Kia Problems

You don't have to look any further than the Sorento's stablemate at Kia, the Carnival. It's a great family machine and even shares much of its basic engineering with the Sorento.

The only reason to go European with that budget is to buy a badge, as the Asian cars do the job and are surprisingly classy with great warranty. Once again, I'd send you first to Kia to check out the Sportage.

The Tucson gets The Tick from me and rates above the X-Trail, but my first choice is the all-new Kia Sportage.

Yes, I agree that SUVs are a good choice of vehicle for older drivers; as you say they afford you a good view of the road ahead and your surroundings, and they're easier to get in and out of. They are, however, larger and that can make them awkward for older drivers who have a greater tendency to bump into things. If you choose an SUV the CX-5 is a good one. Should you decide against the SUV you could look at the Mazda 6, Subaru Liberty, Toyota Camry, Kia Optima or Honda Accord. All are good cars. Another to think about is the Subaru Outback, a high-riding version of the Liberty.

Both get The Tick from me but I rate the Sportage as best in the compact SUV class today and that means it would be my pick. As for the ride, you are being misled — I find it's a great drive in all conditions thanks to local tuning by suspension guru Graeme Gambold.

You left out my choice, which is the Kia Sportage.

Our information is that there is nothing on the horizon that will change the towball weight, but we are told the Sorento will tow 2 tonnes if the caravan or whatever is being towed is loaded correctly and a load-equalising hitch is used and used properly. Kia has a hitch available, and you could also go to a company like Hayman-Reese.

Both are very good cars, they're well designed, well built and reliable. The Outback is the more fuel-efficient of the two, but it has a CVT auto where as the Sportage has a conventional automatic. You should drive the Outback to see if you like the CVT before making your final decision. Clearly the more frequent servicing of the Subaru means its running costs are slightly higher, and the shorter warranty could have an impact later on. It's a line-ball decision, but for mine I would probably go for the Kia.

Suzuki is a classy brand and the Grand Vitara gets The Tick, even if I'm not a fan of the constantly variable transmission.