It’s been a busy year for new tow cars, and there’s no sign of the pace slowing in 2018.

There’s lots to look forward to, especially if you are a crossover or SUV buyer.

Here’s a look at some of the new models with towing potential coming our way next year…

1 – Jaguar E-Pace

If you’re a regular reader you’ll know how highly we think of Jaguar‘s first SUV, the F-Pace. It won its class at the Tow Car Awards 2017.

Well, now it has a little brother – the E-Pace. The car is priced from £28,500, and it’s a competitor for the Audi Q3 and BMW X1.

The first customer cars should be delivered before the end of the month. So, if you’re being pedantic, the car is launching in 2017, not 2018.

However, if you don’t have your name down already, you’ll need to wait a while as Jaguar started taking orders back in the summer.

Our colleagues on What Car? have already driven the E-Pace, and gave it a score of three out of five. They were impressed with the car’s handling, less so by the ride comfort on 20-inch alloys.

What Car? has also criticised the E-Pace for something caravanners are likely to welcome – its heft.

Even the lightest version, the front-wheel-drive 150PS (148bhp) diesel has a kerbweight of 1775kg. That rises to 1926kg for the 236bhp diesel 4×4 automatic.

The front-wheel-drive car has a legal towing limit of 1600kg, increasing to 1800kg for the rest of the range. All models have a 100kg noseweight limit.

We look forward to finding out what tow car ability the new Jaguar E-Pace has soon.

2 – Peugeot 5008

If you need further proof of the decline of the MPV and the continued rise of the SUV, then look at the new Peugeot 5008.

Whereas the old model was a practical people carrier, the new car has the raised ride height and chunky looks of an SUV. Inside, though, there are nods to the car’s past, with seven seats and a flexible cabin design.

As with the E-Pace, dealers have been taking orders for the 5008 for some time. The first customer cars should arrive in January.

Prices start from £24,495 for a 130PS (128bhp) 1.2-litre PureTech petrol, rising to £35,895 for a top-of-the-line 180PS (178bhp) 2.0-litre diesel automatic.

Kerbweights range from 1385kg to 1615kg (including 75kg for the driver, not included in Peugeot’s published kerbweight).

Towing limits start off as low as 1000kg, rising to 1800kg for the 150PS (148bhp) diesel manual and the 180PS diesel eight-speed automatic.

Despite the SUV looks, there’s no 4×4 model – all versions of the 5008 send power to the front wheels.

We’ve booked a 150PS manual to test in January, so we’ll find out how well the new Peugeot tows in just a few weeks.

3 – Jeep Compass

While the 5008 looks like a 4×4 but isn’t, the Jeep Compass promises to be the real deal.

There are front-wheel-drive models if you want the lowest possible emissions, but most versions of the Compass send power to all four wheels. And being a Jeep it’s likely to be a lot more capable off road than many of its rivals.

Prices start from £22,995, with order books open now and deliveries from February.

Our colleagues on What Car? have already driven the car, and say it has “impressive off-road credentials, but its poor road manners and noisy engines mean it’s ultimately off the pace”.

There are two petrol engines and three diesels, with outputs ranging from 120PS (118bhp) to 170PS (168bhp).

We’re waiting on confirmation of the car’s weight and towing capacity.

4 – Volvo XC40

We’ve had positive experiences towing with the Volvo SUV family – both the XC90 and newer XC60 tow well.

They’ll be joined this spring by the XC40. There’s a choice of three petrol and two diesel engines, with power outputs from 150PS (148bhp) to 250PS (247bhp).

There are front- and four-wheel-drive models, and a choice of manual and automatic gearboxes.

Full technical details haven’t been made available for every model, but the D4 diesel AWD has a kerbweight of 1735kg (including 75kg for the driver) and a legal towing limit of 2100kg. The T5 petrol AWD has the same towing limit but a kerbweight of 1665kg.

Prices start from £27,905.

5 – Mazda 6

Just in case you thought someone had passed a law to ban the sale of any car that can’t be described as an SUV or crossover, Mazda will be updating the 6 family car in the autumn.

The 2.0-litre petrol model won ‘Best Petrol Tow Car’ in 2013, so the current model makes a decent tug.

A more upmarket interior, more tech, and tweaks under the skin to improve ride and handling should keep the 6 competitive with newer rivals.

We look forward to testing these – and plenty more – new tow cars in 2018.