What Car? Q&A - Can I tow two tonnes in my Nissan?

Q: I have a query about the Nissan X-Trail (2.2 dCi). I have just purchased a second-hand 04 model with a view for it to pull a horse trailer plus horses which will weigh about 2000kg total.

The booklet Nissan provided says it can tow 2000kg and the dealer said it should do this without a problem.

Do you have any views about this or advice you could give me?
Victoria Caffyn

A: Legally you can tow up to 2000kg with a braked trailer, but it's a lot for the X-Trail to deal with – we wouldn't recommend it.

The accepted rule of thumb is that it is only advisable to tow up to 85% of the car's kerbweight.

Your car has a kerbweight of 1650kg, so ideally you shouldn't be towing more than 1400kg.

If you're regularly going to be towing such a big trailer, you might have to accept that a bigger car, perhaps like the Nissan Patrol, is the only sensible way forward.