Tow Car Recommendations

scaredofdebt

Hi, would appreciate any advice please.

I am getting a caravan in the next few months (first time owner) and will need a tow car.  It's going to be 4 berth so likely weight is around 1,500 kgs.

I'd like some advice around tow cars.

I've done some research and have a short list of the following:

VW Touareg
Honda CRV
Ford Mondeo
VW Passatt

Happy to consider other cars too, what would be best?

Budget for the car and caravan is around £15k, probably spend about half on the car and half on the caravan but can be flexible and push the budget up by 10-20% if needed.

Diesel or petrol?  We would be using the caravan in the UK so trips won't be huge but the car would also be used as a second car.

I like the Honda as there is a 4WD variant which might be handy, the VW Touareg looks nice but a little pricey maybe.

Main things I want (other than being a good tow car) is reliability and economy.

Thanks for any advice.

jimbo6977

Skodas and KGMs (ex-Ssangyong) are popular and regularly award-winning tow cars.

Herzlos

You're better with diesel for the low down torque when towing, and pretty much any full-size (Mondeo) car should be able to handle a 1500kg caravan. Though I'd wait and narrow down the caravan first because you don't want to buy a car that tops out at 1500kg and then find a caravan that's 1600kg.

For the tow car, the heavier the better, but that's about it. All of the vehicles you've listed should be fine.

Jaybee_16

https://www.carsguide.com.au/towing-capacity

It's an Australian website but not sure if they will be different to UK towing limits.

Ditzy_Mitzy

Re the Honda CRV: I don't think they are four wheel drive in the true sense.  If memory serves, the CRV is a front wheel drive car that has the ability to transfer some power to the rear in the event of loss of traction at the front.  That may or may not be a problem, but something to bear in mind as, if you want the additional stability and handling characteristics of four wheel drive proper, the Honda won't have them 99.5% of the time.  

Something else to bear in mind: transfer case failure is fairly frequent on pseudo-4x4s.  Most are driven on road exclusively, which means the case is never required to actually transfer drive.  That results in the transfer mechanism seizing and becoming inoperative.  It won't, therefore, work if called upon and can have knock on issues with the main drive to the front.  A cheap 'fix' is to remove the front-to-back propeller shaft!  Check that there is one, if looking at a car like that...  

Arunmor

https://towcar.info/towing.php

If your going to be using the car as your daily car then forego the 4x4 you won't need it, but you will need a car with a bit of weight.  A skoda Superb 2,0TDI would be a good choice and you will get +50mpg when not towing.

knightstyle

I nwould go for the Ford.   We have a caravan, 1350kgs and have towed it a lot with our Cmax, now on 109k miles and still super reliable.
One thing i would not be without is the ATC system which applies the caravan brakes if the caravan starts swaying.

forgotmyname

No mention of your licence towing limit?   Are you limited to 3500kg?  A larger car towing 1500kg maybe over your limit
because its the gross weights that count.

The number of berths is not related to the weight, you can get a 2 berth that weighs almost 2000kg and a 5 berth that weighs
1000kg.

Herzlos

The B+E requirement was dropped a couple of years ago to deal with the shortage of drivers post Brexit, so I don't think it's an issue any more.

Nebulous2

You've got a lot of decisions to make and timing the purchases may be a challenge. If you buy the caravan first, then the car, you might have to get a towbar fitted which could take time, when you want to get the caravan moved. 

Key to enjoying a caravan is getting a layout that suits. With children we found a 5 berth twin-dinette layout worked best. Now there are usually just two of us a 4 berth with fixed bed suits better. Fixed beds tend to be heavier. 

We have ended up with a 1650kg gross weight caravan, and that is pushing it for most cars short of 4x4s, so we tow it with a van, which has a 2000kg towing limit and tows very well. 

Caravans were over-priced coming out of the pandemic, and getting a good dry one for half your budget could be challenging, and involve searching for some time. Traditionally prices are higher in spring and lower in autumn, so again you are trying to buy at a time when supply is tighter. 

I'd be inclined to go for the car first, make sure it has a towbar, take my time finding the caravan, but use a strict weight limit in your search. 

It might just be us, but we've always carried a lot of 'stuff' when caravanning. Especially if the caravan doesn't live at home, but is in storage and you need to carry your kit to it. I'd try to get a car with plenty room.

 Of the ones you've mentioned I'd go for a Passat or a Mondeo estate. A Skoda as suggested would be another good shout. My memory is that Octavias had poor towing limits, but Superbs were well-rated tow-cars.

Estates usually have better rear suspension than saloon variants, which helps in coping with towing and the nose weight of the caravan. 

Goudy

Cars tend to get rated for tow limits by the manufacturer but it's recommended that you use the 85% rule.
This means your loaded van is around 85% of your cars kerb weight.

Hyundai Tucson from 2015 (third gen TL model)  or it's sister the Kia Sportage (fourth gen QL model) with the 2.0 CRDi engine will officially tow around 1900kg, but based on the recommended 85% rule, these should easily pull 1500kg and take a ball weight a little higher that most, around 100kg rather than 75kg of similar cars.

The 4WD is a little heavier so based on the 85% rule they can tug a little more.

Both of these could be had in your budget.