Manufacturers keen to make their cars lighter?

[MichaelE]

I have just seen the details on the new Hyundai Santa Fe and the new Kia Sorento which are available to order/buy from around September.
What seems to be the case now are the manufactures are making their cars much lighter, the 2 cars above have shed 100- 120kgs each?
How much more weight can the caravan manufactures remove? Will the units inside be made of lightweight plastics in the future?
Will smaller fridges be the norm?

 

[Martin24]

Even the new RR is going to be lighter than before when it is launched. Having said that the disco and freelander have all gained compared to their original guises

 

[Lutz]

Because of ever more stringent vehicle emissions regulations, manufacturers are forced to reduce weight. Less weight means less fuel consumption and every manufacturer has fleet fuel consumption targets which must be fulfilled.
In the case of caravans, however, the trend is generally in the opposite direction. They are getting heavier all the time as owners demand ever more sophisticated equipment and creature comforts. What caravans 30 or 40 years ago had motor movers, electronic stabilisers, microwave ovens and all the other goodies that we've got used to in the meantime?

 

[Raywood]

Most car manufacturers are making cars lighter leaving those who want a heavier caravan to use 4x4's. Customers demand caravans with all the goodies and then complain about the weight but you cannot square both ends of the circle.
Other than Coachman the caravan manufacturers have all now brought out more basic lighter caravans so we will have to see how things go in the long run.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Most car manufacturers are making cars lighter leaving those who want a heavier caravan to use 4x4's.

There are three things wrong with that assumption.

Not all 4x4x are good tow vehicles,
Not all 4x4 are heavey
and there are some pretty heavey 2wd vehicles that are available.

Above details aside, the general move to reduce vehicle weight is going to impact on caravanners. They will be forced to look for heavier cars, which in general are also more expensive.

 

[Surfer]

Toyota are going the other way and are introducing a 3.2L engine which will probably be heavier.

 

[Raywood]

Having just ordered a new car same make same model despite having a larger engine 2.2 litres against 2.0 it is still nominally lighter although some of this may be down to it having no spare wheel which almost put me off buying it. Seems to be a trend if you look at the tests in the latest magazine, there is a wheel well so I will just have to buy a spare.

 

[archiesgrandad]

Hi,
My favourite tow car is theVW Sharan & co. The gross weight is 2000kilo for the old one, and 1800kilo,for the new one. The tow limit is around 2000kilo, aand the nose weight is 90kilo. They will tow,more or less all the caravans we might have, I found that it was superb towing our Swift Conquorer 580, (11.00 hours fromm Argentiere in the Ardeche to Calais is still better than I have subsequently managed in the Motorhomes and RV that we have had since). I also have a 4x4 Jeep Cherokee, I love it but do not find it as good a tow car as the Sharan.
I am not convinced that 4x4s are that much better in almost every situation. I never got stuck on wet grass, as a chauffeur I travel all over the UK in all weathers, and I never get stuck, and why would you want too tow a caravan in the snow. I do 50,000 miles a year, and the MPV's do about 250,000 with no major replacement parts. The fuel consumption is around 45 mpg solo, and 28mpg towing.
People will say that they need a 4x4 because they live in the Far Frozen North or similar, or they live in the country, I notice that people living,in the Alps, or Pyrenees do not generally drive 4x4s, they have little fwd hatchbacks, and Transit style vans. My army instructor made the point that four wheel drive simply enables you to get much further into trouble before you realise that you have a problem. AGD

 

[Martin24]

Most car manufacturers are making cars lighter leaving those who want a heavier caravan to use 4x4's. Customers demand caravans with all the goodies and then complain about the weight but you cannot square both ends of the circle.
Other than Coachman the caravan manufacturers have all now brought out more basic lighter caravans so we will have to see how things go in the long run.

The 2012 Coachmans have all lost weight! Okay I'm not about to ditch the defender but they are lighter than most!! Having looked at some of the 'lightweights' I can see why they aren't doing one!