Land Rover’s Discovery recently came out on top in the 2010 Towcar Awards, making it the number one choice to adorn the front of your caravan.

The awards were presented by a coalition of three of the foremost caravan organisations, ‘Practical Caravan’ ‘What Car? Magazine’ and ‘The Camping and Caravanning Club’.

Nigel Donnelly, editor of Practical Caravan, offered the definitive verdict on their winner.  “The Land Rover Discovery 4 is an exceptional car for towing. The old model was one of our favorite towcars, but the new Discovery improves upon it in just about every area. You’ll be just as happy with the Discovery when you are not towing. It’s the best car in this year’s tests by some margin, and a more than worthy overall champion.”

The Land Rover, however, had to fight off fierce competition to become the winner.  During the decision making process, the coalition of experts tested 41 cars with various different caravans to determine the top performers from the poor attempts.  Tests included hill starts, practicality, braking and acceleration.

Other awards were offered for categories such as green credentials, ability at towing certain classes of caravan weights and value.

The Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRDi Style 7st, for example, was awarded the accolade for Best Value 4×4.  At just over £22,000, the Santa Fe offers a fantastic quality of towcar for a thoroughly reasonable price.  “The big Hyundai is one of the best value cars in this year’s tests”, commented Nigel Donnelly.

Skoda performed extremely well at the awards night, picking up two awards.  The Skoda Octavia Estate 1.6 Greenline was highly praised for its fuel economy of 64.2mpg and low carbon dioxide emissions, and was therefore awarded The Green Award.  In addition to environmental advantages, the green credentials of Skoda’s Octavia also results in lower road taxes for users.

Skoda’s Superb Estate 2.0 TDI 170 SE also picked up an award in the 1575-1724kg towing category.  Highlights of this model were its spacious interior and its impressively reliable towing capability.

Summing up the importance of the awards, Matthew Eastlake, The Club’s Marketing & Communications Director said that “The aim is to provide campers and caravanners with the very best and latest information about leading vehicles suitable for towing.

“We believe that this helps our members to take informed decisions about high value purchases and hopefully they are able to enjoy safe, comfortable and enjoyable motoring as a result.”

In fact, around 400,000 cars each year are believed to be purchased for their towing ability, so these awards are important both for consumers and for manufacturers looking to get in on this large market.

You’ll want to make sure that whatever model of car you own is insured to make it road-worthy and to stay within the law.  Equally important, though, is taking out Caravan Insurance. Don’t forget to get everything covered before you set off on the road.

Other category winners for towcar of the year:

1. Kia Soul Shaker 1.6 CRDi
2. Mazda 6 2.2D Estate
3. Volvo XC60SE AWD
4. Land Rover Discovery 4 TDV6 HSE
5. Skoda Suprb Elegance 3.6V6 4×4 DSG

Survey courtesy of Caravan Club, full survey details can be found here

Safe Towing folks

Gary