CARS £16,000 – £20,000
134bhp diesel engine is great and
Mitsubishi Lancer
very well mated to a six-speed
GS3 2.0 Di-D
manual gearbox where you can
Difficult hillstart
actually use top gear at the normal
UK road limit, 60mph. On the test
track it would accelerate beyond
that, even in 6th.
Volkswagen Caddy
Maxi Life 2.0 TDI PD
Price as tested £18,840
A bit plain and functional,
the Caddy Maxi Life’s
£16,000-£20,000 biggest problem was expectations. A lacklustre
Class Winner wheelspin on the hill starts, though it performance was due partly to the
Hyundai i800 Style
gear ratios not being suited to the
towing role, while on our hill route it
was difficult to perform a restart on
Hyundai i800 Style the 17% slope: wheelspin and clutch
Price as tested £19,721 slip were reported by different
Hyundai enters the market drivers. Judges also criticised the
for big people carriers with a Lancer’s ride, describing it as
much cheaper alternative to ‘bouncy’ or ‘choppy’, but there were
vehicles such as the VW Caravelle no specific issues to do with stability.
and Renault Espace. Maybe a bit of a The Lancer also disappointed in
Plain Jane in comparison with those, terms of storage capacity, but was
but it’s not half bad, with space for
Kia cee’d SW 2.0
VW Caddy Maxi Life
best in class in terms of running costs.
the bigger-than-average family
CRDi Sport
2.0 TDI PD
and/or fair bit of caravanning kit. Kia Sportage 2.0 CRDi XS
Pulls well at speed
Power comes from a 2.5-litre four-
High geared for towing
Price as tested £18,254
cylinder diesel engine and with a the extra power down on takeoff. did have to cope with a damp track. A full-time 4x4 with
caravan on the back the i800 could The brakes work well and the On the high-speed circuit it achieved 2.0-litre diesel power, the
not be described as a ball of fire, but handbrake was praised for both its average marks for stability but at low Kia Sportage weighs in at a
progress is steady and well position and effectiveness. As with all speed the ride deteriorated. Third fairly hefty 1842kg and is no sprinter
controlled. On the test track, the only Kia’s, the SW 2.0 CRDi Sport is gear was fine for going up the 14% with a caravan on the hook. Once it
thing judges criticised was a bit of supplied with very informative gradient but 4th, 5th and 6th seemed does get up to speed it feels
pitching on some surfaces, but towing data in its handbook. a bit too high. The handbrake worked confident enough, though
nothing to get too wound up about. well enough but needed a really crosswinds can catch it out from time
Despite its large side area, the strong tug to hold on the 17% slope. to time. The six-speed manual
Hyundai was never put off its stroke
Peugeot 308 Sport
Our caravanability judges praised the transmission is pleasant to use and
by strong crosswinds. Stability is no
SW HDi 136
Caddy for its good stance when even top gear is usable when towing,
doubt helped by the fact that the Lively performance hitched and for the helpful towing though third seemed a bit too high
rear-wheel drive i800 can take 100kg information supplied by Volkswagen for our long 14% ascent. The
noseweight. Reassuring brakes and in the handbook. Both audible and Sportage struggled a bit on our hill
and a handbrake that held the outfit visual warnings tell of any caravan route and needed a lot of revs to get
on our tough hill are bonus points. An bulb failure. going on the 17% restart. A good,
impressive all-rounder in the commanding driving position gives
caravanability stakes, the i800 is a Mitsubishi Lancer some view through some caravans,
cracking load carrier, shows a lovely GS3 2.0Di-D and the big door mirrors are a boon.
attitude when hitched and good Price as tested £16,948 Generous in terms of storage
access to towing sockets. Relatively A good-looking car with capabilities, it was also one of the
high running costs in comparison to quite aggressive styling, the best in class in terms of ease of
other cars in this class, though. Lancer really didn’t live up to hitching up.
Kia cee’d SW
2.0 CRDi Sport Peugeot 308 Sport
Price as tested £16,734 SW HDi 136
With the same bodywork as Price as tested £19,154
the 1.6-litre cee’d in the A European take on the
lower price class, Kia’s SW small, sporty ‘station
2.0 CRDi Sport shares many of the wagon’ theme, the Peugeot
same characteristics, including good 308 has a classy interior but it didn’t
load capacity and the ability to pull over-impress our caravanability
well at speed. However, with this judges with its ability to cope with
engine the gearing makes top (6th) large loads. On the test track it gave a
almost redundant and there are lively performance and never gave
Kia Sportage
occasions when it struggles to put any concern over its stability. The
2.0 CRDi XS
Confident at speed
10 THE CARAVAN CLUB MAGAZINE
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