Hi All. I have a friend who wants a Subaru but also need to tow a horse box.
Would the Outback be a good choice, and which engine??

Thanks, Mark..

 

The main thing to be aware of when towing is the laden weight of the trailer/box.

The outback is a capable car...and will do the job well.....but if your friend is towing with 2 horses in the trailer I would be concerned with the legality.

Average 16 hand horse is the best part of a tonne
Trailer is approx 500kg
One horse and trailer equals the weight of your car
Two horses and a trailer is well over...and a large 4x4 would be better.

 

friend of mine here has horses and uses the general rule of thumb:

Your average two horse box is at least 750kg, at two horses at 500Kg a piece and you'll need a car with at least 2500kg towing capacity to give yourself a margin of safety, neither the outback or the forester have the sort of capacity you're looking for with a maximum of 2000Kg. You'll probably need to be looking at the big 4x4's (landcruisers, shoguns, patrols)

It all depends on the weights at the end of the day

 

She only needs to be able to tow a single horsebox with a 15 hand horse in it. However, she reckons she will have to do this very rarely.

She has a Land Cruiser at the moment but wants to get rid of it and downsize to something with enough boot space for two labradors!!

Which engine is best though??