Tow Car Awards: overall winner 2021
The Tow Car Awards is Britain's biggest and best tow car test programme, with a history stretching back to 2007...
Kerb weight 1954kg 85% match 1661kg Max towing weight 2500kg Towball limit 100kg
At the 2021 Tow Car Awards, the car that came out on top was the Kia Sorento. Here's what we said about it at the time:
Picture a Venn diagram with circles representing stability, performance, practicality and value. Right in the middle, at the point where those circles overlap, sits the Kia Sorento.
In years past, there’s been a gulf between premium SUVs from the likes of Audi, BMW and Land Rover, and big 4x4s from mainstream brands. However, the Sorento offers 90% of a premium SUV’s towing ability for 60% of the price. It’s a reassuring car to tow with, pulling a big tourer with composure at the UK legal limit and beyond.
Kia gives buyers the choice of regular hybrid, plug-in hybrid and diesel power, and for regular towing there are still good reasons to choose a diesel. The 2.2-litre engine is ideally suited to the job, with grit and muscle worthy of a rugby prop forward. Any sensibly matched tourer should be handled with ease. What’s more, with four-wheel drive, the Sorento is able to make the most of its performance whatever the weather.
The BMW X5 xDrive45e and Volkswagen Passat GTE impressed, too, serving to show how much progress has been made with plug-in hybrid technology. And aside from a couple of important reservations, the Polestar 2 suggests that fully electric tow cars have a bright future as well.
In the here and now, though, the best all-round tow car is the Sorento.
Our ratings
Towing 5/5 Solo driving 4/5 Practicality 5/5 Buying and owning 4/5 Overall 5/5
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