The 2018 Tow Car Award Winners

Winner: Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI 150PS SE L DSG

Every year but one since 2013 the Octavia has come first in this category. It’s been praised again this time as a fine tow car, with a towing weight of up to 1,600kg despite weighing only 1,352kg. The testers said they were more than happy to tow up to and beyond the speed limit and the Octavia recovered well from snappy steering inputs. While 150PS might not be overwhelming, it is the 251 lbs/ft of torque that make the Octavia pretty swift and perfect for motorway journeys.

The Skoda Octavia starts from £17,700.

Winner: Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI 150PS SE L Executive

Another winner for Skoda. The Tow Car judges claim that the new Skoda Superb ticked pretty much every important box. This is the same engine as the one in the Octavia from the 1,400kg category and in the Superb, it is capable of pulling a caravan weighing 85% of its body weight from 0-60mph in 12.2 seconds - handy if you ever want to go drag racing and camping on the same weekend.

The Skoda Superb starts from £22,120.

Winner: Peugeot 5008 2.0 BlueHDi EAT8 S&S GT

We’ve adored this 5008 since it was released just over a year ago. The inside is stylish, unique and extremely well put together. The engines all make sense and the running costs are more than agreeable. The judges credited the 5008’s stability when lane changing as the car barely flinched in any of the three tests. Praise was also given to the HDi engine which was refined and composed both with and without a load to tow.

The Peugeot 5008 starts from £25,020

Winner: BMW 520d Touring xDrive M Sport

This weight class is the most populated and most contested out of all of them, and the fact that the 520d Touring can waltz in and take the crown with ease is a real testament to how good of a job BMW have done with this new 5 Series. The 5 Series was labelled as ‘unshakeable at speed’ when towing. The only circumstances when the test caravan would sway in the slightest was when there was a very strong crosswind and the car was going excessively over the speed limit. All of this combined with the incredible practicality benefits of the large BMW and the wallet-friendly running costs, it makes sense that the 5 Series beat the new Jaguar F-Pace and Volvo XC40 in this category.

The BMW 5 Series Touring starts from £40,025

Winner: Land Rover Discovery 3.0 Td6 HSE

The model tested by the judges for the Tow Car awards was actually the Td6 engine, which is no longer available. So although they adored this unit thanks to its relative power and strength, if you were to put an order in for the Sd6 equivalent you’d actually get even more refinement, torque and power. Other standout features included the hill-start assist functions and also the Discovery’s ability to make 70 mph feel more like 40 mph while towing.

The Land Rover Discovery starts from £47,405.

Winner: Hyundai i30 Tourer 1.6 CRDi 110PS Premium

The 1.6 Diesel i30 Tourer took home the crown for the Fuel Economy award in 2018. Even though it wasn’t spoken too fondly of in terms of its towing capabilities and stability, the i30 Tourer is undoubtedly a very economical car. Hyundai claims that you can achieve up to 74 mpg out of the i30, and when towing 85% of its maximum towing weight it was still able to average over 24 mpg.

The i30 Tourer is on sale now from just £17,500

Winner: Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI 115PS SEL DS

The new, bigger Polo doesn’t seem like much of a ‘small car’ anymore based on its dimensions, but in terms of towing then it is certainly one of the smaller cars you’d consider pulling anything along with. If you do want to tow though, and you’ve got something below the 1,100kg towing limit, then the Polo is actually pretty effective. The judges noted the Polo is stable at straight line speeds well above the speed limit, also that lane changing wasn’t a problem until the third and fastest manoeuvre when it began to struggle.

The Volkswagen Polo is on sale now from £14,235.

Winner: Kia Stinger 2.0 T-GDi GT-Line

The Kia Stinger doesn’t look like your average tow-car. It has big alloys and a real sports aesthetic, but it isn’t a large SUV ‘nor a long and strong estate - it’s a saloon. Thankfully, the Stinger is loaded with turbocharged petrol engine which has enough power to take a towed caravan from 30 to 60 mph in 8.9 seconds. The judges had no troubles keeping their caravan in line when changing lane at pace in the Stinger and they complimented the impressive boot and passenger space.

The Kia Stinger is available now from £32,025

Winner: Volvo XC40 D4 AWD R-Design Pro

The XC40 takes the trophy for the best family SUV and it comes as no real surprise. It’s a brand new car for this year's awards and is loaded with safety kit which will as good as unparalleled on the market today. Furthermore, it can be run on a budget which will suit growing families, as the XC40 is capable of achieving up to 58.9mpg combined. There is a special mention from the judges about how beautifully constructed and designed the interior is too.

The Volvo XC40 starts from £27,610

Winner: BMW 520d Touring xDrive M Sport

The Overall Winner for 2018 was the BMW 520d Touring. The fine-handling estate has certainly defied the odds to put in an ‘unshakable’ performance in the most competitive weight class of them all, which is why it has taken home the top honours this year. The 520d competes with much larger SUVs which you would assume are better equipped for towing, but the 5 Series put in a truly solid effort. Under testing, the judges stated that ‘At high speed, it proved entirely unflustered, and it handled our most extreme emergency manoeuvres with calm composure.’A fine victory for the BMW 5 Series.