Advise please.

[Philtug]

Hi. New to the forum and been a while since I towed a caravan.

Currently in the process of choosing a tow car to match 1700kg Adria Adora. Having looked at what is suitable, moving towards a 2018 Kia Sorento. It appears to have a lot of towing benefits for a good price.

Looked at Mercedes GLE 250, Audi Q5, VW and Volo; don't want a Land Rover. Most mean getting a older car for the same money with less on them. Also like the 7 year warranty that come with a Kia approved car. I'm looking at the GT LineS as it has most of the bell and whistles.

I have searched on here for Kia Sorento related post. Just wondered anyone has one and what they think of it.

Not sure if I should ask as I have all most decided, but is there a car to compete on cost and towing aids. Mainly Trailer Stability, Self Levelling Suspension.

Is there anything relating to total length of outfit, as mine will be a touch over 13 metres. Looking to tow more in Europe.

Thanks for reading.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The Adria is quite a large caravan with an MTPLM of 1700. From weights information I have seen about the Sorento it will have a kerb weight of about 1950kg this gives a towing ratio of 1700/1950 = 0.87 or 87%.

That ratio seems to be quite good, and with et Sorentos towing limit in excess of 2000kg, it should cope quite well.

This combination will have a combined Maximum Authorised Mass in excess of 3500kg, so you will need to have cat Be or B+E on your driving licence.

 

[woodsieboy]

You could look at Hyundai Santa Fe, the sister car to the Kia, mechanically similar and towing limits the same,we have friends who have just changed from Sorrento to Santa Fe, bought the 7 seater automatic with self leveling suspension.

 

[Philtug]

Decision done, gone for Kia Sorento GT LineS. Thanks for your replies.

Looking forward to putting the caravan on the back and setting off.

 

[Scorpy]

We have a Sorento Automatic 7 seater CRDI and tow a Coachman 1680KG with no problems whatsoever. Been all over Europe and our combined length of 12.27m has never been a problem.
Hope you're happy with your purchase
Mike

 

[Hutch]

Philplug, you should have no problems , as you see, we tow a 2013 560 Coachman VIP, 1645 Max ??? With our Sante Fe , been all over France and into Switzerland. Solo. Only problem was one year at+38c temp at 2500 meters up with heavy car, maxed out and Maxed out caravan the car was over heating for a day, got down to 35 c and 1500 meters all was ok. The choise of the Kia Kia is a great. Big and strong, nice. A good choice.

 

[RayS]

If you are going to Spain you may need to fit Long Vehicle plates to rear of caravan. These are required for outfits 12m long or more. Plates need to be specific design and placed in specific positions. CAMC probaby can advise - sorry I can't be more specific but it's some years since I had a 12m + long outfit.
On the spot fines can be quite stiff running towards 200euro, so may be worth considering, particularly since the B****** thing may be causing some annoyance with us Brits.

 

[Buckman]

If you are going to Spain you may need to fit Long Vehicle plates to rear of caravan. These are required for outfits 12m long or more. Plates need to be specific design and placed in specific positions. CAMC probaby can advise - sorry I can't be more specific but it's some years since I had a 12m + long outfit.
On the spot fines can be quite stiff running towards 200euro, so may be worth considering, particularly since the B****** thing may be causing some annoyance with us Brits.

We have them fitted on the rear of our caravan. Seems you cannot post pictures on this forum?

 

[otherclive]

You can post pictures but you need to upload them to a third party site. I use Postimage.com. If you search the posties/stickies or just search post pictures you will find the details.

 

[ProfJohnL]

... Self Levelling Suspension. ...

I was just checking some posts an I reread this thread, and I don't know why I didn't pick up on this point before.

It's just a note of something to be aware of in what in most other respects seems a good choice. Self leveling suspension is a great option to have, as it keeps the car and the caravan in a consistent attitude. However for the unwary it can mask a loading problem. Just be careful with loading both the car and caravan, and make sure all loads are within the specifications limits, and the two to particularly careful about are the load on the cars rear axle, and the caravans nose load, as there are no obvious telltale signs becasue the suspension self levels.

 

[otherclive]

... Self Levelling Suspension. ...

I was just checking some posts an I reread this thread, and I don't know why I didn't pick up on this point before.

It's just a note of something to be aware of in what in most other respects seems a good choice. Self leveling suspension is a great option to have, as it keeps the car and the caravan in a consistent attitude. However for the unwary it can mask a loading problem. Just be careful with loading both the car and caravan, and make sure all loads are within the specifications limits, and the two to particularly careful about are the load on the cars rear axle, and the caravans nose load, as there are no obvious telltale signs becasue the suspension self levels.

Good point although cars fitted with the Sachs hydraulic system will drop under load but as soon as you drive off road-wheel movement activated the system pump and the rear of the car will rise.