Some small vehicles struggle with stability at speed, but it’s the Honda HR-V’s defining characteristic as a tow car.

At a steady 60mph, the HR-V is as comfortable and composed as you could wish for. Even adding another 10mph to that speed, the caravan only moved around slightly when caught by crosswinds.

The HR-V kept its cool in our violent lane-change test, too. We kept increasing the speed of the test, and the Honda kept on going just where the driver pointed it. On the final and fastest run the caravan began to slide and the stability control light on the dashboard started to flicker, but we never felt the tourer was about to take charge.

The 1.6-litre engine majors on economy rather than performance, achieving 70.6mpg on the combined cycle in official tests (or 68.9mpg on cars with larger alloys). With 221lb ft of torque, though, there’s enough pulling powerful for respectable performance when towing, going from 30-60mph in 16.8 seconds with a caravan in tow. Gear ratios that have been chosen for fuel efficiency rather than snappy acceleration hold the Honda back a little, but so long as you’re in the right gear there’s enough poke to comfortably pull a lightweight caravan.

The electronic parking brake held the car and caravan still on a 1-in-6 slope, and released smoothly. Some clutch slip was needed to pull up the hill but nothing untoward.

When you’re not towing, the HR-V drives well, with tidy handling and well weighted and consistent steering.

It’s the practical cabin that really impresses in day-to-day driving, though, with lots of space and clever rear seats which fold upwards at the base, effectively creating two separate luggage areas if you don’t need to use the back seats. Even with people rather than luggage in the back, the HR-V had room for all but one item from our typical holiday load.

The range-topping EX spec is a little pricey, so we’re recommending the mechanically similar but much more affordable SE trim. It’s a very impressive tow car for little more than £22,000.

(Please note: the model pictured is EX spec.)

2019
Category Winners
2019 Up to 1400kg

Škoda Octavia

Hatch 1.5 TSI 150PS SE L DSG

2019 1400-1549kg

Seat Ateca

2.0 TSI 190PS FR DSG

2019 1550-1699kg

Volkswagen Arteon

2.0 TDI 150PS Elegance DSG

2019 1700-1899kg

BMW 520d

Touring xDrive M Sport

2019 1900kg+

Land Rover Discovery

3.0 SDV6 HSE

2019 Best Budget 4x4

Dacia Duster

1.5 dCi Ambiance 4x4

2019 Best Plug-In Hybrid

Land Rover Range Rover Sport

P400e HSE Dynamic

2019 Best Ultralight Tow Car

Seat Arona

1.0 TSI 115 FR

2019 Fuel Economy Award

Ford Focus Estate

1.5 EcoBlue 120PS Titanium X

Previous Winners
2018
1700-1899kg

BMW 520d

Touring xDrive M Sport

2017
1900kg+

Land Rover Discovery

3.0 Td6 HSE*

2016
1400-1549kg

Skoda Superb Hatch

2.0 TDI 150PS SE Business

2015
1400-1549kg

Volkswagen Passat Estate

2.0 TDI BMT 150PS SE Business DSG

2014
1400-1549kg

Nissan Qashqai

1.6 dCi (130PS) Stop/Start System Acenta Premium

2013
Up to 1424kg

Skoda Octavia

2.0 TDI CR 150PS Elegance

2012
1725–1899kg

Jaguar XF

2.2D Premium Luxury

2011
1425-1574kg

Volkswagen Passat Estate

2.0 TDI 170 Bluemotion Sport

2010
1900kg+

Land Rover Discovery 4

3.0 TDV6 XS

2009
1900kg+

Volvo XC60

D5 SE Geartronic

2008
1575-1724kg

Ford Mondeo Estate

2.0 TDCi Titanium auto

2007
1575-1724kg

Volkswagen Passat Estate

2.0 TDI Sport 4Motion

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