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Old 10-14-2014, 03:42 PM   #1
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Kia vs Fiat 550l vs Captiva

I am going to trade off my HHR and I wanted to get a Kia Soul. However the salesman and his manager were adamant that the Soul cannot/should not be toad. They said that if you did, the factory warranty would be null and void. Even tho Roadmaster makes the brackets they do not warrant anything other than their own products. So if Murphy's rule comes into affect, someone would be SOL if a warranty issue should spring up?.

I did test drive the Fiat Easy 500l, with a manual tranny and found it to be quite responsive and fun to drive. The seats while not the best are OK for around town and short drives. I would not want to take it on a 1000 mile trip, without some additional cushioning. The inside room in the back (with seats folded down) is enough to fit my golf clubs and pull cart + a lot more room than needed or expected.

But I did drive the Chevy Captiva ( smaller sister to the Equinox) and found it to be quite nice and comfortable. The one that I drove had leather interior (heated seats) and most of the other bells and whistles, but no Nav. With todays cell phones that is not a requirement.
My question is, Is there anyone out there towing a Captiva around and what are your thoughts and impressions.

Any and all comments are welcome, both pro and con. Or is anyone has another suggestion for a better Toad, I would love to hear it. My HHR is getting retired.
Thanks
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Old 10-14-2014, 04:21 PM   #2
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There are three factors that determine what you need.
1) Does the factory support towing.
2) What, of any, modes are required to tow.
3) What would you like to drive on a daily basis.

That's it. So, is towing the Captivea supported by the manual? Does it requires any expensive mods? Do you like it more that the other two? Which one woul you pick if As a daily driver.
Once Its behind the coach it doesn't make any difference if it's a GMC, CRV, Wrangler, or Buick. You won't know it's there until you look in the rear view camera.
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Old 10-14-2014, 04:37 PM   #3
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The Chevrolet Captiva is the only automatic transmission equipped one of the three you mentioned that is Dingy towable as per it's owners manual. The other two must be manual transmission to be Dingy towable.

Another suggestion is a 2014 Honda CRV. It is towable 4 Down with auto trans 2WD or AWD. DO NOT consider a 2015 model, it is NOT 4 Down towable no matter what the salesman says.
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Old 10-14-2014, 05:03 PM   #4
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Fiat 500 works well

We have one and drove it 2000 miles across country this summer--picked up a unit and pulled the fiat home--another 3000 miles and not a sniff of a problem.
I drove it by myself--leather seats which are driver side adjustable--very comfortable considering the size. The standard makes it simple to hook up--just put it in neutral and disengage the emergency brake--done. Since it weighs 2300 lbs. we can pull it without auxilliary braking in most states or all but 1province in Canada. Finding a brake system that is simple, reliable and easy to install as well as easy to connect is a problem so far. Space under the hood and in the driver compartment is at a premium.
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Old 10-14-2014, 05:27 PM   #5
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Cannot say anything about the Fiat. But have a 2012 Captiva. Towed it about 10,000 miles so far. No problems after I got it setup.
Here is a thread on the Captiva.
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Old 10-14-2014, 05:48 PM   #6
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We are very happy with our 2012 Captiva. No problems towing and the ride and comfort of the Captiva is great. We have navigation in ours, so must be some models have it and some don't, ours is a LTZ model. We have room for our 2 sets of golf clubs and push carts in the back and seating for 4. It performs good, tows easily, and gets great mileage.
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Old 10-15-2014, 10:55 AM   #7
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I'm happy with my Fiat 500. Tows nicely with the ignition off and key removed (no steering wheel lock). I test drove the basic Pop model and the Sport. The Pop comes with 15" wheels, the Sport has 16" wheels. The ride on the Sport was noticeably better with the 16" wheels. The Sport is about $3500 more than the than the Pop. I didn't want any of the other options that come with the Sport so I bought a Pop and negotiated with the dealer to replace the 15" wheels and tires for 16". The only other thing to keep in mind is that Fiat recommends using 91 octane fuel, using 87 octane is acceptable and will not void the warranty. So it costs about $1 or $2 dollars more to fill the tank but I'm getting 35 to 40 miles a gallon so it doesn't bother me much, especially compared to filling up the MH. It's pretty sporty and fun to drive. Reminds me of my MG, but that was so long a go there's no telling how accurate those memories are.
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Old 11-24-2014, 02:22 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheToads View Post
I am going to trade off my HHR and I wanted to get a Kia Soul. However the salesman and his manager were adamant that the Soul cannot/should not be toad. They said that if you did, the factory warranty would be null and void. Even tho Roadmaster makes the brackets they do not warrant anything other than their own products. So if Murphy's rule comes into affect, someone would be SOL if a warranty issue should spring up?.

I did test drive the Fiat Easy 500l, with a manual tranny and found it to be quite responsive and fun to drive. The seats while not the best are OK for around town and short drives. I would not want to take it on a 1000 mile trip, without some additional cushioning. The inside room in the back (with seats folded down) is enough to fit my golf clubs and pull cart + a lot more room than needed or expected.

But I did drive the Chevy Captiva ( smaller sister to the Equinox) and found it to be quite nice and comfortable. The one that I drove had leather interior (heated seats) and most of the other bells and whistles, but no Nav. With todays cell phones that is not a requirement.
My question is, Is there anyone out there towing a Captiva around and what are your thoughts and impressions.

Any and all comments are welcome, both pro and con. Or is anyone has another suggestion for a better Toad, I would love to hear it. My HHR is getting retired.
Thanks
Dean
Dean your Salesman and mgr are wrong the Kia Soul 6 speed 2014 and 15 are towable 4 down according to Kia with no speed or mileage limits. This was confirmed on the FMCA forum by the FMCA , there was some confusement from Kia but when the FMCA finally got the right department they were told no problem on towing 4 down, I just bought a 15 Soul and the owners book does not say it's towable but if you will go to the FMCA forum and read the thread on this issue I think it would be clear.
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Old 11-24-2014, 03:14 PM   #9
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To follow up on my post above I went to the FMCA Forum and found the thread from the FMCA Staff (on pg 3 of towing) also called Kia in GA to confirm what it says (and they are sending a copy of the bulletin to me) I will past the info below. By the way the 2014 and 2015 are the same platform engine and tranny.


Posted 12 May 2014 - 06:14 AM
According to their owners manuals, Kia vehicles are not approved for four-wheels-down towing. However, we did discover that the company issued a technical service bulletin that does permit certain Kia vehicles to be flat towed behind a motorhome. The bulletin, 018 (Rev 2, 01/10/2014) permits front-wheel-drive Kia vehicles equipped with a manual transmission to be towed four wheels down. The bulletin reads:

Any Kia 2WD vehicle equipped with a manual transaxle may be towed with all four wheels on
the ground behind another vehicle, such as a Recreational Vehicle (RV), as long as the following
conditions are met:
1. Transaxle oil is at the recommended level
2. Transaxle is in correct working order
3. Parking brake is released
4. Gearshift is in NEUTRAL
5. Steering wheel is UNLOCKED with the key in the ignition and in the "ACC" position

This includes Kia vehicles built prior to 2014, meaning that a 2012 or 2013 front-wheel-drive Kia with a manual transmission could be towed four wheels down. Kia vehicles with an automatic transmission or four wheel drive are not approved to be flat towed behind a motorhome.

Hope this helps.
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Old 11-24-2014, 03:41 PM   #10
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I bought a new 2013 Soul in October of 13. It is the 6 speed manual and I use a tow dolly that was my decision based on not wanting to add base plates, lights, and brake systems. The vehicle is able to be towed 4 down as stated above. Having said that, what really determined my buying a Soul was the ease of entry and exit, and the overall roominess of the interior, a true 5 passenger vehicle with an abundance of headroom in all positions of the vehicle. Turns out it is a very peppy car and a ball to drive. Mileage in "urban driving" is 30/32, highway best was 38.
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Old 11-24-2014, 04:24 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brockx View Post
I bought a new 2013 Soul in October of 13. It is the 6 speed manual and I use a tow dolly that was my decision based on not wanting to add base plates, lights, and brake systems. The vehicle is able to be towed 4 down as stated above. Having said that, what really determined my buying a Soul was the ease of entry and exit, and the overall roominess of the interior, a true 5 passenger vehicle with an abundance of headroom in all positions of the vehicle. Turns out it is a very peppy car and a ball to drive. Mileage in "urban driving" is 30/32, highway best was 38.
Wise choice. The Soul has been a very good toad for us. I load it will all our gear and it tows nice. It's also a daily driver.
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Old 11-24-2014, 04:56 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brockx View Post
I bought a new 2013 Soul in October of 13. It is the 6 speed manual and I use a tow dolly that was my decision based on not wanting to add base plates, lights, and brake systems. The vehicle is able to be towed 4 down as stated above. Having said that, what really determined my buying a Soul was the ease of entry and exit, and the overall roominess of the interior, a true 5 passenger vehicle with an abundance of headroom in all positions of the vehicle. Turns out it is a very peppy car and a ball to drive. Mileage in "urban driving" is 30/32, highway best was 38.
The 14 and 15 Soul tow brackets from Roadmaster are a little easier to install than the 12 and 13 but still a easy simple installation also the tow light is a simple hook up by using the yellow toad signal lights for the RV brake and signal, I will be using a Roadmaster Brakemaster and when the rv brakes are in gauged the Brakemaster will activate the toad brake lights this way I don't have to install a brake light bypass. The Roadmaster Brackets hardly show and. Makes a neat install. Also installing a OEM Cruse control, the kit cost under $100 for the pig tail and button control and is less than 1 hr install, also have a OEM arm rest coming to install
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Old 12-03-2014, 04:29 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by usinvestment View Post
Wise choice. The Soul has been a very good toad for us. I load it will all our gear and it tows nice. It's also a daily driver.
Quote:
Originally Posted by walt2137 View Post
The 14 and 15 Soul tow brackets from Roadmaster are a little easier to install than the 12 and 13 but still a easy simple installation also the tow light is a simple hook up by using the yellow toad signal lights for the RV brake and signal, I will be using a Roadmaster Brakemaster and when the rv brakes are in gauged the Brakemaster will activate the toad brake lights this way I don't have to install a brake light bypass. The Roadmaster Brackets hardly show and. Makes a neat install. Also installing a OEM Cruse control, the kit cost under $100 for the pig tail and button control and is less than 1 hr install, also have a OEM arm rest coming to install
Mine came with the opt. I-Pod cable and the armrest, will add the key-fob door lock system, getting to be a pain having to go to driver door to un-lock. I think it became standard in 2014. Everybody loves the Soul once they drive it.
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Old 12-03-2014, 06:35 AM   #14
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Brock's the Kia Soul Fourm has instructions to add the key fob to your door locks, what most are using is a cheap ($12 ) Chinese key fob system or you could go with a more expensive system the wiring directions are there along with a post taking you to a site that identify all year models wire color and what it controls, if you can't find it let me know.
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