Bought a Sorento today to tow our first caravan (bought in September). The idea was to have cheaper holidays..all we seem to do is spend money at the moment!
Thats it! We talked ourselves out of buying a bigger caravan (had a little freedom) brought a 1.6 cmax this year then promptly brought a big caravan and now need to buy another car!! lol
Would love a sorento but don't think the purse will stretch that far!
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Helen, an excellent choice of towing vehicle. We had ours for four years and not a single fault or breakdown. It towed like a dream and was quite economical to run and service.
Caravanning is not necessarily a cheap hobby, but becomes more cost effective if you can use the van more often. So hitch it up and do some winter caravanning, there are loads of sites open throughout the year. This country has some spectacular winter scenery and the roads tend to be quieter.
Nice choice, nice car, the cost of caravaning is a bit steep at first, but this year we have had eleven weeks in France I wonder what eleven weeks in a decent hotel would cost and as a bonus we met up with some very very nice people, just wish I had done it twenty years ago.
Regards Stew
Post last edited on 28/11/2009 21:18:49
------------- Does it ever get better than spare ribs and chops straight off the BBQ
Like yourselves we purchased Caravan and had to change car as well and we went with the Kia Sorrento and liked it so much we have just purchased the new KIA SOUL a bit querky but a nice comfortable car to drive.
Thanks for replies, we're looking forward to picking it up next week. I realise that the costs of caravanning will be large at the beginning but I hope we will get lots of use out of it.
We went away at half term and when we had rain and I saw the poor souls in their tents and we were nice and warm and dry in our van I knew we had done the right thing...then we got stuck on the wet grass and had to get someone to tow us off...then I knew we needed a new car :-)
Only time us Sorento owners get stuck is when we are questioned by wannabe owners on how good they are! Once you have used one, you will not want to go back to normal 2wd cars. As already said they do not cost too much to run, they are as reliable as rain in the summer holidays (!), look good, are very well equipped and to put icing on the cake are nice and safe should you ever be unlucky enough to crash one! No - i do not work for Kia but Yes - i previously owned a Sportage, and currently own a Picanto and a Sorento and yes - all 3 cars have served us well and been 100% reliable. Save your £££ and forget the posh badges - buy a Kia and you know you will be happy and 'quids in'
------------- Why am i doing this instead of camping??!!
Welcome to the Sorento team. They are excellent towcars,ours did 2000 miles in France this year without a hiccup. We are on our second-have one of the last Titans.
What did you think of the Sportage as a matter of interest?
Was a really good tow car imho! I had the 138bhp diesel with 6 speed gearbox. I think it was (maybe) a little more comfy solo, but it was almost at its max towing capacity with the caravan i bought to replace our folding camper. With the folding camper in tow it actually improved the fuel consumption compared to solo! And it made very little difference to perfomance. But with the 1500kg (max weight) caravan on the back we found it was a bit tricky to keep the noseweight down to 75kg (sportage max), and it required a fair bit of gear changing when fully laiden (2 adults, 2 kids, loadsa luggage in car plus big heavy van in tow). The reason i bought a lovely new Sorento was the very attractive discount available on it (£6000 of list price from memory), plus being a bigger,heavier car it increases the safety margin for towing (better match to current caravan). But the ride quality is not quite as good as the sportage. It is less car-like than the sportage to drive, but feels a fair bit bigger and 'tougher' - i recon if you want to tow a smaller, lighter van the sportage is perfect (or the sorento is over-kill). But for a bigger, heavier van the sorento is a better bet. But both are great value and i have never got stuck in muddy fields in either of them! I love them both hehe....
------------- Why am i doing this instead of camping??!!
Great - many thanks for the information. Our van is about 1100 kgs loaded, so a Sportage should cope well. Good deals on at the moment and am very tempted to buy new
but have to sub daughter (new car!) who is doing a unversity degree course and am retired, so the pot gets steadily more empty every week