Kia ceed 1.6cdi ecodynamic

[DeeRama]

Dear all.
I've just collected our first second hand caravan. Lunar chateau 500.
Having never considered buying a caravan our car thoughts were not that way inclined and the ceed was bought some years ago.
However, towing the caravan today was a breeze. Cruise control for most of the way along both small (somewhat scary) a roads home and dual carriageway. Some tough inclines which needed 4th gear and loss of 10mph but it pulled no problem.
I couldn't find much about people towing with a normal ceed, so hopefully a search may pull this thread. My ceed 2 (hatchback) did pretty well and stuck to 50-60mph without much issue. Averaged >36mpg too, so just about half normal. Wasn't a loaded van other than the awning in it so probably weighing in at just over the tonne. Will have to see what the wife's 200 shoes for any occasion will add to it.
Extended frame on the lunar and alko stabliser gave a very forgiving experience too.
All the best
D

 

[Craigyoung]

Nice to hear youve gettin the towing bug ! Get packing and get away ! Mind you mentioned the shoes dont forget your weight will double when when the makeup is added , if your worried about dodgy roads when towing , we use the caravan sat nav which keeps you on the main roads and off the tricky ones . Enjoy
Craig .

 

[DeeRama]

Thanks Craig. I've heard mixed things about caravan sat navs. Which one do you have??
D

 

[Martin24]

D, forget the sat nav, just invest in a normal road atlas and save the money for things you do need. We've used ours twice, without the van in 4 years.

 

[Raywood]

Good to hear you are happy with the caravan. Having got the bug you might begin to miss it when not away in it though.

 

[Craigyoung]

We have a TomTom motorhome caravan Sat Nav excellent piece of kit never got lost since we've used . it has gettin us to places we would never have found and getting us to the gates of where we needed to be exactly in France and holland .

 

[Hutch]

Hi DeeRama, we have a old Snooper 2000 caravan dedicated SatNav, it has all the C&MC ,CCC, Bord, ACSI, Etc with cl/cs sites it can be programmed to whatever length, width and weight of caravan / trailer you want. Never let me down yet in the UK and in Europe. But the scren is a bit small nowadays.

 

[Craigyoung]

And then there's Hutch's eyesight !

 

[Dustydog]

SWMBO has a c'eed. The 7 years warranty is exceptional.
Never used it for towing but it does do 61 mpg + on long journeys.
Remember caravanning is an all seasons hobby and you don't have to travel too far from home to enjoy it. Glad you have had a good time :cheer:

 

[jamestaylor18]

I have got a 13 plate ceed same as yours 1.6L CDi. It has a clutch problem and had a new clutch under warranty last year. The general towing performance is fine, it manages hills etc, but you do need to work the gear box a bit. I do feel though the clutch is its downfall. I had to reverse up an incline and man, did the clutch stink! I try to motor move for any reverse manoeuvres, but my van battery was knackered and it wasn't an option.

On the plus side for me... I recently considered swapping my ceed for an insignia, but people have said the same, try to avoid reversing as the clutch doesn't like it on an incline, so sounds pretty common issue with clutches and reversing.

I do plan to swap mine at some point for something 2L engine, but for now, its ample,