Tow Car Awards: overall winner 2020

Kerb weight 1810kg Max towing weight 2000kg Towball limit 90kg

Due to Covid restrictions, our tow car testing had to be cancelled in 2020. So, instead we took another look at our previous winners and re-judged them in light of their value and reliability when bought on the used car market. This resulted in us naming the 2017-2023 BMW 5 Series Touring as our first ever Used Tow Car of the Year. And here's why it won:

Back in 2018, the 520d xDrive Touring was the overall winner in the Tow Car Awards, and it’s just as hard to beat now as a used buy; the 5 Series is a car that’s really difficult to fault.

For starters, it’s engaging and comfortable in everyday driving, especially with the optional adaptive suspension. This allows you to choose different settings to suit the road or your mood, and ‘comfort’ mode makes the ride more supple.

Likewise, as a tow car, it’s one of the very best. To win in 2018, it had to see off the challenge of the Jaguar F-Pace and Volvo XC40, and despite the many strengths of these rivals, the 5 Series was the clear winner. We praised the 520d for being “unshakeable at speed”. Even a violent lane change test failed to unsettle it.

For everyday driving, the rear-wheel-drive 520d Touring is all you need. For towing, though, the xDrive four-wheel-drive model is heavier, making it suitable for towing a wider range of caravans. And of course, sending power to all four wheels makes pulling a caravan across a wet, grassy site a lot easier.

Inside, the 5 Series is very well finished, with lots of space in the front and back. There’s no need to travel light, either, thanks to the generous 560-litre boot.

Finally, even as a used car, the 5 Series should be largely trouble-free; it finished third in class in the 2020 What Car? Reliability Survey, with a reliability rating of 95.2%.

Our ratings

Towing 5/5 Solo driving 5/5 Practicality 5/5 Buying and owning 4/5 Overall 5/5

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