The rugged Mitsubishi L200 makes most sense if you can use the pick-up as a working vehicle during the week and reclaim the VAT element of the purchase price. Otherwise there are better tow cars.

The 2.5-litre diesel delivers decent performance, pulling from 30-60mph in 15.2 seconds, but there’s a lot of noise and vibration when the engine is working hard.

At the legal limit and beyond, the L200 needed a few steering corrections, although the vague steering made it hard to be accurate. This was even more noticeable in the lane-change test, with lots of arm-twirling required to bully the Mitsubishi into changing direction. The L200 failed to complete the test on the third and fastest run.

The L200’s suspension is designed to cope with a heavy payload, so as well as towing with a normal load of ballast we tried towing with the vehicle more heavily laden. The ride felt less bouncy but we didn’t notice an improvement in stability.

Our practicality judges easily found room for our typical load of holiday luggage, and noted that the reversing camera gave a clear view of the towball – a great help for anyone hitching up on their own.

Go for the Barbarian spec and a long list of kit comes with the price, including a reversing camera, leather upholstery, a digital radio and satellite navigation, but no side airbags.