Sorento and Cerato pull ahead in Caravan Club Towcar awards

The Kia Sorento has been named Britain’s best towcar in The Caravan Club Towcar of the Year Awards 2006 winning two categories and the overall title, with the C-segment Cerato also picking up a category win.

The Sorento 2.5 CRDi XE model beat off more than 40 competitors including the BMW X5, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Range Rover Sport, Nissan Navara and the Volvo XC 70 to pick up the coveted title of Towcar of the Year 2006.

The model also won in the £16,501-£20,000 category and in the All-wheel drive over 1800kg category.

The Cerato 1.5 CRDi GS model won in the Under £13,500 category.

Extensively tested over four days by a panel of expert judges the Kia models beat off their competitors in areas such as driveability, practicality, stability, comfort and value.

The Caravan Club’s 850,000 members await the awards each year as the testing provides them with valuable information prior to purchasing their new vehicles.

The judges praised the Cerato for the torque from its 1.5 litre common rail diesel engine and its ability to pull away on hills plus its easy driving characteristics on the move. They commented: "If you are looking for a brand new car to tow a caravan up to 1200kg you won’t get better than this for your money".

On Sorento the judges not only gave it consistently high marks on the move but also praised its "caravanability", its low running costs and its load space. They added: "Sorento won friends for its faultless stability and the way it handled. A stylish and superb towcar".

Kia Motors UK Ltd Managing Director, Paul Williams, who collected the battery of awards at The Caravan Club’s ceremony at the RAC Club in Pall Mall, London, said: "These awards are a tremendously important endorsement of what we at Kia already knew – we are offering motorists excellent products at unbeatable value. Caravaners are an important sector of the new car market and they are very particular about buying vehicles that not only do the job properly and efficiently but also provide them with flexibility and comfort with low running costs.

"We are delighted to win these awards – which follow on from Sorento being named the best 4x4 for customer satisfaction in this year’s J.D.Power survey," he added.