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GOOD CARS FOR TOWING
Most cars can tow a trailer of some sort but some make better
towcars than others. The golden rule to remember is that your
car should be as heavy as possible and your caravan as light as
possible. Diesel-engined cars tend to tow well because their
engines produce a lot of torque at low speed. Cars with a short
rear overhang are less prone to sag at the back end when you
hitch up a caravan. As you’d expect, four-wheel drive cars
perform better when towing on muddy grass. Check out the cost
of having a towing bracket and electrics fitted
Towcar of the Year
to your car – costs vary a lot from one
make to another. For more
Each year The Caravan Club holds a competition to find
technical advice, see
the top towing vehicles released during the previous
www.caravanclub.co.uk.
12 months. Here are the current champions with an idea
of the sort of caravans they could comfortably tow:
UNDER £16,000 CLASS Vogue 2 470 – four-berth
Citroën Berlingo Multispace with fixed rear double bed,
XTR 1.6HDi (110hp) 4.74m body length
Weight: 1427kg RRP: £12,396
Typical caravan: Bailey
Ranger 460/4 – four-berth OVER £32,000 CLASS
with fixed rear double bed, Mercedes-Benz C320 CDi
4.66m body length Estate Sport
RRP: £10,517 Weight: 1750kg
Typical caravan: Coachman
£16,000 - £20,000 CLASS Amara 535/4, four-berth
Hyundai i800 Style with fixed rear double bed,
Weight: 2270kg 5.50m body length
Typical caravan: Elddis RRP: £14,578
Crusader Sirocco – five-
berth with tiered bunks at ALL WHEEL DRIVE UP TO
rear, 6.32m body length 1800KG CATEGORY
RRP: £17,445 Volkswagen Tiguan SE
2.0 TDi 4Motion Auto
£20,000 - £25,000 CLASS Weight: 1590kg
AND OVERALL TOWCAR OF Typical caravan: Bailey
THE YEAR 2009 Pageant Bordeaux – four-
Škoda Superb 2.0 TDI berth with fixed rear double
Weight: 1490kg bed, 4.83m body length
Typical caravan: Lunar RRP: £12,719
Quasar 462 – two-berth
with rear washroom, ALL WHEEL DRIVE OVER
4.69m body length 1800KG CATEGORY
RRP: £12,995 Volvo V70 D5 AWD SE
Weight: 1854kg
£25,000 - £32,000 CLASS Typical caravan: Sprite
Ford Mondeo Titanium Quattro ES – twin-axle six-
X 2.5T berth with rear washroom,
Weight: 1600kg 6.27m body length
Typical caravan: Abbey RRP: £12,430
CAN’T AFFORD A NEW CAR?
There are inexpensive courses for both
caravan towing and driving motor caravans
MAYBE YOU’D LIKE TO CONSIDER ONE
– see our feature on page 24.
OF THESE PAST TOWCARS OF THE YEAR
They’re relaxed and informal, and also
1999 – Audi A6 Avant 2.5 TDi
great fun! You’ll come away with
2000 – Seat Toledo V5
confidence in your driving skills in almost
2001 – Volkswagen Golf V6 4motion
any situation you’re likely to come across.
2002 – Peugeot 406 2.2 GTX HDi Estate
If you don’t fancy going on a course
2003 – Skoda Superb V6 2.5 TDI Elegance
then there are DVDs and guides available
2004 – Subaru Forester 2.0 XT
too. There’s a super DVD from the
2005 – Mazda6 2.0-D Estate TS2
Highways Agency, presented by Carol
2006 – Kia Sorento 2.5 CRDi XE
2007 – Volvo V50 D5 Sport (right)
Smillie, and a very useful towing guide
2008 – Ford Mondeo Titanium X Estate
leaflet available from The National
2009 – Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI
Caravan Council, both of which are free.a73
discovertouring.co.uk
DISCOVER TOURING 23
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