Post by Roadsterstu on Jan 29, 2021 13:07:52 GMT
I'm rather late getting this on here. Last autumn we went fully middle aged and bought ourselves a caravan. I'd been wanting one for a while, having owned a real cheapo 600 quid Ebay purchase a few years ago and, especially, having grown up going on caravan holidays with my folks, who still tow regularly. This one was a bit more than 600 quid, costing £12500. It's a 2017 Xplore 554 4 berth with fixed island double bed and full width rear shower room. Due to Covid-19 we only managed to get away at October half term, 2 weeks after we bought it and not between then and Xmas as we had planned. I am hoping now that we might get away at Easter but there are plans for many trips away and a good 2 week holiday in the summer is already booked.
The MTPLM of the van is 1325kg. Now, the VRS will pull this easily with 180bhp - in fact it pulls very well indeed. The only issue is that of the ratio of caravan weight to car weight. The sensible advice for a novice caravanner is not to tow a caravan with a weight exceeding 85% of the car's weight. With the VRS I am towing at about 96%. This is fine in calm conditions but slightly windier weather and when passing HGVs mean much less margin for error should the outfit get a sway on. This van doesn't have the optional Alko ATS trailer stability system, although the car does adapt the stability systems to allow for a trailer. For this year, then, I want to change the VRS. This is, of course, where the Forum can get involved!
The requirements will be something like: SUV - Mrs R has ruled out an estate and, as I will explain in a moment, she may become the main user of the Skoda's replacement. AWD would be ideal but isn't really essential. I'd have manual or auto but Mrs R would prefer manual. Needs to have plenty of FG - the more the better. The top requirement here being an up to date enough infotainment system to have Android Auto. Nothing dates a car as much as the connectivity nowadays. Other desirables would be a pano roof and full heated leather, cruise (ideally adaptive) and active bendy xenons or active bendy LED lighting. In terms of motive power I still want diesel for the torque and economy and nothing less than 150bhp, although 180-200bhp would be the ideal. We don't need anything huge like a Disco or one of the bigger Korean offerings and, as Mrs R will be using the car for work, visiting patients, that kind of size would be a hinderance. So, a mid-size SUV, then. My "benchmark" or starting point has been the Ford Kuga, on the basis that there are loads around with low mileages, post-2017 big-grille facelift gives Sync 3 infotainment and a Titanium X has all the FG needed, plus it has that Ford chassis ability, even for an SUV. Budget to be up to £15k ish. I could go more on a used PCP perhaps but I'd rather not. There are others in this class that I have browsed in details on Autotrader, namely Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tuscon, etc. Mrs R, loving her Captur as she does (I don't) likes the Koleos, which actually looks quite appealing. She also likes the Kuga, so we have some common ground there. In this household, in car terms, that is a rare thing indeed!
The reason that it may become her daily driver is that if she uses whatever SUV we end up with, we will sell the Captur and, with whatever that is worth - maybe 5 to 5.5k - I fancy buying a Clio 182 for part time use and then something cheap and cheerful for the daily drive to work. This could work in a good way! The Skoda is on finance, still, only 2 and half years in to a 4 year loan. I reckon I might have 1.5k to 2k equity in it once the finance is settled, tops. This of course depends on what measly trade in I get offered. WBAC have valued it online at 7150 - 15 plate, 76k miles, full MOT, 4 newish tyres, timing belt done, impeccable service history, 4 good tyres, etc - so maybe settling the finance with a loan in the short term and selling it privately might be the better way to go as on AT around 9.5k to 10k would seem a sensible price, although this involves some faffing about.
So, over to you chaps. What are your thoughts?
The MTPLM of the van is 1325kg. Now, the VRS will pull this easily with 180bhp - in fact it pulls very well indeed. The only issue is that of the ratio of caravan weight to car weight. The sensible advice for a novice caravanner is not to tow a caravan with a weight exceeding 85% of the car's weight. With the VRS I am towing at about 96%. This is fine in calm conditions but slightly windier weather and when passing HGVs mean much less margin for error should the outfit get a sway on. This van doesn't have the optional Alko ATS trailer stability system, although the car does adapt the stability systems to allow for a trailer. For this year, then, I want to change the VRS. This is, of course, where the Forum can get involved!
The requirements will be something like: SUV - Mrs R has ruled out an estate and, as I will explain in a moment, she may become the main user of the Skoda's replacement. AWD would be ideal but isn't really essential. I'd have manual or auto but Mrs R would prefer manual. Needs to have plenty of FG - the more the better. The top requirement here being an up to date enough infotainment system to have Android Auto. Nothing dates a car as much as the connectivity nowadays. Other desirables would be a pano roof and full heated leather, cruise (ideally adaptive) and active bendy xenons or active bendy LED lighting. In terms of motive power I still want diesel for the torque and economy and nothing less than 150bhp, although 180-200bhp would be the ideal. We don't need anything huge like a Disco or one of the bigger Korean offerings and, as Mrs R will be using the car for work, visiting patients, that kind of size would be a hinderance. So, a mid-size SUV, then. My "benchmark" or starting point has been the Ford Kuga, on the basis that there are loads around with low mileages, post-2017 big-grille facelift gives Sync 3 infotainment and a Titanium X has all the FG needed, plus it has that Ford chassis ability, even for an SUV. Budget to be up to £15k ish. I could go more on a used PCP perhaps but I'd rather not. There are others in this class that I have browsed in details on Autotrader, namely Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tuscon, etc. Mrs R, loving her Captur as she does (I don't) likes the Koleos, which actually looks quite appealing. She also likes the Kuga, so we have some common ground there. In this household, in car terms, that is a rare thing indeed!
The reason that it may become her daily driver is that if she uses whatever SUV we end up with, we will sell the Captur and, with whatever that is worth - maybe 5 to 5.5k - I fancy buying a Clio 182 for part time use and then something cheap and cheerful for the daily drive to work. This could work in a good way! The Skoda is on finance, still, only 2 and half years in to a 4 year loan. I reckon I might have 1.5k to 2k equity in it once the finance is settled, tops. This of course depends on what measly trade in I get offered. WBAC have valued it online at 7150 - 15 plate, 76k miles, full MOT, 4 newish tyres, timing belt done, impeccable service history, 4 good tyres, etc - so maybe settling the finance with a loan in the short term and selling it privately might be the better way to go as on AT around 9.5k to 10k would seem a sensible price, although this involves some faffing about.
So, over to you chaps. What are your thoughts?
