You don’t need a big family to justify a seven-seat tow car. The third row of seats comes in handy when you’re offering lifts or taking the kids’ friends away with you on holiday.
For a vehicle to have enough space for seven seats, it must be fairly large. With size comes weight, and the greater the car’s weight, the more favourable its car/caravan matching ratio. As a result, seven-seaters often make stable and capable cars for towing caravans.
Although seven-seat SUVs are 10-a-penny, we’re not going to restrict ourselves to SUVs for this selection. What’s more, our recommendations are powered by a variety of sources: EV seven-seaters are still relatively rare, but they do exist if you’re thinking of towing a caravan with an electric car.
Here, we’re sharing our favourite seven seat cars for caravanners.
Please note: Vehicles pictured may not be the exact model or year
The best seven seat cars for towing: our top picks
Kia EV9 GT-Line AWD
- Price: £73,985
- Kerbweight: 2664kg
- 85% match: 2264kg
- Towing limit: 2500kg
There are few electric cars with the space to carry seven people, and there aren’t many EVs that can tow two-tonne tourers.
However, the Kia EV9 can do both, which makes it a very rare machine indeed, and one we shortlisted at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025 for the best tow car for a 2000kg caravan category.
The Kia’s towing capacity of 2500kg is sky-high for an electric car. The kerbweight of 2664kg means that even a heavy twin-axle caravan will make a sensible match.
Performance is seemingly effortless, even while towing a hefty tourer. What’s more, being four-wheel drive, the EV9 can make the most of its power more often – hill starts are supremely easy.
The Kia’s stability at speed is also absolutely exemplary. Inside, the EV9 is roomy and boasts Kia’s customary attention to detail. Whichever seat a passenger is sitting in, they will have a cupholder, a USB charger and an air vent close to hand.
That said, it’s not perfect. The driver aids beep and bong at the slightest misdemeanour, and the sheer size of the thing can be intimidating around town.
Even so, the EV9 remains our favourite electric tow car.
The Kia is appearing on used forecourts in greater numbers. We’ve seen a 24-plate car with 27,000 miles on the clock for £51,495, saving more than £20,000 over the new price.
If you do opt for the EV9, don’t miss my tips on how to charge an EV while towing, either.
Full review: Kia EV9 GT-Line AWD
VW Multivan 2.0 TDI 150PS Style Long
- Price: £62,869
- Kerbweight: 2191kg
- 85% match: 1862kg
- Towing limit: 2000kg
It might look like a converted commercial vehicle, but the Volkswagen Multivan is built on VW’s passenger car platform. And it drives very well for such an upright and boxy car.
The Multivan is available with petrol, plug-in hybrid and diesel power. For regular towing purposes, we’d suggest the diesel. It’s very economical compared with the petrol and much cheaper to buy than the plug-in hybrid.
Whereas some seven-seaters are a bit of a squeeze for the passengers in the back, the Multivan is one of the roomiest MPVs around. Adults can travel comfortably in all seats.
What’s more, access to the third row is easy, because the middle row is made up of two individual seats with space between them to walk through.
The Multivan comes in two lengths. We’re recommending the longer model for its extra luggage space, although the shorter version would be easier to park.
As a tow car, the Multivan is very stable, and the diesel engine has enough pull to cope with a sensibly matched caravan. It’s not a cheap new car, though. Used prices for a 2022 model start from around £40,000 – take a look at my review of the 2022 VW Multivan 2.0 TSI 204PS Style DSG to get an idea of what to expect.
Land Rover Discovery D350 Dynamic HSE
- Price: £74,975
- Kerbweight: 2442kg
- 85% match: 2076kg
- Towing limit: 3500kg
The Discovery has more space in the third row than many of its rivals, making this one of the best large 4x4s for towing for buyers needing seven seats.
Land Rover recently replaced the D300 engine with the more powerful D350. The latest diesel provides 350hp and 516lb ft of torque, so there’s ample power to handle a big family caravan.
Stability at speed is another of this car’s obvious strengths, making for stress-free towing on longer journeys.
In everyday driving, the Discovery is comfortable rather than sporty, despite its vigorous pace. It’s not as entertaining as a BMW X5, for example. At motorway speeds in particular, the Land Rover’s air suspension delivers a plush but secure ride.
Inside, the Discovery’s seats perform MPV-style tricks, which makes for a very flexible and practical cabin. Each row is higher than the one in front, so everyone has a clear view.
Even with all seven seats up, there’s enough boot space for a weekly shop. You’ll find luggage space to spare when the third row is folded away. Like the sound of that but not the price? We’ve seen 2022 cars with some 60,000 miles for £36,000 or so. That’s good value for such a large and capable car.
BMW X7 40d xDrive M Sport
- Price: £96,160
- Kerbweight: 2565kg
- 85% match: 2180kg
- Towing limit: 2700kg
The BMW X7 is absolutely huge – it almost feels too big for UK roads. The upside to taking up an entire postcode is that the cabin is extremely roomy for seven. It’s luxurious, too, as it should be with a price tag nudging six figures.
As a tow car, it’s up with the very best. The diesel engine musters 381hp and 398lb ft of torque, so there’s performance to spare even when you’re towing a large twin-axle caravan. Stability is also beyond reproach.
In solo driving, the X7 can be rather intimidating to drive around town – it’s likely that the smaller X5 would be more than big enough to cater for most needs.
But on wider roads, the BMW really comes into its own, combining a comfortable ride with a sporty and dynamic drive. It would be an exaggeration to say it shrinks around you, but it’s more agile than a 2.5t car has any right to be.
The price tag puts the X7 firmly into luxury tow car territory, although it’s better value than a Mercedes GLS. Even used examples demand deep pockets to buy and run.
Look for a car from 2022 and prices start from around £50,000 for examples with some 50,000 miles on the clock.
Dacia Jogger TCe 110 Expression
- Price: £20,270
- Kerbweight: 1280kg*
- 85% match: 1088kg
- Towing limit: 1200kg
You can make a case for the Dacia Jogger being the best value car on sale. It’s certainly the most affordable new seven-seater we can think of, and if you’re looking for a lightweight tow car, it could be a contender.
It’s just a shame the more powerful hybrid version is lumbered with a hopeless 750kg towing capacity. The petrol version is approved for towing up to 1200kg, although we’d recommend following the 85% matching guideline and pulling no more than 1088kg.
But even towing such a light tourer, the Jogger is going to be relatively slow with just 110hp. Although we’ve yet to tow a caravan with the Jogger, if it’s anything like Dacia’s other models, the stability will be acceptable, rather than great.
We have driven the Jogger without a caravan and found the car very comfortable.
The cabin is cheap but far from nasty, with a reasonable standard of finish considering the budget price.
Surprisingly for this relatively small seven-seater, there’s room for adults in the third row. This is because passenger space has been prioritised over luggage room with every seat in use. The rearmost seats fold or can be removed completely for a more useful boot.
The Jogger starts out cheap and only gets cheaper. We’ve seen some high-mileage used examples for as little as £9000.
*Includes 75kg for driver not included in Dacia’s published kerbweight
For those of you who are new to caravanning, don’t miss my guide to towing a caravan for the first time either, where I share the tips you need to stay safe on the road.
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