Towcar of the Year 2021

@Flatcoat. Many people have & do tow with FWD. I just don't like the general understeer of FWD and have only ever owned a FWD as a general run-about, never my 'proper car'. I've frequently seen FWD vehicles starting off on the modest incline on the approach to Burrs scrabbling to get traction. 😎

Not that we seem to get any real snow south of Watford gap now,but as noted when any where gets snow or soft ground it is far better having a front wheel drive vehicle (and even better with traction control/hill start) than being stuck behind a rear wheel drive "fish tailing"

I wonder who attaches any importance to such an award. Depending on prevailing conditions, everybody has got their own criteria for choosing a particular towcar. One man's meat is another man's poison.

very easily.....fido in boot, with table top BBQ, rear seat back raked towards the rear, on rear seat/between seats, we get, awning (heaviest piece of equipment we carry, approx 20kgs, so good place for it), 2 folding chairs, 1 table, 2 x groundsheets, 1 x windbreak, our coats and wellies, just in case, rest goes into caravan, we do have a 5 berth so no problems with weight in caravan for 2 people, dam good car Sorento with loads of space, you should know. We do have a roof box but seldom use it, travelling at 60 mph generates a lot of wind noise.  

our next door neighbour when we lived in Scotland, in the outback, had a BMW 3 series, used to put it into hibernation when the snow and ice came, was a complete nightmare trying to get up a very narrow icy track.

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I think we have to remember that not everyone is a car "enthusiast" so they don't always follow the usual motoring press/online forums places where they would get the information they need? They are, however, more likely to get their information from the clubs and Caravanning magazines I would suggest. TCOY is only a snapshot of what is available from those cars offered up by manufacturers. The uninitiated might well come to the conclusion (rightly or wrongly) that if a particular car is not offered to the competition it might not be any good as a towcar? Perhaps the usefulness of TCOY is not the cars that win but the ones that don't? Just glad I don't need to bother about towcars anymore!!!

David

If the car is only going to be used occasionally to tow the caravan, say two or three times a year, will play a significant role in a purchasing decision. I had a dedicated towcar once for a couple of years. It was great for that purpose, but then, when I disposed of the second car, it proved to be totally unsuitable to take on the job as a means of transport on a daily basis as well. For that it was far too big and the running costs for all the miles driven solo were completely unjustifiable. I don't think that such considerations are adequately taken into account in any award.

One must also bear in mind that only cars submitted for the award can be taken into account. Others, not submitted, may be a lot better so it's still up to the customer to do his homework before a purchase.

Everyone has differing needs and budgets so such ‘awards’ can at best only be a guide of what might be worth considering. Look how many COTY winners in the past have bombed in the showrooms... In pure terms rear or AWD will or should provide the best driving dynamics and traction. In practice a friend of ours found his 3 series estate rubbish at towing and much preferred his previous Passat. I found the FL2 a good tow car but cr8p build, fit, finish, reliability. Pre caravanning days the MG ZT i had was simply a superb handling car, far far better than anything else FWD at the time but still no match for my 944turbo. Current Volvo towcar has not (to the best of my knowledge) been awarded any towing awards, previous Passat Alltrack did. The Volvo is turning out to be a better towcar (except for boot volume) for me than the Passat on almost all measures. However a car with good driving dynamics will also be inherently safer irrespective of the owners interest in such matters. In the end we pays our money and takes our choice.... 

Having spent a day in a Skoda Superb following Tour of Britain all over Lake District and Dumfries and Galloway, up hill and down dale, I can confirm they are a nice, bland, comfortable ride for following a bike race. Towing a van? Havent got a clue.

We have only once towed with a conventional car. A very nice and powerful Rover. It survived, but only just around our hills. Give me a proper gutsy LR, Jeep or big 4x4 everytime for towing. Plenty of room for dogs as well......