The Land Rover Discovery may have retained the heavyweight crown, but this year’s fight was no knockout. Both the new Range Rover and the latest Mercedes-Benz ML pushed it very hard.

As an all-rounder, though, the Discovery remains the best big tow car you can buy. No car this big, heavy and tall should handle the lane-change test with such confidence, but the Discovery stays firmly in control, however lively the caravan gets behind it. Yes, there’s more lean from the Land Rover than from the Merc ML, but it doesn’t affect the car’s ability to pull the caravan straight again without being dragged out of line itself.

At motorway speeds (and even with the speedo beyond what’s legal in Britain) the Discovery stayed straight and true, with data from the Al-Ko ATC stability system showing how little the caravan moved around behind it. Even in strong winds, the driver could rely on the Land Rover to keep everything pointing in the right direction with very little input at the wheel.

Pulling big twin-axle caravans up to and past the legal limit takes some serious muscle, and the Land Rover obliges with 442lb ft of torque. That’s enough for a 30-60mph time of 11.4 seconds.

Being great to tow with is just one of the reasons we rate the Discovery so highly. It’s a fine car to drive without a caravan, too, due to its effortless performance, commanding driving position and supremely smooth ride.

The Discovery is one of the most practical tow cars you can buy at any price, thanks to plentiful luggage space, load adaptive suspension, trailer-stability control and a wellinstalled towbar.