One of the most important considerations for caravan owners is matching a towcar to their pride and joy; and with more car models hitting the UK market than ever, choosing your next car can be a tricky process.
Thankfully for us, each year the Caravan Club help make that process a little easier, by hosting an annual awards ceremony celebrating the best in motoring for caravanners. The Towcar of the Year Awards is a culmination of a rigorous testing process, where 30 of the latest vehicles are taken to the Millbrook Testing Ground in Bedfordshire. Each caer is put through its paces by a team of 11 judges who looked at towing ability, acceleration, braking, demanding hill starts, and usability in everyday caravanning.
Double wins for Volkswagen
Cars were divided into five categories, with three grouped by price and two by all-wheel drive capability. The under-£25,000 class was hotly competed, with a host of vehicles combining value for money at the pumps with impressive towing ability. Yet the winner of this category also took the overall award through what the judges described as its “stable towing both at speed and while driving around hills and bends…and when you’re not driving it, it’s great to look at”.
Amazingly this wasn’t the only double-award for Volkswagen, with its Touareg 4×4 scooping up a brace at the ceremony. In the Over £32,000 class and Over 1800kg All-Wheel Drive categories, the Touareg was praised for “flying round the bowl at Millbrook with never a twitch, even on the hill circuit”. The judging team concluded it was “a near-ultimate towcar”.
Meanwhile in the under 1800kg category Volvo took the prize with its V60 D5 model, praised for “good control” and “great handling”. And last year’s overall winner the Skoda Superb Estate Elegance held its class crown once again in the £25,000-£32,000 category after being described as “legendary” by judges.
Motoring legends
The prestigious awards ceremony was hosted at the Royal Automobile Club at Pall Mall in London, where Caravan Times was treated to a number of anecdotes by compere and motor racing legend Johnny Herbert. He was joined in the audience by a host of names from the Formula 1 circuit, including friends of the Caravan Club Mark Blundell and Perry McCarthy, the “original Stig” from BBC’s Top Gear.
Also present as guests of the club were Bailey Caravans who supplied all models used during testing. Caravan Club chairman Grenville Chamberlain spoke positively of a resurgence of interest in “retro caravanning”, while Director-General Nick Lomas looked forward to a strong 2012 for the organisation.
The Caravan Club will be hosting “Club Day” at Motorhome and Caravan 2011 on 11 October at the NEC in Birmingham, featuring special guests on the Club Stand.
