If you tour with plenty of passengers, these cars are definitely worth a look
FIVE OF THE BEST…
CARAVANNING IS A GREAT way for large families to enjoy holidays together. But to tow your family-sized tourer, you’ll need a spacious vehicle to match.
If you want to accommodate six or seven passengers, you’re most likely to be shopping for an SUV or an MPV. These days, SUVs have become more popular than people carriers, but you can still make a strong case for choosing either type of car.
Even those of us without a big family can benefit from that extra row of seats. They come in very handy when the grandparents join you on days out, or for ferrying team-mates to and from football practice. When the third row isn’t needed, the seats can be folded into the floor for a hugely roomy boot.
So a seven-seater makes a practical and flexible choice as a tow car. Here are some of our favourites.
KIA SORENTO 2.2 CRDI EDITION
Price £49,590 Kerbweight 1954kg 85% match 1661kg Towing limit 2500kg
The Kia Sorento continues to be one of the most popular tow cars on the market, and with good reason. It’s a comfortable, stable, all-weather tow car, with a roomy seven-seat cabin.
Today’s vehicle is available in diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid guises. We’ve plumped for the diesel. It may be out of favour with regular car buyers, but diesel power still has a lot to offer for anyone who tows a caravan regularly.
With a 2500kg maximum towing weight, the Kia Sorento diesel model is approved to tow much more than either of the hybrid versions, and the diesel’s mid-range pulling power is ideally suited to towing.
Even with the higher towing limit, we recommend picking a tourer weighing no more than 85% of the kerbweight, unless you are a very experienced tow car driver. That still gives you a prudent matching weight of 1661kg, which means that many family tourers make sensible matches.
Inside, the Sorento is very well made and packed with luxuries, especially in the latest Edition specification. This is now the only Sorento model, building on the kit level of the previous range-topper, so it is pricey. We’ve seen mechanically identical examples of the Sorento on 21-plates for under £37,000.
HYUNDAI SANTA FE 1.6T 230PS HYBRID 4WD
Price £44,945 Kerbweight 1842kg 85% match 1566kg Towing limit 1650kg
If you are looking for the best seven-seat SUV under £50,000, it’s a close call between the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Kia Sorento. Beneath their strikingly different exteriors, these two cars are very closely related. Like the Sorento, the Santa Fe is a
