Tow Car Awards 2025: 2000kg+
If you’re looking for a great tow car that will also be enjoyable to drive solo, you need one of our 2025 Tow Car Awards winners. Here we look at the best heavyweight...
BMW X5 xDrive50e M Sport
Kerb weight 2495kg 85% match 2121kg Max towing weight 2700kg Towball limit 140kg
If you need a large and heavy tow car, the BMW X5 continues to set the standard. It’s very quick, super-stable and impressively practical.
The plug-in hybrid X5 posted both the quickest 30-60mph time (5.1sec) and the shortest stopping distance (9.1m) of any car tested this year. Performance doesn’t drop off once the battery runs low, either.
As for stability while towing, the X5 was unflustered at all of our test speeds and made emergency lane changes without any hesitation or nervousness. Hill starts? The X5 laughed in the face of not only our one-in-six gradient but also the one-in-four slope next door.
On the practicality front, we found room for almost all of our holiday luggage, and run-flat tyres mean you can keep going after a puncture, albeit at a restricted speed. The X5’s excellent rear-view camera is useful when hitching up, and adaptive air suspension keeps the car level even when the boot is heavily loaded.
As a day-to-day car, the X5 can be sporty or comfortable, depending on the driving mode chosen. To get the best from the version we tested, it pays to have a charging point at home. The official electric range is up to 62 miles; even if that’s optimistic in real-world use, you’ll still be able to complete many shorter journeys without using any petrol.
Inside, the X5 is as luxurious as you’d expect from a car at this price point. The twin-screen dashboard looks stunning, and the infotainment system is easy to use without distraction. There’s plenty of space front and rear, although you can’t add a third row of seats in the plug-in hybrid model.
While the X5 is a luxury car with a price to match, it’s sensibly priced compared with the rival Range Rover Sport. Thanks to low emissions and that long electric range, company car drivers face modest benefit-in-kind tax bills compared with running a petrol or diesel SUV of similar cost and performance.
Our ratings
Towing 5/5 Solo driving 5/5 Practicality 4/5 Buying and owning 4/5 Overall 5/5
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