New tow car advice please

given the choice, you should always choose more cylinders than doors ... 😉

I have a 14 plate ML350 and tow a Coachman Laser which is a similar weight .... it tows it without problem. Have a look out for a ML with Airmatic & a factory towbar. Just bear in mind that they're not the most frugal of vehicles, I can see 30/32 mpg around town but it's very easy to see mid 20's, at a steady 55/60 towing last week I saw around 25 .... but 3.0 litre permanent 4x4 cars with the aerodynamics of a brick aren't bought for their fuel economy.

Stick with the Hyundi/ Kia brand

Why? Maybe Davey wants to go a little up market .... 🙄

I see that the Kia Sorento beats the more ‘upmarket’ brands for reliability, warranty and actual towing ability, once again winning a recent What Car? award as overall winner. That’s not meant to say MB is not up to the job, it’s a very capable vehicle. 

How was "towing ability" defined? 🤔 

Having never driven a Sorento I couldn't comment .... the Sedonna though was a belting car/MPV

Hope this quote helps:  

Kia’s large Sorento SUV has seen off stiff competition from the Volkswagen Passat Estate and BMW X5 to be named Britain’s best tow car.

Awarded by What Car? and the Camping and Caravanning Club, the latest seven-seat Sorento has been crowned Tow Car of the Year.

The model was was praised highly by the judges for its ‘huge breadth of abilities’.

 The model tested, fitted with a 2.2-litre turbodiesel – was initially named as the category winner for being able to tow 1,900kg plus and costing up to £50,000, before then being named as the overall winner.

The Sorento is Kia’s flagship model in the UK and the title is set to make it even more appealing to buyers.

 Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: ‘If you picture a Venn diagram with circles representing stability, performance, practicality and value, right in the middle, at the point where those circles overlap, sits the Sorento.

‘It’s a reassuring car to tow with, pulling a big tourer with composure.

 The Sorento can handle whatever it’s faced with because it has powerful brakes, the stability to cope with a sudden lane change, and four-wheel drive to help you make the most of its performance whatever the weather.

I was looking at reliability and costs rather than the snob appeal

The Sorento might very well be a capable tow car ... as said above, having never driven one I couldn't comment ...., but being TCOTY doesn't really mean that much ... there have been a few debatable TCOTY recently.

I did consider one before I bought my ML

definitely no snob value when I bought mine ..... I wanted a slushbox auto & NOT FWD .. the Soreneto is a slip & grip 4x4 ... and as above, more cylinders than doors. The Kia failed on all counts plus the spare lives under the back of the car. And I've only ever lifted the bonnet to fill the washer bottle.

Lucky You Andy with your towing figures. I have just come back from Cornwall ( my Son lives in Helston/Lizard) and I got 17 mpg but had the easiest and most comfortable  of drives possible. As you said I did not buy my vehicle for MPG.