Caravan And Motorhome Club Towcar Of The Year 2025

If you’re thinking about buying a new tow car for your motorhome or caravan, and aren’t sure which one to get, then hear-ye, hear-ye, the prestigious Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Towcar of the Year competition has since concluded… With interesting results. For a while now, there have been many doubts about whether or not electric cars and hybrids would make good towing cars. Between range anxiety, the supposed fragility of electric motors and batteries, not to mention their dependability, all came into question. However, with extensive testing thanks to the folks over at the Caravan and Motorhome Club, we now know that the opposite is (mostly) true.

At this year’s recent competition to find the Towcar of the Year for 2025, the Caravan and Motorhome Club has shown that hybrid and all-electric vehicles have outperformed conventional petrol and diesel vehicles. Between the many categories that were contested during the competition, pure electric and hybrid vehicles took home 9 award categories. It goes to show just how far hybrids and EVs have come in the past few years alone, more so when you consider their capabilities as good towing cars. Should you be cross-shopping for a new tow car for a shiny new motorhome or caravan, you might actually be better off with an EV or a hybrid vehicle.

The Many Advantages Of Hybrids And EVs As Tow Cars

This year’s Caravan and Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year competition has proven that electric vehicles and hybrids have many distinct upsides as towing cars. In particular, here are just some of the highlights:

1. Whether it’s an EV or a hybrid vehicle in electric-only mode, they massively reduce tailpipe emissions and noise pollution when you’re driving around at low speeds. This is helpful when you’re manoeuvring around a caravan site, without causing disruption to your neighbours, either.
2. Moreover, hybrids and EVs have that instantaneous torque delivery that is a huge helping hand when you’re towing around. They aid in supplementing a vehicle’s towing capacity, making them highly effective for towing a heavier load. Additionally, you get to enjoy better performance, too.
3. On top of that, EVs and hybrid vehicles can be recharged on-site once you’ve reached a caravan site, helping to top up your battery pack for the long leg of the journey ahead. Better still, the Caravan and Motorhome Club is planning to roll out EV charge points at over 150 caravan sites across the UK.

As the judges have made clear, between speedier acceleration, smoother performance, and supreme silence as you’re hoovering about, hybrids and EVs are an improvement for caravanners still relying on ICE vehicles. Yet, it isn’t to say that hybrid and pure-electric vehicles don’t have many obstacles and challenges in the way for folks who need a good tow car for their motorhome or caravan. During the Towcar of the Year competition, the tests done by the Caravan and Motorhome Club don’t shy away from the fact that opting for an electric vehicle or a hybrid has some compromises that you have to live with. Primarily, there’s your electric range.

Challenges And Obstacles With EVs And Hybrid Tow Cars

Most notably, there’s that range anxiety thing I mentioned earlier. Despite just how popular EVs and hybrids are these days, many motorists and would-be tow car owners are still unsure about dealing with reduced range. The Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Towcar of the Year competition shows that your hybrid or EV’s driving range can be significantly impacted when you’re towing a caravan or motorhome. In fact, their testing shows that heavier, larger trailers could reduce your range by a whopping 50%. In other words, when you’re towing a large caravan, your electric car’s supposed 300-mile range could drop down to a mere 160 miles, or worse in winter.

Remember that colder weather also negatively impacts your EV or hybrid’s battery and range. Unfortunately, it’s something that we might have to live with, given that the UK government has put a sales ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, to help accelerate the shift towards electrification and sustainable motoring. In addition, even the cleanest plug-in hybrid vehicles are only allowed to be sold new until 2035. On the bright side, prices for second-hand EVs have fallen rapidly over the last 18 months, so at least anyone who wants to make the transition now can do so for a lot less money. 2 to 3-year-old EVs are especially attractive value propositions today.

Towcar Of The Year Competition Testing And Criteria

On that note, range anxiety – while I know it’s still a serious problem – particularly when towing, doesn’t have to be that much of a deal-breaker if you know how to make good use of it. Charging networks, especially in more rural parts of the UK, can still be rather sparse. But, over the past couple of years, the charging infrastructure has been expanding quickly, and rapid chargers are becoming more widespread and commonplace across the UK. And, if you’re still unsure about getting an EV, hybrid towing cars are fantastic for caravaners who drive long distances. As such, when your battery’s dead, at least you still have a tank of petrol or diesel to continue driving with.

Otherwise, if you’re not ready at all for electrification in any sort, purely ICE – petrol or diesel – vehicles still have their place in the market until the government-mandated sales ban come 2030. But… Which tow car should you get? Thankfully, choosing one is made much easier thanks to the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Towcar of the Year competition, whittling your selection down to the best few. Taking place at the Millbrook Proving Ground, these towing cars were tested under real-world driving conditions across various terrains and obstacles. Here’s what their testing process included:

• Steep inclines and challenging switchback bends
• Stability checks at motorway speeds
• Separate acceleration and emergency braking tests
• Evaluation of practicality, interior space, and value for money

The Best Tow Cars Of The Year 2025

Of the 33 cars that were entered for the recent Caravan and Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year competition, it all boiled down to a single, ultimate winner – the Volvo XC60 T6 plug-in hybrid SUV, taking several other category awards. I do like the Volvo XC60, so I’m not really surprised that it’s up there in the leaderboard. Elsewhere, here are the other category winners for the 2025 Caravan and Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year competition, all of whom represent some of the best towing cars across the UK that you can buy today: