The best rear wheel drive cars can be relied upon to offer plenty of room for both the driver and the passengers, lots of luggage space, and good stability when you’re towing your tourer.
Most drivers will think of a 4×4 for towing a caravan when considering options to pull a tourer, and if you don’t tow with a four-wheel drive, the chances are your car is front-wheel drive. But what about rear-wheel drive? Popular with keen drivers for balanced handling and uncorrupted steering, they often make good caravan tow cars.
After all, once you’ve gone through the process of hitching up a caravan and have a full boot, there’s extra weight on the back of the car. This improves traction in rear-wheel-drive models, but can leave front-wheel-drive equivalents struggling to maintain grip. Rear-wheel drive is quite rare, but has resurfaced in many electric cars.
In this guide we’re sharing some of our favourite picks for the best rear wheel drive cars for towing, featuring options from brands such as Genesis, Mercedez-Benz, Jaguar and more.
The best rear wheel drive cars for towing:
Genesis GV60 Premium RWD
- Price: £54,105
- Kerbweight: 1975kg
- 85% match: Above max tow
- Towing limit: 1600kg
One of our favourite electric vehicles, the Genesis GV60 is available with rear- and four-wheel drive. While the twin-motor all-wheel-drive models have spectacular performance, the rear-driven cars still have 229hp and a healthy turn of speed.
As with most EVs, the GV60 is heavier than you’d think. That makes it impressively stable towing a van weighing the 1600kg maximum towing figure. And while not as rapid as more powerful and costly Genesis models, the Premium RWD will quickly tow any a tourer at up to 60mph, so long as you’ve been sensible when matching a car to a caravan.
Just remember that you’ll be stopping to recharge every couple of hours or so, even if you don’t make use of all of that superb performance.
Inside, the GV60 is well made. The design might be a bit showy for some tastes, but there’s no denying the premium feel.
There’s plenty of room in the front and ample space for adults in the back. Luggage room could be more generous, although there’s extra space for bags where the engine would be in a regular car.
The GV60 is quite a new model, so there isn’t a huge choice of used examples on forecourts as yet. But we’ve seen a 20,000-mile car from 2022, priced at under £30,000.
BMW 330e Touring M Sport
- Price: £50,035
- Kerbweight: 1970kg
- 85% match: 1411kg
- Towing limit: 1500kg
The BMW 330e Touring is one of our favourite plug-in hybrid tow cars. It helps that it’s so heavy – at just 30kg shy of two tonnes, it’s almost as hefty as some large SUVs.
All that weight is a plus when you’re towing a caravan, contributing to its excellent stability. With a maximum towing weight of 1500kg, many mid-sized vans can be matched to the BMW, although that maximum towing figure is relatively low for such a heavy car.
There is a downside to being so heavy, because although the 330e is very enjoyable to drive on twisty roads, it’s not as agile as a lighter 3 Series. It is very quick, though, with or without a van. BMW quotes a 0-62mph time of six seconds.
Inside, the 3 Series is less roomy for people and luggage than the latest Volkswagen Passat, but it is very well made.
Favourable company car tax rates make the BMW 330e a sound fiscal choice for business drivers, although it’s expensive for private buyers.
If the list price puts you off, we’ve seen high-mileage 2021 cars for under £15,000.
Go for a three-year-old car with a more modest 50,000 miles on the clock and you’ll pay around £24,000.
Mercedes-Benz E 220 d AMG Line saloon
- Price: £56,820
- Kerbweight: 1900kg
- 85% match: 1615kg
- Towing limit: 2100kg
The latest Mercedes E-Class is a technological tour de force with a spacious and luxurious cabin. As a car that’s close to ideal for long journeys, we’ve chosen the E 220 d diesel.
According to the official figures, the mild-hybrid diesel can return 58.9mpg in everyday driving, which bodes well for fuel economy while towing.
Although we’ve yet to pull a caravan with this model, every E-Class we have driven in the past has been stable. With a hefty kerbweight of 1900kg, it would be a surprise if today’s E 220 d didn’t live up to those standards.
The latest car has grown over the previous model, offering plenty of space inside for five. The boot is a good size, too, so long as you avoid the plug-in hybrid version with its compromised luggage space.
While not as sharp to drive as a BMW 5 Series, the E-Class instead focuses on comfort. The ride is superb, and there’s little noise in the cabin while travelling at speed.
The new E-Class hasn’t been around long enough yet to be a common sight on used car forecourts. However, you’ll find the previous model is stocked in good numbers, with prices from around £20,000 for a high-mileage diesel from 2021.
Jaguar XF Sportbrake D300 R-Dynamic HSE Black
- Price: £43,020
- Kerbweight: 1870kg
- 85% match: 1590kg
- Towing limit: 2000kg
Production of the Jaguar XF has now ended, but you might still be able to buy a new car from dealer stock. And with a bit of arm-twisting, a healthy discount could also be available.
We’ve gone for the Sportbrake, although we might equally have chosen the saloon. Both make very stable tow cars, offering strong performance from their 300hp diesel engine.
That’s a lot of power for just two wheels, but the weight of a caravan on the back helps the Jag to accelerate briskly without spinning its wheels while towing. Hill starts, even in wet-weather conditions, should be straightforward and undramatic.
In everyday use, the XF is a pleasure to drive. The balance between sporty handling and ride comfort has been expertly struck in this vehicle.
The XF isn’t as high-tech inside as the latest BMW 5 Series or as plush and quiet at speed as the new E-Class, but it’s still a very capable car at the end of its life, and more affordable than its premium-badged German equivalents.
It’s a keenly priced used buy. We’ve seen a 2019 3.0-litre diesel with 45,000 miles for £22,000. That’s not a lot for such a car, the likes of which Jaguar won’t make again as it switches to EVs.
Alfa Romeo Giulia 2.0 Turbo Veloce
- Price: £45,595
- Kerbweight: 1504kg
- 85% match: 1278kg
- Towing limit: 1600kg
You don’t get to see many Alfa Romeos on campsites – it’s not a brand you associate with towing. That’s not to say there aren’t Alfa Romeo models very capable of towing.
The Giulia is one. This sporting saloon car is a rival for the likes of the Audi A4 and the BMW 3 Series.
The emphasis is firmly on the driver, with sharp steering, nimble handling and lively performance.
It’s not so good at ferrying people and luggage, though. There’s less space in the back than you’d find in a 3 Series, and the boot is relatively small. The finish isn’t up with the best, either, but there’s something very evocative about the three-spoke steering wheel with the Alfa Romeo badge.
We haven’t towed with a Giulia, but the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine’s punchy 280hp is overkill for pulling a van.
What’s more, the controlled suspension of a sports saloon such as the Alfa normally leads to impressive towing stability.
Such a pacey petrol car is inevitably quite thirsty, with an official combined figure of 38.2mpg. We’d expect low twenties while towing.
In the classifieds, we spotted a 2021 car with just over 20,000 miles on sale for £22,419.
After buying a new car, it’s understandable that you’d want to do everything you can to keep it safe – take a look at our guide to car security to find out what you can do to protect yours.
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