What are the best cars for towing?

Whether you’re taking a tiny trailer to the tip or heading off to the south of France with your swanky new Swift caravan, the best tow cars make towing a safe, pleasurable experience. 

A good tow car needs to have a decent towing weight. It should also feel stable and reassuring at speed, and make the process of manouevring a trailer or caravan as easy as possible. When you’re not towing it should be good to drive, and suit your wider needs. And budget. 

We’ve used our expertise and experience to put together a list of the best tow cars you can buy. For each one we’ve included its maximum towing capacity with a braked trailer, and we’ve listed them in ascending order of how much they can tow.   
 
Our focus is on used cars – although most are also available to buy new – and there are options to suit a range of different trailer or caravan sizes.

Best tow cars for smaller trailers (up to 2000kg)

1. Dacia Duster

Maximum towing capacity: 1500kg

For a long time the Dacia Duster has been the go-to choice for anyone looking for an SUV that’s rugged, practical and exceptional value for money. 

An all-new version went on sale in 2024 but our recommendation here is the one that was sold new between 2018 and 2024. This version costs a lot less to buy and is available with a combination of a 1.5-litre diesel engine and four-wheel drive that’s a great fit for towing. While the Duster gives you a sturdy SUV for the price of a city car there are a few compromises to be made – it doesn’t have the advanced safety features of some rivals and the interior looks pretty basic. But it’s a solid tow car and it really is a bargain.

2.Volkswagen Golf Estate

Maximum braked towing capacity: 1600kg

SUVs are often the car of choice for towing these days, but a good estate car still has plenty to recommend it. Especially when it’s as good as the latest Volkswagen Golf Estate. 

What sets the Golf apart from most similar cars is just how smooth and reassuring it feels to drive and that really makes a difference when you’ve got a trailer or caravan in tow. The estate version is also notable for its excellent visibility, with its large rear windows giving a very clear view of what’s going on behind you. 

3. Hyundai Ioniq 5

Maximum towing capacity: 1600kg

Although the Hyundai Ioniq 5 has a comparatively low towing weight for such a large, heavy car (it’s longer and about 500kg heavier than a Nissan Qashqai), it’s the way it feels when towing that seals its place here. 

The large battery pack – mounted under the floor – gives the Ioniq 5 a low centre of gravity that gives it great stability and the top-spec model (our recommendation for towing) has a pair of electric motors – one at the front and one at the back – that give four-wheel drive, lots of power and very smooth progress.

4. Ford Focus Estate

Maximum towing capacity: 1700kg

The Ford Focus is one of the most enjoyable mid-size cars to drive and the surefooted, responsive feel it offers makes it a great tow car, especially if you go for the slightly longer, heavier estate version. It’s actually offered in two distinct forms – a straightforward estate version of the hatchback and as an ‘Active X’ model with an SUV-style makeover that includes raised suspension and some rugged-looking exterior trim. Both are brilliant, so it’s up to you whether you want to pay extra for a more outdoorsy vibe. 

Although some estate cars offer a bit more boot capacity than the Focus, it still has lots of space for people and luggage and it’s comfortable to travel in. The Focus is so popular that you should have plenty to choose from if you’re looking for a used one. If your heart is set on a new one you need to get your skates on however – sadly, the Focus is being discontinued in autumn 2025.

Best tow cars for medium-size trailers (up to 2500kg)

5. Skoda Karoq

Maximum towing capacity: 2100kg

You could say the Skoda Karoq has aged well – it was introduced way back in 2017 but it still looks up-to-date and remains one of the best mid-size SUVs you can buy. It’s particularly well-suited to towing because it feels impressively reassuring to drive and there’s a version with a powerful diesel engine and four-wheel drive that gives higher towing weight than most similar SUVs. 

The interior might not have the huge touchscreen or futuristic design that some newer rivals do but it still looks good and is very user-friendly. There’s lots of space inside yet it’s compact on the outside, with an overall length similar to a Ford Focus hatchback.

6. Skoda Superb Estate

Maximum towing capacity: 2200kg

Canny shoppers know that Skoda cars tend to cost a bit less than most similar models, yet are generally more practical. The Superb Estate takes that to extremes because it’s vast inside and  costs less than many smaller cars. 

The Superb’s long, low body helps to make it feel rock-solid on the road and that, in turn, helps it to make it feel stable when towing. The latest model – introduced in 2024 – is as big and classy and ever, and adds more high-tech features. It gives you a choice of petrol, plug-in hybrid or diesel power, as well as the option of four-wheel drive, with an impressive maximum towing weight of 2200kg reserved for the top-spec diesel models with four-wheel drive.

7. Volvo XC60

Maximum towing capacity: 2400kg
We could have included any of Volvo’s latest models here, since all of them make great tow cars. We’ve opted for the XC60 – its mid-size SUV – because it hits the sweet spot, giving the option of towing a fairly hefty caravan or trailer while providing a luxury experience for less than the cost of its largest SUVs. 

You can get an XC60 with a mild hybrid petrol engine (or a diesel if you’re buying used) but the latest plug-in hybrid model is our preferred choice as a tow car. As well as offering lots of power it has a pure-electric range of more than 50 miles with a fully charged battery, which could be enough for your daily commute.

Best tow cars for larger trailers (2500kg and over)

8. Kia Sorento

Maximum towing capacity: 2500kg

The Kia Sorento has been a popular tow car for a long time. Since it was introduced to the UK in 2003, each new version has offered a similar combination of high towing capacity and comparatively low price to the first one, but added extra sophistication each time. 

The latest, fourth-generation model is the best yet, especially since an update in 2023 that gave it a smart new look inside and out. It’s not as cheap as it was, yet it’s well-equipped and it remains great value. And it’s as good a tow car as ever, with four-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox as standard and a choice of strong engines. The hybrid and plug-in hybrid models are excellent, but to get the maximum towing weight opt for the 2.2-litre diesel engine.

9. Kia EV9

Maximum towing capacity: 2500kg

What’s this, another seven-seat Kia SUV? Well, yes, but the Kia EV9 is a different animal to the Sorento. It looks like a futuristic concept car for a start, and – as its name suggests – it’s available only with pure-electric power. 

While some electric SUVs have fairly low maximum towing weights, the EV9 has the same impressive 2500kg maximum as the Sorento diesel model as long as you go for the dual-motor four-wheel-drive model. It’s very powerful and gives a maximum range of more than 300 miles with a fully charged battery – although you can expect only a fraction of this when towing. With its spacious, beautifully finished interior the EV9 is every inch a luxury SUV for the electric era.

10. Land Rover Defender 110

Maximum towing capacity: 3500kg

For decades, Land Rover vehicles have been towing all manner of loads around the British countryside for work or pleasure. Horse boxes, boats, other cars… you name it, a Land Rover has probably towed it. 

All of that heritage feeds into the latest Defender, Land Rover’s most rugged model. We say rugged because it’ll get you almost anywhere and has an interior that’s built to withstand hard use and is easy to clean. But it’s also luxurious, with oodles of space, lots of high-tech features and a high-quality feel throughout. As well as a mighty 3500kg maximum towing capacity the Defender is available with ‘Advanced Tow Assist’, a system that allows you to select where you want your caravan or trailer to go and let the car do the steering for you!