We're just back from our first tow of our 2006 Bailey Senator Arizona (1500Kg) with our new 2007 Sorento Titan 2.5 diesil auto. I was very pleased with its performance on our trip to Teesdale. 120 miles each way and quite a lot of solo driving whilst there. Enjoyed the cruise control on the motorway stretches. We've not worked out the fuel consumption yet. We waited to tow until we had done the 500+ miles stated in the car's handbook.
We had a Witter towbar and 13 pin electrics fitted to the car. We had the towbar fitted by a local fitter who rather botched it. I had asked for a car specific plug-in wiring kit but he used scotchlocks and twin wiring fitted into a 13 pin socket. He, also, failed to fit any sort of warning indicator for the caravan indicators.
I then bought a car specific kit from Towequipe + plus extra wiring kit for the fridge at a cost of nearly £100 and my own mechanic changed the wiring to this. Even this was not without problems as the Westfalia wiring kit they provided did not match up properly and they had to send additional parts.
However we now have the wiring plugged in correctly and working fully. It TURNS OFF the car reversing sensors when the car is hitched to the caravan. Another concern that I had was that the reversing sensors would detect the fixed towbar as an obstruction - they don't.
I'm having the caravan converted to a 13 pin plug next week and having shock absorbers fitted. I'm then having Alko ATC fitted on Wednesday.
Looking forward to towing on the Continent this summer.
We had our sorrie for 3 years and have just sold it on ebay for a give away price of 8300,im gutterd shes goin but due to tax cost of petrol and so on it was only wise to down sieze.We went to south of france on two occasions and not abit of bother she was a beauty. The only thing wat im anoyed at that the buyer is a car sales man from down south and i no it will be on his forecourt for about 11000 cos thats wat ther goin for down there but never mind.So now we are looking for a replacement for about 4000 does anybody have any reccomendations it must be diesel and not a 4x4,but let me tell you something for all those who have a sorrie you wont be disapointed one little bit. There is a good web site called UKSORENTO.COM this is the sorrento's owners web site. Have fun and enjoy...............................
Bulls,That exactly why mine went,23mpg and future car tax rises,agree was one heck of a motor,pulled like a train and comfy on a run.Changed to the passat now better mpg and plenty of pull.Had to keep the horses reined in on last trip,easy to be heading for 70 without realising when overtaking the odd lorry!
For those looking for a more fuel efficient vehicle, can't go wrong with an Octavia, as per an earlier post. I think that he said he was getting over 60 mpg solo and about 37 mpg towing, on a fairly recent 1.9TDI.
We have a 2001 Octavia Elegance Estate 1.9TDI, bought new, kerbweight of 1432kg (a lot less than the sorrento, I know). Ours does about 50 miles a day solo, and about 2,000 miles a year towing a 1200kg caravan. We get about 55mpg solo and about 35mpg towing, so not much difference between newer and older Octavias. A full tank costs about £55 just now (48 litres), and we towed from home (30 miles north of Edinburgh)to just south of York, using under 3/4 of a tank last October (about 275 miles).
If buying one made in 2000 or 2001, make sure the trim level is Comfort, Ambience or Elegance. The others e.g. SDi, are the older versions and not so reliable or fuel efficient. Newer versions came out in 05/06, but with the same spec names.
We were considering upgrading to a sorrento last year, but had to put that off due to other demands on the family purse. Now with rising fuel costs and other car costs also going sky high, I think we will have to keep with the Octavia for a wee while to come.
Quote: Originally posted by mike+judi on 31/5/2008
Bulls,That exactly why mine went,23mpg
Sheesh ........ I'm amazed that's all you get from a Sorento. I do better than that solo from a Nissan Patrol which is quite a bit bigger and heavier. Heavy right foot??
We have a 07 plate 2.5 manual Sorento, and I'm getting 31 mpg and that's urban driving, mind you I dont give it a hard life, at the last check I was getting 27 mpg combined. Very good tow car.
If you check over at the UK Sorento forum you'll find that some Sorentos produced at a particular time had poor consumption figures.
I've got a pre-facelift diesel auto and get 26-28mpg, which isn't too bad for a full-blown 4x4 auto diesel. The Sorento's auto box is a 5 speeder which might make you think it's a modern box, but it's simply 5 ratios in an old tech box!! And sadly, they did nothing with it in the facelift process!!
Hi angelfish, welcome to the Sorrie owners club, if you need to know anything about the Sorento , from accessories and modifications to mpg have a wee look at another site i am a member of www.uksorento.com i'ts a really helpful and informative site, just like this one!
Bryan
Hi Bryan
was a member before even buying our sorento! "jumpahead"
Very useful site.
We notice the cost of diesel though. Our old Audi estate did 600 miles to the tank...our sorento= 400
We dont even own a caravan at the moment, but do use it to tow a horse trailer to the odd show.
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: kia sorento
