The Tests

The Towcar Awards test programme puts dozens of cars through the toughest week they will ever face. Here’s what the judges are looking for:

Towing

Every car goes through a series of tests to discover just how well it can tow, matched to a suitably ballasted Swift tourer.

The most severe test is the lane-change manouevre. Designed to show how well car and caravan will change direction in an emergency, this test generates cornering forces of up to 1G. If an outfit is stable through this test, chances are it will be stable everywhere.

Every car also tows up to 70mph, just as they might on the Continent, tackles a low-speed slalom, and a hill start on a 1-in-6 slope.

The opinions of the expert judges count for a lot, but the Towcar Awards also deals in hard facts. It’s the only towing test programme in Britain to use satellite-tracking equipment to check just how quickly an outfit will accelerate. Each combination is driven from 30-60mph, just as it might be when joining a motorway. More importantly, the same satellite-tracking kit measures precisely how long it takes each outfit to stop in an emergency.

Data from the AL-KO ATC anti-snake devices fitted to each van gives a scientific measure of stability, both through the lane-change test and when decelerating from 60mph.

Every car is driven up to what’s normal and safe on a public road, and also beyond, so you know which cars will respond best in an emergency.

Solo

Even the keenest caravanner is likely to spend many more miles driving without their caravan than with one. That’s why every car is also rated for solo driving.

For this part of the test, we turn to What Car?’s expert road test team, which assesses over 400 new cars every year.

They score each car for ride and handling, performance, braking, passenger space and comfort.

Practicality

Experienced caravanning experts from The Camping and Caravanning Club check over every car in detail. They look for a spare wheel that’s suitable for towing, a roomy boot which will take a full load of holiday luggage, and a noseweight limit suitable for towing a likely match.

The practicality testers also check each car’s towing electrics, award points for features such as stability control, and test how easy it is to fit towing mirrors. The handbook is also examined for towing data and advice.

Buying and owning

The most stable towcar in the world is no use if it costs a fortune to run or has inadequate safety equipment. That’s why experts from What Car? also rate each car for value, running costs, resale values and safety.

Any car with a high score for ‘buying and owning’ is a sound place to put your hard-earned money.

On this website you’ll discover this year’s Award winners, and the Swift caravans which make a perfect match for them. You can also meet 2009’s judges, and find out why we believe the Towcar Awards is Britain’s best towcar test programme.