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

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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