I pulled my bailley ranger 450L with a Mitsubishi Pinin 1600cc. It was fine on the flat but we were slow on the inclines, so I just changed to a Kia Sorrento, 2700cc as I knew it had been tow car of the year for a couple of years. Anyway, although I should have checked first with the caravan club, I just did it, because the salesman said it would be fine (imagine believing a salesman, but then I wanted it, so his job was easy)!. We are leaving on Tuesday for a long trip, 7 weeks in all, and when I tried contacting the caravan club to be reassured that the match was OK, they are closed until Tuesday morning by which time I will have left. Can somebody out there please reassure me, because I am feeling my feet getting cold, because I just jumped in with both of them. Thankyou. My husband doesn't drive and his interest is solely in maintenance, cleaning and the dirty work. He thinks (and I let him) that I know what I am doing, LOL!!!!
I have checked on What towcar.com and it is an excellent match, 5 stars!
Probably too powerful at a 59% match, but will definately cope, (a lot better than your 1600cc Pinin)
I quote:-
The match between car and caravan is perfect in accordance with a mix of European standards. However, according to the British Towing Code the percentage (loaded caravan / kerbweight tow car) is 59%.
The towing performances of this Kia with your Bailey are perfect (performance index = 113 km/h or 70 mph).
You may expect excellent performances from this outfit. On flat roads it's easy to come along, in which case top gear is applicable in most cases.
On motorway inclines you will be able not only to come along, but be the first at the top. On steep roads you have more than sufficient power to keep going. On hill starts there will be more than enough power to get going, provided the wheels have traction.
TBH, I wouldnt even look at CC or similar, if your pinin could haul it then the kia certainly will, the only thing to watch is wieghts for post 97 drivers.
As for too powerful, thats a myth :) Power has nothing to do with towing really, however it does have a passing relationship with torque and for 99.99% of towing there is no such thing as too much torque.
Hello dirtydisco, Thankyou for your post. Again I am reassured but I am not sure what you mean 'the only thing to watch is weights for post 97 drivers). I have read it twice and I know I am missing something. BTW torque is a complete mystery to me. Whenever I read it somewhere, I skip it, hoping it will go away. Please don't tell me it's something in the engine which has to be adjusted when towing. The cars I have towed with in the past just had the torque they were born with!
If you passed your driving test after 1/1/97 there are far more restrictions on what can be towed based on weights. I would hazard a guess (without actually knowing the weights involved) that a Sorento and medium or large sized caravan would be illegal for anyone who passed their test since 97.
In short the restrictions that may apply are,
1. the trailers max permissable weight must be lower than the kerbweight of the tow vehicle
2. the trailers max permissable weight and the max permissable weight of the tow vehicle combined must not exceed 3500kg
I doubt you would have a problem with the first point, but the second will likely catch anyone with a large tow vehicle (some big estates, 4x4s & mpvs) and a test passed after 1997. As an example, my discovery has a max permissable weight of 2720kg, meaning any trailer over 780kg would be illegal for a post 97 driver. It does not matter if the tow vehicle is empty as it is the max load that applies
With another sigh of relief, I don't fall within that category! However I appreciate your explanation which rang a bell somewhere in the depths of my brain. I think I read that in the last CC magazine, but pushed it aside as it wasn't applicable to me. Aren't you clever having those figures at your fingertips! Thankyou for passing them on.
I appreciate your good wishes Clanjones, we leave tomorrow visiting 15 sites between here in Northumberland to Cornwall, taking 7 weeks in all. There's no mileage between sites over 95miles, so it should be an adventure. We are looking forward to it. Hope the sun shines for everyone!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Have I done the right thing?
