The new Kia Sorento looks tempting and scores higher than the Germans. The weird thing is it comes in auto only. Hybrid petrol, diesel. Hybrid Max tow is 1650, diesel 2500. Quite a big difference! Is it that the EV part isn’t man enough for the weight loads? Strange because I thought an electric motor was a powerful beast?
My initial assumption is it would be due to the characteristics of the petrol engine, after any help from energy stored in the battery has been used up?
I think that Kia are hedging their bets in that they still see a market for a towcar that can tow large/heavy trailers over long distances and extended gradients. The diesel would do that superbly. The petrol hybrid meets the needs of owners who wanted to balance daily motoring needs with the ability to tow lower weight trailers. The petrol engine being designed more for efficiency than outright performance which would penalise fuel consumption when running in petrol only mode. Without knowing Kia’s marketing strategy model it’s not really possible to criticise the hybrid. It would be eminently feasible to install more powerful electric motors but the penalty could be larger batteries and/or a larger engine.
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Hi JezzerB i hope it everything you want and keep us updated how it goes
Dusty
Could you please provide a link to the review, not that we are looking for a brand new towcar, but having had two Kia’s I have a “soft spot” for their products. 🤫
226 bhp from the 1.6 litre petrol. I assume that includes for battery power otherwise it’s a real screamer! Wonder what the power is with a flat battery? It’s not a plug in hybrid either. The range starts at £39k. Long gone are the days of premium performance at a budget price😂
Hi Dusty i might be interested in this like what Clive says not getting one yet but have you the link to the review thanks
Last month was the second month in a row that pure EV and hybrid outsold diesel cars. 18000 cf 16000.
Should be good deals on pre reg or ore owned diesels. But new ones will get scarcer as manufacturers move to changeover their lines and supply chains to meet demand for electrified vehicles.
Should be good deals on pre reg or ore owned diesels. But new ones will get scarcer as manufacturers move to changeover their lines and supply chains to meet demand for electrified vehicles.
As you suggest there is no compulsion to change away from ICE vehicles at the moment, but it is entirely possible the Government may try to encourage people to change, probably through fuel and road fund duty up lifts. and localised low emmision zone charges.Will be sticking with my 2013 Sorento KX2 with only 25k miles from new and now only worth £10k, buying it to last my retirement out, I can not justify changing until Mr Chancellor makes that decision for me.
Even after 2030, second hand ICE vehicles can be sold, so its not as if their is going to be an overnight switch to EV's, it will be a progressive shift and it will take many decades before all the daily driven cars will become EVs.
i am hoping to keep my Tiguan for another couple of years then i will upgrade to another car might be a diesel or petrol hybrid
Possibly what kills the ICE will be the cost of fuel. This would be fairly cheap if it were not for the duty we pay, but as numbers drop the cost of refining it and distribution may increase and gradually price the cars out of the market. I assume that classic and vintage cars will still be allowed to run so the fuel will need to be produced to some level though.
Probably right to hold fire on the choice. If you are not looking to replace the tow car for some time, it is best to wait and see where things when the time comes.
Probably right to hold fire on the choice. If you are not looking to replace the tow car for some time, it is best to wait and see where things when the time comes.
I agree, especially as the EV market is rapidly developing and whilst there may be no EV's that presently meet your wants, there may may be more suitable ones in the not to distant future.
The Ford Kuga hybrid with a 2.3 litre petrol engine is limited to 1200 kg tow weight. Range was not established but okay if you live in East Anglia.
I am begining to like a Toyota Rav4 2.5 Hybrid AWD are they good for towing This would be another option to the
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV SUV
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV SUV
I am not aware of any tests on the Toyota as a tow car and it being so new I doubt we will get anyone on here who has tried it. It looks good on paper and might be on the short list when our Mazda comes up for replacement, but we will wait and see what is available then.
If it’s like the 2.3 petrol Kuga the tow weight is too low for most at 1200 kg.
I was talking someone who works for Toyota who got one and pulls a caravan with it and he said this Gross Vehicle weight 2215KG Maximum trailer weight braked 1650kg.
Maximum Trailer Weight Unbraked 750 kg.
Maximum Trailer Weight Unbraked 750 kg.
With the Goverment wanting to kill off ICE, vechiles, the hybrids tugging weights, being low,( we tow a Coachman at 1645kg and to us its just big enough) and us getting older and wanting to maybe down size our house, I can foresee me and the better half giving up caravanning in the next 5 years.
We love going to differet places, to see nice pubs for a beer and a wine, but if you need to have a meal at every visit,that will disappear, We are not into Statley Homes and Gardens, we live next to Woburn Abbey, and I don't want to pay to keep his 25 mile wall in repair. would rather a ramble around the Peak Cavern and go for a beer in a pub in Castleton. . I have not seen the increase of charging points in areas like these. For EV's Charging points for electric bikes or mobility Vechiles I think are non excistant. I think our touring hobby is in serious decline in the next ten years.
We love going to differet places, to see nice pubs for a beer and a wine, but if you need to have a meal at every visit,that will disappear, We are not into Statley Homes and Gardens, we live next to Woburn Abbey, and I don't want to pay to keep his 25 mile wall in repair. would rather a ramble around the Peak Cavern and go for a beer in a pub in Castleton. . I have not seen the increase of charging points in areas like these. For EV's Charging points for electric bikes or mobility Vechiles I think are non excistant. I think our touring hobby is in serious decline in the next ten years.
I don't want to prematurely cast doubt about the possibilities of caravan touring with EV's in the future. There are a few EV's that have been prototypes with towing in mind, but they do seem to be the most expensive EV's and almost too rugged for normal day to day use e.g. Rivian, Cybertruck and there have been a couple of others.
There is an American website (TFLcars) that has done quite a few comparative tests between EV's ( and ICE vehicles) including some towing tests. These tests are not laboratory grade but they do make sense and keep things closer to the real world. EV's are far more sensitive than ICE systems when important criteria change, such as mass, and wind resistance.
Towing something like a caravan affects both of these criteria significantly and as a consequence range suffers significantly. But then the same also happened to ICE vehicles, but it's less offensive because it's far quicker to fill the fuel tank, than to recharge the battery.
As time goes by EV's battery developments will yield batteries with better energy densities, and improved charging times, but I suspect it will never match the energy density of a tank of petrol or diesel, and it's speed of replenishment. So I am certain we will need to change our car ownership and usage habits. This will have a knock on effect on touring caravanning.
It is clear though, if caravan sites want to remain viable as we use more EV's, they are going to to have to look into how EV' owners can recharge cars effectively on site or at least very nearby.
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