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I'll get shot down no doubt but IMHO a 1.6 litre diesel engine is not a big engine for very hilly areas.  Will it get you up them, probably, will you make good progress, unlikely.  Personally I would not want to be putting a massive strain on a small engine and would rather have something that is up to the job.

Also do check the weights, both the kerbweight and max tow weight, as these are not big cars.

Ali

http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/kia.htm#ceed07

Some weight figures here but do not take them as gospel as sometimes they are not very accurate.  Check with the dealer and the handbook before committing.  How heavy is your Bailey Discovery laden?

Ali

Bailey tech spec 2004 1151kg MTPLM, 903kg MRO

Cuddles  Kerbweight 1460kg,  max tow 1400kg,   85% 1241kg.

Sounds well within it's capability. Can you check the  max gross train weight in your handbook or car plate.  Sometimes the max tow is quoted as within the max gross train weight. This means you cannot exceed the max gross train weight and if the car is reasonably loaded. On my Peugeot 406 the max tow is 1500kg but if the car is fully loaded the gross train weight minus the max car weight means I can only tow 1200kg.

The gross train weight and max tow are the critical figures for towing in hilly areas as they limit your ability to pull away on a hill.

Thank you for all your replies. I have been on whattowcar.com and it is showing 4 greens and towing at 79%???!!! We have always had diesel so would like to stay with diesel. We were trying to keep away from a 4x4 because of how much extra you now have to pay on it with tax and insurance. So confused when I start looking at how many cars are out there... it was so much easier when we had a tent

I really don`t think you`ll have a problem, Kim, and despite what has been written on here it is the torque figure which is important here - NOT the bhp. It is torque which gets you - and keeps you - moving,and your diesel will probably have 50% more of that than the equivalent petrol.

If the weights are OK you should be fine. There are lots of high-powered towcars out there, but in many cases they aren`t necessary. 11 years ago we towed to the Scottish Highlands with a 4 berth Lunar (2 adults, 2 kids, awning etc, etc) with a Peugeot 406 (90bhp, 143lb/ft torque) with absolutely no problems on hills or keeping to the motorway speed limits.

It seems that as numbers get higher there is a tendancy to think that you MUST have a behemoth to tow, and thats not the case. 

There are 2 1.6 diesel engines 89 bhp and 113 bhp in the line up go for the bigger BHP one

Hi i have just purchased the Kia ceed 2 sw with the 113 bhp engine .max tow is 1400kg.i am towing my Abbey Spectrum 215 with it

at the moment i have only towed 60 miles to take the van for service and the Kia has only 1100 miles on the clock.

the only downside is we will have to be more aware of what we pack and where we pack it .always carry to much gear anyway.

the car has plenty of power and after running 4x4 for a number of years the fuel consumption is out of this world 50 mpg appearing on the computer,something i have never been used to ,iam expectind to get about 30 towing.

Hiya Kimburly

I would recommend the Kia Soul.

Please see http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/practical-advice/thinking-of-buying/award-winning-choices/towcar-of-the-year-awards/tested-towcars/kia/kia-soul-shaker-16-crdi

Good luck, Marc

Quote: Originally posted by Dragon44 on 27/11/2009

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The Soul has an extremely low noseweight limit which could cause problems when towing any 'proper' caravan.

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