems.
......thats it. period. ...
I tow trailer full with oak logs and with the back filled with logs in my ML 270 standard and I don't notice any difference, even in thick mud, snow, whatever. It is awesome. See Youtube of them cracking out Siberian lorries from the ice, etc.Probably is not as important in your climate but I found my W163 with 270cdi motor experienced auto oil overheating when towing my 1600kg van here in Oz. The oil blackened quickly and smelled burnt. After any long hill climbs, the auto would not change into higher gears for quite a while after cresting the hill - an obvious attempt to increase the auto oil circulation through the heat exchanger to get the temp back to normal. I changed the oil quite often which was an expensive procedure. Cheaper then gearbox repairs tho'.
I eventually bit the bullet and inserted an extra front mounted cooling rad into the system through which the auto fluid was sent prior to going through the OE heat exchanger that is supposed to keep the fluid at a suitable temp. Completely cured the problem and oil now stays clear and gear changes never vary. Well worth the trouble. Not a huge expense.
Ian.
I tow trailer full with oak logs and with the back filled with logs in my ML 270 standard and I don't notice any difference, even in thick mud, snow, whatever. It is awesome. See Youtube of them cracking out Siberian lorries from the ice, etc.