SUV or Estate?

[NigelHutson]

Morning Folks, I'm now considering the Kia Optima SW. Even though it's only got the 1.7 Diesel, its 141 bhp. Brilliant spec as well. My only concern is a video review on Youtube, where someone says that the ground clearance is low. Don't want to be in the same boat again... I'm also considering the Honda CRV. It has a low CO2 of 115, so good for company car tax. It's only a 1.6 Diesel though, but it has 120 bhp. I would still love the Kuga, but published 2017 CO2 figures of 122 for the 2.0 Duratorq have gone up to 154 in the 2018 figures. Too high for company car tax. My other choice is the Hyundai Tucson 2.0

Decisions, decisions!!!

Thanks for all of your excellent comments

I might think twice about the Optima. Pleasant enough solo, but the ones that we’ve tested at the Tow Car Awards have always had issues with ‘bottoming out’. Plus, if my addled memory serves me, they’ve not been brilliant stability wise either. And of course we’ve been testing them in ideal conditions - mass, noseweight etc., etc.

Nigel

 

[jamestaylor18]

So I turns out my Ceed estate pulls my alpine perfectly! Who knew automatics made such brilliant tow cars? Defo not going back to manual!

 

[Johnp003]

I have a 2014 BMW X1 X-Drive 2.0d. I have found it to be a brilliant car for towing my 2004 Elddis Odyssey 505. Omissions are 126 .

 

[BaileyNiggles]

I'm sure the Practical Caravan magazine ... with its nasty habit of majoring on tow car reviews as if whatever you bought last month on their recommendation is now the wrong choice THIS month ... will have some clues but my only more practical contribution would be to suggest, from our experience, the current cult of everyone getting SUVs means more often than not everyones got permanent four wheel drive which means they've all got an unnecessary big hit on MPG, and when you tow it seems all the worse. It was both quite an eye opener and relief to me to read for the first time in the magazine a few recent months ago how dismal fuel consumption is when towing. "Relief" in that we thought there was something wrong with our car, but it seems costly mass pollution from caravan users is the norm! Secondly, we thought, oooh, SUV, big car for pram, dog and stuff but then most of them, including the big externally looking VW Touareg we shortlisted, have the rear seats only a few inches from the tailgate whereas an estate car would probably mean you get more useable space ... if you can cope with the peer pressure shame of not having a fashion victim SUV.

 

[Thingy]

SUV, big car for pram, dog and stuff but then most of them, including the big externally looking VW Touareg we shortlisted, have the rear seats only a few inches from the tailgate

An estate car usually has five seats, many SUVs have seven seats, and typically, with all seven seats in place load space would be limited. Third row seats folded away and most large SUVs can rival the Estates for luggage room.

My car is especially thirsty around town but I can get a decent return on the motorway for such a heavy vehicle. When towing though, the caravan has a much less dramatic effect on consumption than on an ordinary car.

 

[BaileyNiggles]

Shows what a mine field it all is then. As I say, a VW Touareg looks big but has a useless boot and I can't really imagine where any third row of seats could even begin to fit, whereas our Mercedes GL320 (with all seven seats available) still has as much rear boot space as a five seat Touareg, or a Toyata Rav 4, for example. But as for fuel consumption the hit is bigger than for (same caravan) our Mercedes e220.

 

[otherclive]

I'm sure the Practical Caravan magazine ... with its nasty habit of majoring on tow car reviews as if whatever you bought last month on their recommendation is now the wrong choice THIS month ... will have some clues but my only more practical contribution would be to suggest, from our experience, the current cult of everyone getting SUVs means more often than not everyones got permanent four wheel drive which means they've all got an unnecessary big hit on MPG, and when you tow it seems all the worse. It was both quite an eye opener and relief to me to read for the first time in the magazine a few recent months ago how dismal fuel consumption is when towing. "Relief" in that we thought there was something wrong with our car, but it seems costly mass pollution from caravan users is the norm! Secondly, we thought, oooh, SUV, big car for pram, dog and stuff but then most of them, including the big externally looking VW Touareg we shortlisted, have the rear seats only a few inches from the tailgate whereas an estate car would probably mean you get more useable space ... if you can cope with the peer pressure shame of not having a fashion victim SUV.

I think your a bit off track regarding SUV and 4wd. Many only have 2wd and off those that have 4wd you will find most now drive two wheels with a small percentage of power going to the other two wheels. Full 4wd comes in when wheel slip is detected. Even proper off roaders like Sorento, Shogun can have the drive set to two wheels only. The only SUV that I have had which had full time 4wd was a Disco 2 and Forester. My current car has the Haldex 4wd and will show nearly 60mpg on a long motorway run and I have just arrived back from a rubbish trip on the Fosse Way from the Midlands and the computer shows 52mpg. So no big hit there.

 

[Craigyoung]

Like I said before , ours is only a 2 wheel drive , some kugas are all wheel drive which like the other posts says it only works when slip is detected but we get just under 4o miles per gallon when towing so that's not too bad ! The rest of the time it does about 50 or 60 miles a week just running around the town and work .
Don't think I could go back to a lowish car compared to an SUV we have now.