Performance cars are becoming a 'no tow' zone
Affordable performance cars have never been better or gone harder. But they’ve all lost the ability to pull a trailer to Bunnings. Here’s why…
This report is based on an enquiry from a dude named Chris who is looking for a performance car that can do more than just go fast.
He tells me:
I’m looking for options to replace my ageing 2011 Subaru WRX hatch. The car has served me very well as an everyday runabout in the past decade, but it’s starting to show its age with an increasing need for repairs of the past 12 months.
I’m looking for an equivalent performance hatch or small SUV like a Kona N
If you’re like Chris, considering a small SUV like the Hyundai Kona or Kia Seltos, perhaps the Mazda CX-3 or Subaru XV check out my reviews for them via these links.
Here’s what Chris wants his next new car to do:
It must have decent performance because I hate a boring drive.
It needs to be a hatch for cargo carry.
It must be able to tow light loads like my current WRX. My current job means I need to park regularly in shopping centre carparks and is at the mercy of stray trolleys.
Good luck protecting your pride and joy from those harsh operating conditions, Chris. You might as well attempt to drive it onto a top secret military base, unannounced.
If you’re in a hurry and need to know Why performance cars are officially a 'no towing' zone (Part 2) click here to get to the answer quickly.
But Chris has done a great job of assessing what he needs his next car to do for the majority of his driving. Most people don’t make this critical analysis of 90 per cent of the driving their next car is expected to do. 13 out of a possible 10 for doing your homework before purchasing.
Do you really want to go sticking a clumsy, rusty pig trailer on the back of that?
I’ve recently looked at options and in my eye the Hyundai i30 N was a front runner. It has solid performance credentials and is clearly track capable which is a bonus as it wouldn’t require any upgrades as a daily runabout.
Agreed, Chris. You want a car that is good to go to a track out of the box and yet is fully capable of daily driving requirements. And very few people would be capable of taking that car to a track and pushing it to the edge of its performance envelope.
I enquired with the local dealership and to my disappointment, none of the N cars are rated for towing, neither Kona or i30 N.
The Kona N is a bit of a freak show. It’s great to drive, but it doesn’t really make sense because an i30 N is faster because it’s lighter and lower. There is also the new Hyundai i20 N which is ridiculously fun and fast enough for any punter, it’s just on the smaller side and lacks the crazy Jedi E-diff in i30 N (including Fastback).
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WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS FOR PERFORMANCE & LIGHT TOWING?
Chris has clearly looked into his options on this performance-mandated light-towing new car procurement, which is more than can be said of many consumers today.
Too many people just buy the car first, figure out it doesn’t do what’s needed, and either modify their performance car, or get annoyed they were sold the wrong vehicle, when they probably didn’t do the research.
He says:
The dealer just provides excuses, not reasons, for this absence of a towbar. I’ve since looked at performance options with other brands, and the story is the same - if you want performance in the 2020s, it comes with zero tow capacity.
Subaru WRX (fugly), Toyota Yaris GR (great, but too small), Honda Civic Type-R (boy racer), Mercedes AMG (overpriced), it’s the same story with all of them. It’s as if the car gods have decided towing and performance are mutually exclusive.
Why would car companies not bother to compliance their vehicles for some kind of towing capacity in Australia? I just want to tow a small watercraft a few times a year, some rubbish to the tip, or a trailer of supplies from Bunnings. Maybe 500-700kgs of towing at best.
This is the kind of towing most people are likely to do and what most base models are able to do. It seems if you want a performance hatch you’re also expected to own yet another vehicle for a dozen towing trips.
I think that is exactly the expectation.
What's most frustrating is that many of these cars including the i30n are compliant for towing up to 1250 kilos overseas but not here, which is plain ridiculous.
I'm not sure about that. I haven't looked into it. You might be right Chris.
Manufacturers even have OEM tow bars available in those markets. Please feel free to make sense of it all for me. Any suggestions for other worthwhile options that I could consider?
Many thanks in advance,
Chris
Car companies are ridiculously economically rational. I think what they've just done here is calculate the cost of compliance for a towbar, for example, would be X-many dollars in Australia, and the number of buyers who are likely to do towing with these performance vehicles is probably a small number. Therefore they cannot amortise the cost over the number of people who are likely to opt for a tow bar in a vehicle such as that.
There doesn't seem to be a technical reason why any of those vehicles couldn't hypothetically tow - they certainly have enough power to tow a light load. And you’re certainly not trying to join the heavy towing fraternity.
None of them come with spare tyres, so at least on that front, irrespective of what you're towing, if you get a flat tyre, you're going to be stopped on the side of the road looking for a tow truck.
I don't see there is any major downside to not having a tow capacity in that respect, it's got to just be an economical rationality problem you’ve stumbled across. What you've got to ask yourself is how disposable is your need for towing?
If a towbar installation costs $1000, you’ll hire a Bunnings ute 35 times until breaking even. A two-hour courtesy trailer is also available at most Bunnings stores, FYI.
When it comes to picking up garden supplies, you have options like hiring a ute or paying for delivery, you might be able to ask a neighbour or friend to assist with their ute or trailer. It’s very easy to outsource delivery. Bunnings offers courtesy two-hour trailer hire, too.
How often do you use the watercraft? It’s pretty easy to hire a 4x2 single-cab ute from Budget or Coates Hire, wherever, and use someone else’s vehicle for those light towing assignments. How much is it going to cost you? Here’s how much:
It’s going to be pointless demanding car companies homologate a towbar installation into the compliance envelope for a performance car.
Also, a towbar will affect the performance of your vehicle on a track or on a twisty road. Having that extra 40kg or whatever hanging out over the back of the rear axle. It’s always going to be there. It’s going to slightly upset the balance.
There’s also the performance tyre specification which comes with a load rating. You can decode the code on the side of the tyre, but overall, the amount of weight you put on the rear tyres by towing could exceed or get close to the tyre’s load rating. Another thing you’d have to check.
Something else you could try is getting a model grade down from the performance model, like a Cerato or i30, maybe a regular Impreza or Mazda 3 and stick a towbar on that. All four models allow for a towbar and are rated fairly low at around 1200-1300kg.
What needs investigating and due diligence is the potential for having an overseas towbar shipped, or even a local towbar (possibly), fitted by a dedicated and accredited engineering signatory. Each state vehicle authority has allowance for vehicle modifications. It might be possible to do it as a one-off engineered modification.
But definitely, the i30 N gets a resounding approval from me: it is awesome.
Ultimately, you do have options for towing your jetski and taking stuff to and from the tip and Bunnings respectively. It’s just not possible with dedicated performance models. These are the times we live in.
Holding onto some occasional-use box trailer over owning that pride-and-joy performance car you lust after doesn’t seem worth it, really. Nor does it seem rational to ignore the possibility of outsourcing those laborious, potentially damaging tasks to vehicles designed to do it, like a ute or the dedicated delivery truck for a small fee.
Buying a second-hand shitbox ute for those grubby jobs is another option, while keeping your eye on getting that performance nut conveyance.
Mazda3 should make you reconsider that heavy, impractical SUV or the long list of overpriced prestige German cars. If you’re money smart, you’ll put this sensible, stylish small hatch or sedan on your shortlist for a test drive.