It’s time to change the car. For most people it’s a case of how much you can afford+how much milage+ running costs+ nice looking = your choice of a Corsa or Fiat 500 etc…. No such luck for caravanners. We are looking at facts and figures tow car awards, reviews, top speed is generally not a factor but how many Torques the car has and it’s kerbweight definitely are.

My old car was not bought with the intention of towing a caravan. At the time we towed an unbraked trailer with our tent and camping gear. So a smaller 16Diesel engine and only 5 seats.

When we decided on a caravan we were limited to vans under 1380kg but we still wanted a decent size and a fixed bed. Not many vans around but we found our Ace Jubilee Envoy which fit the bill. The car has a 112ps power rating and it has coped very well so I have no complaints.

So we started out with a list of wants

• 2 tonne + tow limit
• 4×4
• Decent fuel economy
• Low road tax
• Automatic
• Comfort

Not much…. Well I wanted 4×4 to cope with wet grass on a rally field. The C4 is rubbish.

I wanted a medium not massive Range Rover sized car.

The list was

• VW Tiguan
• Seat Ateca
• Skoda Kodiaq
• Kia Sportage
• Hyundai Tucson
• Ssangyong Korando

These were all about the right size. However the 2 tonne limit ruled out the Hyundai and Kia as finding the right model was hard. The VW is expensive well over £30k and the Seat & Skoda are basically the same car but cheaper versions.

I’d seen the Ssangyong at the Lawns caravan show last year and didn’t like it. I took a look at the new model and must admit it does tick all the boxes. It has all the bells and whistles about the only thing that it does not have is a DAB radio but that is an optional upgrade which I think I’d go for. It has:

• Heated Seats – All of them
• Heated Steering Wheel
• Apple & Android connect
• Reversing Camera
• Progressive 4 Wheel Drive System and 4 Wheel Drive Lock to lock equal power to each wheel for loose or slippery surfaces (should be good for wet grass)
• Reclining Rear Seats 60/40 split
• Auto Lights & Wipers
• Auto Air Conditioning & Rear Heating Duct
• 7″ Touchscreen RDS radio
• USB, Aux & HDMI connections
• Hill Start Assist ( great for towing)
• Alarm & Imobilizer
• Front & Rear LED Daytime Running Lights
• Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
• Front & Rear Parking Sensors
• Free Towbar with Caravan & Motorhome Club membership
• Caravan & Motorhome Tow Car Of The Year 2018

  

So Is the decision made?

Well pretty much I think. I think it’s going to be the Korando, it does make a lot of sense for any caravanner. It certainly can not be discounted at it’s price. It is roughly 23% cheaper than any of the comparative cars in the sector but they all come with a lower tow limit and far less powerful engine. Running costs for the Korando are likely to be a little higher but that is offset by the cheaper purchase price.

So when does it arrive?
No idea yet and until the signature is on the dotted line it could still all change.

Watch this space!