Volkswagen scoops towing awards
German vehicles impress judges at this year's Towcar of the Year competition in the UK
In Australia the Toyota LandCruiser is generally regarded as the king of the tow vehicles, admired by magazines and owners of big boats and caravans alike. But in Europe, where most van owners are compelled to drive smaller or more fuel-efficient tow vehicles, it's a much different story.
Each year The Caravan Club in the UK puts a bunch of tow vehicles through their paces on the demanding Millbrook Test Circuit, with 11 judges this year evaluating 30 vehicles on a range of factors including towing ability, acceleration, braking, demanding hill starts, and usability in everyday caravanning.
Ranking vehicles in their respective price or weight segments, Volkswagen came out a clear winner in a number of categories. Winning the over £32,000 class and over 1800kg All-Wheel Drive categories was VW’s medium-sized, 4x4 Touareg Escape, which was praised by the judges for "flying round the bowl at Millbrook with never a twitch, even on the hill circuit".
Powered by a 3.0-litre diesel V6 producing 180kW at 4000rpm and 550Nm at 2000rpm, matched to an eight-speed auto, the top-spec Touareg SUV with its 3500kg towing capacity (same as the LandCruisers') made light work of the close to two tonne caravan being pulled behind it.
Also described as "a near-ultimate towcar”, the $83,990 (in Australia) Touareg beat out some serious contenders in the over £32,000 class including a Mercedes-Benz G350, Nissan Navara diesel V6 dual cab ute, and Volvo XC70 AWD.
Volkswagen's Jetta Sport 2.0TDI DSG scooped the hotly contested under-£25,000 class, and was praised for "its stable towing both at speed and while driving around hills and bends". With its maximum towing capacity of 1400kg, the 125kW/392Nm mid-sized sedan was put through its paces while hauling a 1225kg caravan.
As well as taking the top honour in its price class, the Jetta Sport went on to be voted overall winner of the 29th Caravan Club Towcar of the Year Competition.
Class wins in the competition also went to the Skoda Superb Estate (last year's overal winner), and Volvo V60 D5 AWD.
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