What car?
Can anyone recommend an SUV ? I currently have Kia Sportage (old model) pulling Compass Corona (MTPLM 1470) and will change it next year for the last time on my retirement (hooray) .
It's a minefield out there as I'm sure you all know - weight-wise choice is between
Freelander 2 , later model Sportage (4x4) , CRV , RAV 4 , XC60 , later Sorrento or Tiguan
I appreciate personal choice has a lot to do with it but as I shall be on permanent tour , economy , reliability and running costs must be high on the list and you guys will have the low-down on this .
Any comments will be greatly appreciated and hopefully reduce this list to a more practical choice
Many thanks in advance
Comments
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We have a 2011 CRV which has 73k miles on it. We use it for towing and bird watching in rougher areas.
In all that time we have had 1 new set of tyres and 2 rears due to damage. I have only had one new set of Discs and brake pads, pads due for a change in a couple of weeks. Annual services costs are a little over £200. Just returned from Germany and Holland and covered 2000 miles with a combined mpg of 34.3mph
The car has never let us down.
I normally change my cars every 2 years but this is such a good tow car that I keep hesitating hence the 5 years.
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I haven't really checked out the new ones Tiger. I believe the 1.6 tdi comes with 2 states of tune, one is about 118bhp and 2 wheel drive whilst the other is about 148bhp and has 4 wheel drive. The engine is about 118kg lighter than my 2.2 tdi.
Looking at Mazda CX5 to replace this one at sometime in the future.
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Thanks for that guys , the newer 1.6 CRV according to practical caravan review has kerbweight of 1793 (that's the 1.6iDTEC) giving 85% OF 1524 which is plenty for me . But the review did say a bit more grunt would be ideal .
Mazda CX5 , again according to the reviews wouldn't be heavy enuff for me but it did sound like a great car .
Is the 2.2 CRV turbocharged ?
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I have been looking at a number of different vehicles to replace my ML now that I won't be towing so much.
The best one by far of all the new vehicles that I tried was the new Skoda Kodiaq. Its available in a good range of Petrol and Diesel engines, and has plenty of space inside etc. Technologically well equipped and the best ride, similar in many respects to my much loved ML.
TF
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I have recently changed my 2011 cr- v 2.2.l for the new 1.6 " Dream Diesel" cr- v
Bhp is 164 with 9 speed automatic transmission.
I am pulling a 1486kg Adria and the new smaller engine copes with it admirably.
I get average 34/ 36 mpg towing - 44/46 solo round town.
Have been a manual gearboxer most of my driving life (60 years) and
suddenly this auto box is a " no brainer". Always knows where it wants to be and I do have the " flappy paddles" if I want to " play " with the box.
This is my second cr-v towing tug and will probably be my last as I think the new one will see me out.
Just for what it's worth! !
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I had a 2013 XC60 2.4 D5, and recently changed to a new Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2. Both autos. Both removable towbars.
i think the XC60 probably had the edge on towing, and maybe on fuel economy when towing, but the SF is in overall terms a more enjoyable driving experience. And certainly has more gizmos and extras included. Plus 5 year warranty.
id be happy to have either again in the future, yet with so many factors to consider, it does come down to personal choice and priorities.
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Yes, York to the Lake District and back, so quite a varied mix of roads. It was superb, although our van is just under 1200KG so not the biggest challenge for the car (ours is a D5 AWD auto). Averaged 27mpg towing. Very comfy car to travel in as well.
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Thanks again fellas , going on figures you guys are quoting , sounds like I should have a closer look at a CRV in either engine size but if the 1.6 copes well enuff with a van heavier than mine at 34-36 towing , given my present Sportage won't even do that solo !!!!!!!
Also on the 7 year warranty from Kia , the car has to be serviced by them( £265 was quoted last year) or you have to produce receipts to show you've used genuine Kia parts at another garage or warranty is void - mine runs out this year by the by
Anyone out there with the newer Sportage , what's your mpg ??? Official figures are absolute nonsense as we all drive on roads not in labs on rolling roads
Mine has been rock solid by the way just crap mpg
I'm thinking Sorrento/Santa Fe possibly bit too big for my needs - overkill ???
What do you think ???????
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I think you need to go and test drive a few. I did a fair amount of research when we were looking and was actually set on a Santa Fe but left the Hyundai dealer a bit underwhelmed. The Volvo felt nicer all round with much better seats ( I have back issues so comfort was top of my list). Am averaging 38 ish mpg solo with the XC which I'm happy enough with considering it's size. I wish I had tried a Freelander 2 as that was in the running for us as well, especially as a good dealer example comes with a 2 year warranty I think. Best of luck, you have the luxury of time to try a few out - I was rushed a bit as our previous Mondeo had broken!
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We have a 2013 Freelander. SD4 HSE (190bhp) if the car suits you, you won't go far wrong buying a used approved one. As already said it will come with a 2 year warranty which covers almost everything. We have had experience of claiming on the scheme as well on my Son's Freelander, his car had a few issues early in his ownership and everything was sorted quickly and each time the car was collected another car was provided.
I have never really checked MPG but it seems OK to me. we pull a caravan that weighs nearly 1500kgs when loaded.
It's an extremely capable tow car which can tow 2 tons and has a nose weight of 150kgs The only thing I can mark it down for is boot space, but we can't use that anyway as we have 2 Border Collies that use that space but the base of the rear seats can be folded up to load extra, they are 70/30 split so if you want a rear passenger you can still use some of it for loading.
Ian.
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Recently changed my 07 Shogun for a new Hyundai Santa Fe pulling a Lunar Clubman SB, was quite nervous of changing to the SF as l have always had Shoguns for the last 20 years or so. Had the SF for 4 months now well impressed so for both towing and solo, fuel consumption cut by a good third both towing and solo. saved £300 on road tax, all in all think l made the right decision, only time will tell as the Shoguns proved to be very reliable.
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Another vote for Santa Fe.We changed our 4 year old Sorento for a new Santa Fe in November.Would have had another Kia but got a better deal.
Its very well equipped and tows really well.Nice to driveand has 200bhp and lots of torque.Economy good too.
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There is no doubt that the Santa Fe, is a really good tow car and a very good car in general. Had things been different, I would have gone for one. But none of us knows what lies ahead for the diesel. Will the Govt use a very stupid broad brush and punish all diesel owners by adding a significant amount to Diesel fuel, OR will they recognise that it is only the older diesels that cause the pollution and restrict their access to Cities etc.
But there will still remain the issue of the Transit and Sprinter delivery vehicles, AND the Motorhomes, all of which are Diesel.
The situation is made worse by the fact that the Engine Manufacturers have been caught with their trousers around their ankles. There are literally no decent clean Petrol Engines available in the more powerful & high Torque class. They (The Manufacturers ) have been very good at producing loads of Toy engines in the sub 1 litre class & up to 1.6 Litres, but almost no Petrol engines in the over 2 Litre class capable of towing a heavy fully loaded caravan over all terrains.
More Importantly where are the clean Petrol engines to tow the big heavily laden, Transits and Sprinters? They simply don't exist, so any Govt is going to have a problem banning them from our cities for quite a while yet .
And that is why many owners of 2011 to 2014 big V6 Diesels are waiting to see how the wind blows.
My lovely smooth as silk, and spotless Merc ML will trundle on for years yet if it has too. Its only worth about £12K now if I am very lucky so I'm in no hurry to change.
I can just about pay the Obscene Annual Road tax, but I do fear that a big hike on fuel prices for diesel will markedly restrict my way of life in the Caravan.
TF
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I think they will have a difficult job with Euro 5&6 diesels to make a case,
I read an article where it has been found that the newer small high power petrol engines also give out large amounts of polution
and extracting the material needed for batteries is really bad for the enviroment
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where do you go for remapping ? I've heard a lot about it , but how do you find someone you can trust and don't end up with a cowboy equipped with a laptop and a crooked smile ???
Do they advertise with qualifications etc or part of a governing body ????
If it's not too expensive it may help with my abysmal mpg ????
Just recapping on the thread so far it looks like I have to go get some test drives of :-
Honda CRV (either 2.2 or 1.6 or both if am cheeky)
Freelander 2
Kia Sportage KX-2 (2011+) - still waiting for response on this from someone
will keep Volvo XC60 and Santa Fe in reserve as they maybe excellent cars but on reflection too big for my needs (kerbweight wise that is)
If Santa Fe is good , what about it's smaller sibling ix35 ?
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waz51, You could go for the 4 cylinder ML250, The same great tow car as my ML300 with the slightly smaller engine. Its power output is very similar to the Ml300 and of course its in a much cheaper tax bracket.
I'm a 6 cylinder fan so never seriously looked at the ML250, probably to my own cost now that other pressures are closing in.
Don't get put off by silly stories of Merc Servicing costs. I think that over the 6 years I've had her mine has cost less to service than my Landcruisers! She's certainly the best tow platform I've ever owned. And the cheapest on Tyres.
TF
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If its all about the cities penalising the diesels, l won't go their with the car, l do part time Taxing 2 days a week believe me its a nightmare going into and out of Manchester, switch to nights so l don't have fight the traffic. If we ever go to the city its by train worth it for a tenner return for both of us, mind you that was few of years ago when we went to caravan show when it was held in the city
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