On Wednesday, October 3, 2012 8:41:31 PM UTC-4, Andreas Maurer wrote:

Hmmmm.... I had a Golf IV Variant in Germany, and it also had that

1.000 lbs limitation - but only if the trailer did not have brakes.



The limit for a trailer with brakes was the mentioned 3.000 lbs limit.





Could you check again if you are reading your car's manual correctly,

please? I find it hard to believe that VW is limiting its cars in such

a drastic way.

The USA tow limit is 1000 lbs with/without brakes. I confirmed this with VW USA.

I speculate the following reasons:

There is no common across all manufacturers standard method to rate towing capacity in the USA. Some companies set the tow limit high and some set it low.

Marketing - the Golf is marketed as a sporty car, not a workhorse. VW would prefer to sell the more profitable SUVs to people who tow trailers.

US Drivers - VW (correctly) does not trust US drivers to drive the recommended speed. US drivers do understand how kinetic energy increases as a function of speed.

US Topography - There are of course mountains in Europe, but the USA has mountains in the desert and relatively long towing distances in the desert.