Size does matter !

[RedMike]

Hi all
we are looking to trade in all our camping gear and purchase our first caravan. We want a 4 berth Island bed and having now visited a few dealers, a Coachman or Swift are our favoured models .
The caravans we have looked at are coming out at circa 1600kgs MTPLM. My current car is too light so being a sensible chappie I shortlisted a number of suitable cars ( we quite fancied an SUV type vehicle) whose kerb weight well exceeds 1600kg. We came out with Freelander auto, RR Evoque auto & Honda CRV manual ( auto version is only tow rated at 1500kgs).
I have road tested all 3 but being quite big vehicles I cannot open the drivers door to get out of the vehicle once parked in my garage !!
We have considered turning the jungle in front of the house into a driveway but having always garaged my cars I am reluctant to park an expensive car outside.

I have found a few Coachmans whose MTPLM is closer to 1500kg rather than 1600kg & I have now started looking at physically smaller SUV type vehicles (less than 2000m wide) but with kerb weights as close to 1600kgs as possible. My short list so far is Mazda CX5, Hyundai ix35 and Hyundai Sante Fe.

I have a class 1 HGV licence although I am not a lorry driver by trade and I am aware of towing legislation and the 85% recommendation so I would just appreciate any comments on the capabilities of these 3 cars towing a 1500kg - 1600kg caravan.

All of them will obviously be diesels and auto transmission is my preference although I would also be keen to hear from anyone who can comment on the difference between the CX5 & ix35 manual and auto transmission variants.

Thanks in advance

Mike

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Sorry, I have no experience of any of the vehicles, but I congratulate you on doing your 'homework' in the first instance. Welcome to the forum.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mike. Like Woodlands I cannot comment specifically on your short list, suffuce to say that all the names vehicles have been well reviewed in the past.

I note you have an HGV1 licence, and that great insofar that HGV training will have given you a good insight into the good road manners and large vehicle handling. There are some significant differences between an HGV and car and caravan outfit. In terms of handling, the first is the caravan being counterbalanced, and the fact the nose load is quite small means the trailer induce more unsettling forces into the tow vehicle, so watch out for that.

However, even with and HGV1, it will depend on what route you took to get as to whether you will have cat BE which is what covers caravanning. This is important because I suspect virtually all the combinations you have suggested are likely to combined MAM's at or above 3500kg. If the combined MAM is over 3500 you must have cat BE or B+E on your licence. If you only have CAT B despite having HGV categories, you are not entitled to drive a car or combinations that exceeds 3500. Please check.

 

[Gafferbill]

.........not true Prof.

An HGV1 license is now known as a CE license and the E part entitles the holder to tow a trailer over 750kgs.
A driver cannot obtain a C license without first obtaining a Full B license.
Thus if a driver has a CE license they also have a BE license.

 

[RedMike]

Thanks for the Welcome Woodlands Camper. Yes, research before posting is a must as I find it usually keeps threads on topic and there is nothing worse than posting a question whose answer can be found by a simple google search etc.
Thanks for the Info ProfJohnL but just to confirm that my Class 1 licence (taken many years ago) is now know as a CE licence as Gafferbill mentions therefore I can drive a vehicle and trailer up to 44 tonnes. I am also aware of the major differences between towing at 44 tonnes and towing a caravan but I posted this info in my OP to try and give readers as much background info as possible when advising me about the tow cars in question.

Since my OP I have now removed the ix35 from my shortlist as I feel the CX5 is a better alternative. The towing qualities of the CRV and Freelander are well documented therefore I have updated my original question and I would just appreciate any comments on the capabilities of the CX5 & Santa Fe as cars suitable for towing a 1500kg - 1600kg caravan.

Thanks again

Mike

 

[DrZhivago]

"being quite big vehicles I cannot open the drivers door to get out of the vehicle once parked in my garage !!"

A common problem, and not just for larger cars. Builders always make garages to the very minimum they can get away with. I viewed a fairly modern house once where you could not even get out of a Mini in the garage (a fact - the owner had one). If I had a garage built I would actually specify the size, but I don't think this occurs to most people.

Don't even think about storing lawn-mowers and stuff together with a car either (that's one reason most cars are parked on the street). I find parking bays in places like supermarkets are getting smaller and smaller lately too, on the assumption that everyone drives a Eurobubble - or should.

 

[RedMike]

My current car is a Subaru Impreza and fits ok but typically its too light to tow the size caravan I want hence the search for something bigger. Im waiting to drive the CX5 and although its smaller than Santa Fe and CRV its still wide. Im probably resigned to off road parking not under cover