Best £15,000 cars for towing caravans

If you’re on the hunt for a bargain tow car, your search should probably end here. The Hyundai Santa Fe is a no-nonsense SUV capable of lugging a whopping 2500kg. That’s comfortably enough for a twin-axle caravan loaded with luggage.

A £15,000 budget will get you a five-year-old model in top-spec Premium SE trim. That includes 19-inch alloys, a panoramic sunroof and parking sensors (front and rear).

There’s just one engine available, which is useful, as it’s pretty well-suited to towing. It’s a 2.2-litre diesel, which provides plenty of grunt for towing - look for one with the manual gearbox for maximum towing potential.

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Like a Barbour coat, the Subaru Outback is beyond fashion. It’s a rugged estate car that uses a permanent all-wheel-drive system. SUV buyers will struggle to see the appeal - but if you want a car that’ll last forever and go anywhere, the Subaru Outback is a sound choice.

You’ll get a choice of 2.0-litre diesel and 2.5-litre petrol engines. Unsurprisingly, considering the petrol’s fairly woeful efficiency, the diesel is by far the most popular around the £15,000 price point. It’s actually the petrol that’s rated to tow the most, though, officially up to the job of towing a braked trailer weighing up to 2000kg (compared to 1800kg for the diesel).

There are just two trim levels: SE and SE Premium. Go for the latter if you want things like leather seats, a sunroof and a useful electric tailgate.

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It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that you need a big, lumbering four-wheel-drive vehicle to tow a caravan. But if you’ve only got a small two- or four-berth single-axle unit, you probably don’t.

A Ford Focus will have much lower running costs than an SUV and you’ll get a much newer one for the money. A budget of £15,000 gets you the latest model (launched in 2018) with the efficient 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel engine. This’ll be capable of lugging a caravan weighing up to 1400kg.

If you need to tow a bigger caravan, the same car with the 2.0-litre diesel engine is officially rated to tow up to 1800kg. These are just about dropping into budget.

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The Kia Sportage is the firm’s best-selling car in the UK, out-selling cars like the Picanto and Ceed. A rival to the Nissan Qashqai and Skoda Karoq, the Sportage offers excellent value for money and comes with a generous seven-year warranty (which is transferable to subsequent owners).

You’ll get a three- or four-year-old example with our £15,000 budget. Go for the 2.0-litre CRDI and it’ll have plenty of grunt to tow a caravan, while four-wheel drive will help, too. Officially it can tow up to 2200kg, or around 1450kg following the 85 per cent rule.

If you’d prefer a petrol, we’d recommend the punchy T-GDI engine. This produces 176PS and is available with two- or four-wheel drive, and can tow up to 1900kg.

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The SsangYong Korando has long been a firm favourite with car buyers looking for a no-nonsense tow car. With a £15,000 budget, you’ll be looking at the last-generation model, sold between 2011 and 2019.

The 2.2-litre diesel engine packs plenty of low-down torque, meaning it’ll easily tow a caravan with little effort. It can tow up to 2000kg, too, which is quite an impressive figure for a relatively small crossover.

Look for a high-spec ELX model for such luxuries as heated leather seats, TomTom navigation and a reversing camera (which comes in very handy when hitching up a caravan).

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Buyers searching for a good-value crossover SUV are likely to see the Vauxhall Grandland X coming up time and time again. It’s a popular choice that won’t break the bank yet offers a comfortable and practical interior - including that high-up seating position which is desirable to crossover buyers.

The 1.5-litre diesel is the one to go for as a tow car. With a manual gearbox, it has a braked towing capacity of 1500kg (1300kg with the automatic transmission).

A sum of £15,000 will get you a year-old Sport Nav model. This looks the part, with alloy-effect skid plates and 18-inch alloy wheels as well as navigation and parking sensors. 

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The Skoda Superb provides the size and feel of a luxury saloon for the same price as a family hatch - as well as the towing capabilities of an SUV. It really does tick every box.

There’s a wide range of engines available. The 190PS 2.0-litre TDI with four-wheel drive is the most capable on the towing front, able to tug up to 2200kg. These are fairly rare but you will find a three-year-old example - in desirable Laurin & Klement trim - within our budget.

Alternatively, the standard 2.0 TDI 150 still provides plenty of punch for towing, and can officially pull a caravan weighing up to 2000kg. Even the entry-level SE model is comprehensively equipped (standard kit includes an eight-inch media system, climate control and 17-inch alloy wheels). You’ll find a two-year-old SE for around £15,000.

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While diesel cars make a lot of sense for towing, what do you do if most of your miles are short journeys or you regularly drive around town? Diesels aren’t meant for this kind of driving - they’ll be less efficient and could potentially be unreliable if they’re not used for regular long journeys.

The answer could be a plug-in hybrid model, like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. You can charge it at home and drive it under electric power for short journeys, while it has the backup of a 2.0-litre petrol engine for weekend getaways with the caravan.

Our £15,000 budget will get you a five-year-old model in GX4hs trim. It’ll be capable of towing up to 1500kg officially - and that’s about the same as the 85% rule.

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You can’t accuse the Honda CR-V of putting style over substance. It’s more practical than alternatives like the Skoda Karoq, while it also has an impressive reliability record. Most models come with four-wheel drive, while the 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine is well up to the job of moving a caravan.

It provides 160PS and 350Nm of torque, while it’s officially rated to tow up to 2000kg. That’s enough for a pretty big caravan.

You’ll get a four- or five-year-old Honda CR-V within our £15,000 budget. Look for a top-spec EX for desirable features like leather seats, a panoramic glass sunroof and integrated navigation.

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While a Volvo estate isn’t the caravanner’s favourite it once was, a Volvo V70 could still make a superb tow car. For a start, it’s huge - the boot will swallow up everything you could possibly throw at it. And it’s also exceptionally safe - an important consideration if you’re going on holiday with children.

The powerful D5 diesel engine is a desirable choice with an impressive 2000kg towing capacity. You’ll find a five-year-old example for £15,000 in high-spec SE Lux trim.

As tempting as an auto is (especially when you’re towing), we’d recommend the manual transmission for long-term reliability.

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