Cars not approved for towing

You are correct. When I purchased my Kodiaq the manual version was not approved for towing but the DSG gearbox was. I am also aware of someone who changed his BMW company car for the exact same model but the new car could not be fitted with a tow bar as the adblu tank had now been fitted to later models and was exactly where the tow bar fixings needed to be. 
My only advice is to research carefully before you purchase. 

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You may want to check out this thread

https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-together/discussions/information-technical-tips-advice/towcars-towing/new-skoda-not-approved-to-tow-buyer-beware/?p=2

 

Thanks all for the replies.

I will need to look carefully at this aspect when considering a replacement!

Another thing to look for is the towing capacity of a vehicle may vary between OEM and aftermarket towbars.

Many years ago the original VW Tiguan was rated as 2000kg towing capacity, after a test drive and what seemed like hours in the dealership I enquired about getting an after market towbar fitted only to be told the capacity would drop to 1500kg. The 2000kg ability was only possible with the factory fit option as it came with larger oil coolers etc. 

This may not be the case these days but its worth checking - maybe thats what the term 'towing preparation' spec means.

The car must be type approved for towing, if not it is illegal to tow - even if an aftermarket towbar is available. Type approval is becoming a minefield as different trim or engine variants of the same base model May or may not be type approved. If buying new I would specify tow bar prep for the avoidance of doubt. 

I got close to buying the large XJ Jaguar but luckily realised it did not have type approval for towing.

Also my Mustang GT 550 is approved for towing in the USA but not in Europe, not that I would want to.