The Volvo XC60 has been crowned Towcar of the Year 2025, fending off a raft of impressive competitors from BMW to Volkswagen.
The Swedish SUV was named the overall victor by the Caravan and Motorhome Club. Its annual competition has been running for 42 years and is organised to find the best towing vehicles for the caravanning and leisure markets.
The XC60, in T6 Plug-in Hybrid AWD Plus guise, was handed the award after receiving high praise from a panel of industry-leading judges. It also scooped three further category wins – caravan weight over 1,800kg, Family Towcars and Hybrid Towcars – proving that it’s a top choice for caravanners.
The XC60 was one of 33 cars tested by the Club at the world famous Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire. The testing comprised several hundred laps of the two-mile high-speed bowl and ‘alpine’ hill route. Tests included hill starts on a 17 per cent gradient, a 26 per cent downhill brake test, and acceleration tests from a standstill to motorway speeds. Practical tests also took place, including loading boots with caravanning paraphernalia.
All cars were ballasted and were hitched to caravans ballasted to 85 per cent of the cars’ kerbweights, or towing limits if lower, to both create a level playing field and replicate accurate real-world towing conditions.
The 1,300kg-1,500kg weight category was won by the new Skoda Superb Estate 1.5 TSi e-TEC 150PS DSG, while taking the caravan weight 1,500kg-1,600kg, Luxury Towcars, and Electric Towcars gongs was the newly launched BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport Pro Touring.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate 77.4kWh 328PS AWD and the now back-on-sale Volvo V90 T8 Plug-in Hybrid AWD Ultra took the 1,600-1,700kg and 1,700kg-1,800kg category wins respectively, while scooping the Pick-ups gong was the Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana 3.0 TDI 4Motion. The German manufacturer also walked off with the Large Family Cars award for its Multivan 2.0 TDI.
Nick Lomas, director general of the Caravan and Motorhome Club, said: “We would like to offer our sincere congratulations to all the worthy winners in the Caravan and Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year 2025 Awards.
“Our panel of independent judges were able to evaluate the entrants in order to provide professional, qualified and unbiased information to help everyone who plans to buy a towing vehicle.
“Leisure vehicle holidays continue to be hugely popular and here at the Caravan and Motorhome Club we know our 1m+ members eagerly await the results of these awards in order to help them make an informed decision and help them to find the perfect towcar for their needs.”
