Caravanning holidays are great for bringing everyone together. If you have a large family – or simply enjoy having guests join you on tour – you’ll need the right car as well as a roomy caravan.
If you’re looking for the best tow car here, it will not only require enough seats, but it should also be hefty enough and powerful enough to cope with towing one of the best caravans for families.
Fortunately, there are many good six- and seven-seat cars that combine impressive towing ability with practical interiors. Take your pick from many SUVs, with a handful of MPVs also fitting the bill.
Here are five of our favourite tow cars for large families.
Please note: Vehicles pictured may not be exact model or year
The best family cars for towing
Kia EV9 378bhp AWD GT-Line
- Price: £74,035
- Kerbweight: 2648kg
- 85% match: 2251kg
- Towing limit: 2500k
There are several new EVs which threaten the EV9’s crown as our favourite electric tow car. For now, it remains number one, especially for buyers needing seven seats.
It’s a huge car and that space has been put to good use inside. Every passenger has plenty of room, and even adults are unlikely to complain about travelling in the third row.
Small details matter, and in the EV9 nobody does without a means of charging their phone or a cupholder.
As a tow car, the Kia is superb. Performance is effortless, even while towing a twin-axle caravan. Not surprisingly the immense kerbweight makes for excellent stability.
However, the usual drawbacks of choosing an EV as a tow car remain. You will need to plan journeys carefully to allow stops for charging the EV while towing, ensuring that your caravan is safe and secure.
In solo driving the EV9 is quick and comfortable, although some drivers may find it too big around town. It does measure over five metres long and is nearly two metres wide (excluding mirrors).
Shopping around on the used market is well worth the effort and can result in considerable savings. We’ve seen a 2024 car with 47,000 miles priced at £45,450. That’s almost £30,000 less than new.
See our review of the Kia EV9 GT-Line 378bhp AWD
Hyundai Santa Fe 239PS Hybrid AWD Ultimate
- Price: £54,645
- Kerbweight: 1965kg
- 85% match: 1670kg
- Towing limit: 2000kg
Hyundai’s big SUV has returned from the tow car wilderness. This generation was originally hampered by hopeless towing capacities, but for 2026 the full hybrid model can tow two tonnes.
Of course, we’d recommend 85% of the kerbweight as a more prudent maximum for the sake of stability when matching the car to a caravan. That still means tourers weighing 1670kg make sensible matches.
Although there are quicker seven-seat SUVs, the uprated Santa Fe now has a healthy 239hp and 280 lb ft of torque as the maximum combined output of the petrol engine and electric motor. There are two and four-wheel-drive versions of the Santa Fe – we’d recommend the 4×4 for all-weather towing.
We’ve only towed with the Santa Fe for a few minutes, but the signs are promising. It coped well pulling a Hyundai Inster electric car on a trailer. In day-to-day driving, the Santa Fe is comfortable and quiet. It’s roomy too, with more space in the third row than you’ll find in the Skoda Kodiaq. Three spec levels are available, all are well equipped as standard.
Earlier examples of this Santa Fe generation aren’t suitable for towing large caravans. However, the previous model is up to the job. A 2023 car with 40,000 miles is around £25,000 (see our review of the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe 1.6 T-GDi Hybrid Ultimate 4WD Auto to see what we made of it).
BMW X5 xDrive 30d M Sport
- Price: £80,390
- Kerbweight: 2295kg
- 85% match: 1951kg
- Towing limit: 2700kg
If we were choosing a tow car and had deep enough pockets, a BMW X5 would sit close to the top of our tow car shopping list.
While the plug-in hybrid version of the X5 tows brilliantly, it only has five seats. The diesel is available as a seven-seater car as an option.
Space in the first two rows is very generous. There’s not quite as much room to stretch out in the third row. If that’s an issue, you may prefer the larger X7.
From the driver’s seat the X5 is one of the very best big SUVs, whether you are towing or not. While pulling a caravan, it is reassuringly stable. From day-to-day, it is more fun than a car of this size and weight has any right to be.
The ride is firm, but still comfortable enough to keep passengers happy.
The M Sport models sit between the entry-level xLine and the high-spec M Sport Pro. Adaptive suspension, 20-inch alloy wheels, and a huge infotainment screen are all standard. Safety kit is comprehensive, too.
The X5 was facelifted in 2024, but this generation has been around since 2018. The early cars now cost around £34,000 for a 70,000-mile car on a 19-plate.
Skoda Kodiaq 2.0 TDI 193PS 4×4 SE L DSG 7st
- Price: £49,080
- Kerbweight: 1852kg
- 85% match: 1574kg
- Towing limit: 2400kg
The Skoda Kodiaq is one of the standout tow cars around, whether or not you need seven seats.
Diesel may be on the way out, but the diesel engine in the Kodiaq is one of the car’s strengths. There’s more than enough pulling power to cope with a sensibly matched caravan while delivering impressive towing economy of nearly 30mpg.
At speed, the Kodiaq is very stable. It tracks straight and true at 60mph and copes well with crosswinds.
Without a caravan, the Skoda Kodiaq is a satisfying car to drive. It handles neatly and rides comfortably, while the cabin is quiet on long motorway journeys.
The interior is solidly put together with a clean and modern design.
Those in the first two rows have plenty of room to stretch out, while the third row offers enough space for older children. Adults are a bit of a squeeze.
With every seat in use you’ll almost certainly want a roof box for your luggage, although there’s lots of space with the third row folded away.
We’ve seen a 12,000-mile car from 2024 offered for £31,399, a huge saving over the cost of a brand-new car.
VW Multivan 2.0 TDI 150PS Life DSG
- Price: £50,903
- Kerbweight: 2133kg
- 85% match: 1813kg
- Max towing weight: 2000kg
You can make a strong case for the Multivan being the best MPV on sale. The interior is a masterclass in maximising space and flexibility. Seven seats are standard, and sitting in the third row is no hardship. Unlike some MPVs there’s plenty of head and legroom in the Multivan, wherever you sit.
What’s more, there are two seats in the middle row rather than the usual three, so passengers can simply walk through to the back rather than having to clamber.
Other examples of clever thinking include the sliding cabinet which can be moved up and down the cabin like an airline drinks trolley.
We’ve chosen the diesel model. Although it’s not as powerful as the plug-in hybrid it has a higher towing capacity, which brings a wider choice of six-berth caravans into play. If you can manage with a maximum towing figure of 1600kg then the hybrid is quicker and can be specified with four-wheel drive.
If the Multivan possesses the qualities you are looking for in a tow car, but the price tag of over £50,000 puts you off, there’s a growing choice on the used market. We’ve seen a 49,000-mile example from 2023 priced at £38,450.
For those of you who want to improve your confidence when you’re on the road, you could consider a caravan towing course – regardless of your level of experience, they can have enormous benefits.
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