The Best Cars for Towing in 2018

Whether you need to tow a trailer, a horse box or a caravan these are the best cars around for the job ...

Every year experts from Practical Caravan, What Car? and the Camping and Caravanning Club hand out the Best Car for Towing awards to the vehicles that impress them the most.

Each car is tested around a course of slaloms and hill starts for the brakes and handling to be assessed and other factors such as value for money and safety standards are also considered.

Do you need a special licence to tow?

What you are legally allowed to tow will depend upon when you passed your driving test.

If you passed your driving test on or before 1st January 1997 you can drive a vehicle and trailer up to a maximum weight of 8,250kg.

If you passed your driving test on or after 1st January 1997 you can usually drive a car or van up to 3,500kg and tow a trailer with a weight up to 750kg.

You can only tow a trailer over 750kg if the combined weight of the trailer and towing vehicle does not exceed 3,500kg.

What is the difference between braked and unbraked towing weight?

Some trailers will come with their own braking system to support the braking of the towing car. Most will work using an overrun system; when the towing car brakes, the trailer will try and continue at the same speed and so gains on the towing vehicle, the force of this overrun causes the braking system in the trailer to be activated.

Unbraked trailers rely solely on the brakes of the towing car to stop both the vehicle and the trailer, this is a lot of extra work the brakes need to do, so unbraked trailers have a lower maximum towing weight to ensure the towing vehicles braking system is not overwhelmed.

Always remember to carry out a few simple safety checks before you begin towing...