Choosing an SUV for towing

Are you planning to hitch up the van and go roaming around Australia in your retirement?

Perhaps you'd like to take your van to a remote location – a favourite fishing spot or the top of a mountain with heavenly views.

You'll need a competent four-wheel drive to reach those destinations, but maybe you don't want to be spending a small fortune on the ultimate towing vehicle. And a dual-cab ute isn't quite what you had in mind for comfort and refinement. Ideally, your vehicle should be a turbo-diesel, for the torque that towing demands.

There are numerous vehicles  fit your towing needs, even a couple of prestigious brands, if you're towing a road-going van up to about 25ft (7.6 metres) in length.

Here, in alphabetical order, is a selection of SUVs with a towing capacity above 2750kg and priced below $100,000. We've noted too where these SUVs offer something a little extra, in the form of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and smartphone integration – Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard.

All prices exclude on-road costs, except where noted, and we’ve listed each vehicle's maximum towing capacity although this can sometimes vary depending on whether manual or auto transmission is fitted.

Ford Everest

At less than $50,000 in entry-level, rear-wheel drive form, the Ford Everest is ideal for caravanners on a budget who don't need their SUV to go off-road as well. The Everest has been designed in Australia and delivers core comfort and reasonably good driving dynamics for a vehicle that starts out based on a light commercial vehicle, the Ranger.

The Everest is also competent towing a van or ski boat on the road, but you'll need to spend more on a tow vehicle with the front-wheel drivetrain components if you plan to do some four-wheel driving as well. Ford offers a pricier twin-turbo four-cylinder engine option for the Everest, which outguns the larger five-cylinder engine.

Make: Ford
Model: Everest
Variant: Ambient RWD
Towing capacity: 3000kg
Downball weight: 300kg
AEB: Low speed
CarPlay/Android: Yes
Price: $49,490

Holden Trailblazer

Undercutting the Everest on price, the Colorado-based Holden Trailblazer in entry-level form is a certified tow vehicle, with four-wheel drive and towing capacity to match the Ford's. Its seven-seat capacity is a bonus, but the Trailblazer lacks some of the other frills that the Everest has to offer. Nevertheless, the Trailblazer is an affordable alternative that will actually head bush for less than $50,000.

Make: Holden
Model: Trailblazer
Variant: LT
Towing capacity: 3000kg
Downball weight: 300kg
AEB: No
CarPlay/Android: Yes
Price: $47,990

Isuzu MU-X

Popular with grey nomads, along with its D-MAX ute sibling, the Isuzu MU-X is a tow vehicle available in rear-wheel drive form, just like the Everest. The Isuzu makes some concessions for its sharp pricing, but it's as robust and dependable a tow vehicle as the Ford and the Holden.

Make: Isuzu
Model: MU-X
Variant: LS-M 4X2
Towing capacity: 3000kg
Downball weight: 300kg
AEB: No
CarPlay/Android: No
Price: $42,900

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Larger and more expensive than the pick-up based SUVs in our list, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a big, brash American off-roader that will haul a large van with relative ease and in complete comfort. It's important to note that the Grand Cherokee is available in a rear-wheel drive variant powered by a petrol V6, but the tow capacity for that model is less than half that of the diesel-powered Grand Cherokee Laredo 4X4.

Make: Jeep
Model: Grand Cherokee
Variant: Laredo diesel
Towing capacity: 3500kg
Downball weight): 350kg
AEB: No
CarPlay/Android: Yes
Price: $57,950

Land Rover Discovery

The Land Rover Discovery was not  only carsales Car of the Year for 2017, it has consistently charmed our reviewers with its combination of comfort and dynamic ability. While the Discovery is not a bargain-basement buy – it's about $15,000 more than the Grand Cherokee – the quality and capability shine through, and it's a top tow tug to boot.

Make: Land Rover
Model: Discovery
Variant: SD4 S
Towing capacity: 3500kg
Downball weight: 350kg
AEB: Low speed
CarPlay/Android: Yes
Price: $73,221

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Another SUV that can trace its history back to a light-commercial vehicle, the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is built on the same architecture as the Triton pick-up.

That makes it a little truck-like, compared with the more sophisticated Everest, but it's a capable machine for towing, offering value at an affordable price, and despite its lower torque figure, the Pajero Sport enjoys a slight edge over its mainstream rivals – an extra hundred kilos of tow capacity and better fuel economy when it's not towing a van.

Make: Mitsubishi
Model: Pajero Sport
Variant: GLX
Towing capacity: 3100kg
Downball weight: 310kg
AEB: Low speed
CarPlay/Android: Yes
Price: $46,490

Mitsubishi Pajero

Outdated in many ways, the Mitsubishi Pajero nonetheless remains a well-regarded off-road and tow vehicle, although the maximum towball mass is reduced from 250kg to 180kg when towing three tonnes.

That may influence just how big (ie: heavy) a caravan you can hitch up behind the Mitsubishi, but as we reported in our towing test from 2014, the Pajero copes quite well, towing with a 240kg downball load. Its monocoque construction makes it more refined than some of its full-chassis ('body-on-frame') rivals, despite the Pajero's design age.

Make: Mitsubishi
Model: Pajero
Variant: GLX
Towing capacity: 3000kg
Downball weight (kg): 180-250kg
AEB: No
CarPlay/Android: Yes
Price: $53,990

Nissan Patrol

If there's an SUV to make the Grand Cherokee seem demure, it's the full-size Nissan Patrol , a vehicle that makes practically no concessions to Aussie caravanning expectations.

Flying in the face of convention, the Patrol is powered by a 5.6-litre petrol V8, but in our towing test it managed to haul a 2.7-tonne Jayco caravan at open-road speeds using around 20L/100km – which places it in the same ballpark as the diesel V8-engined Toyota LandCruiser 200.

Make: Nissan
Model: Patrol
Variant: Ti
Towing capacity: 3500kg
Downball weight: 350kg
AEB: Low speed
CarPlay/Android: No
Price: $75,990

Ssangyong Rexton

As an importer the Ssangyong brand has a patchy history in Australia, but most reviewers will grant that the product itself mostly hits the mark. The latest Ssangyong Rexton to go on sale in Australia is yet another SUV based on a one-tonne pick-up, the Musso. Its combination of packaging, price, features and towing ability make it a strong candidate for caravanning.

Make: SsangYong
Model: Rexton
Variant: EX
Towing capacity: 3500kg
Downball weight: 350kg
AEB: Low speed
CarPlay/Android: Yes
Price: $39,990 (drive-away)

Toyota Fortuner

The Toyota Fortuner needs little introduction, sharing its mechanicals and architecture with Australia's best-selling vehicle, the HiLux pick-up. Toyota brought in the Fortuner to fill the niche left by the LandCruiser Prado as the price of that vehicle rocketed away from the sort of budget many Australians could afford for their capable SUV.

Our towing test revealed that the Fortuner's rear suspension may need some aftermarket revision for towing larger vans.

Make: Toyota
Model: Fortuner
Variant: GX
Towing capacity: 2800kg
Downball weight: 280kg
AEB: Low speed
CarPlay/Android: No
Price: $45,965

Toyota LandCruiser Prado

If you needed to coin a generic word in the Aussie vernacular to sum up an ultra-reliable off-road wagon that will tow a large van, that word would be Prado. To illustrate, the Toyota LandCruiser Prado has sold nearly 16,000 vehicles in Australia since the start of 2019.

Little else in the same market segment comes close to matching these figures, not even its sibling, the Kluger, which has sold about 6600 fewer vehicles. Australians have taken to the Prado due to its strong mechanicals, reasonable ride comfort, rock-climbing/stream-wading competence and, of course, its touring and  towing ability.

Make: Toyota
Model: LandCruiser Prado
Variant: GX
Towing capacity: 3000kg
Downball weight: 300kg
AEB: No
CarPlay/Android: No
Price: $54,090

Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series

For many Australians there’s simply no better tow tug than the heavy-duty Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series. Diesel V8 power, active anti-roll bars and a whole gamut of qualities, not least of all Toyota's extensive dealer network in Australia, have placed the LC200 at the top of the shopping list for grey nomads preparing for their first tour around the country.

It lacks some 'nice-to-have' features, showing its age in that respect. And at over $80,000 for the entry-level model, the LandCruiser is not cheap, but it's money well spent if you're in it for the long haul.

Make: Toyota
Model: LandCruiser
Variant: GX
Towing capacity: 3500kg
Downball weight: 350kg
AEB: No
CarPlay/Android: No
Price: $80,190