What is better for towing a caravan - an estate or an SUV?
My wife and I have owned a succession of four-wheel drive estate cars as we do a lot of camping and live in remote countryside. We are considering the purchase of a caravan, we're not getting any younger. I would like a new Mercedes E-Class All Terrain but my caravan dealer says that a large SUV cuts a bigger hole in the air and that makes towing a caravan easier. Is she making sense and if so, how do you rate the Audi Q7?
Asked on 13 March 2019 by samnash
Answered by
Andrew Brady
The aerodynamics argument makes sense but I don't think you'll notice a huge difference between a capable estate car and an SUV. SUVs are usually heavier which helps with towing. Having said that, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class All Terrain has a kerb weight of 2010kg - just as heavy as many SUVs. Generally, we advise that you tow no more than 85 per cent of the car's weight, so that'll leave you around 1700kg - enough for a small four-berth caravan. If that's enough, I think the E-Class All Terrain would be a superb choice - it's a really lovely car. The Q7 is very good but, surprisingly, not much heavier than the E-Class.
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