This year’s winner of the Best Ultralight Tow Car award is the Renault Captur.

A low towing limit of just 900kg rules it out for a full-sized caravan, but anyone with a trailer tent to tow should put the Captur at the top of their shortlist.

Stability at speed proved excellent, as the car felt solid at 60mph and beyond. In the lane-change test, direct steering and well-controlled suspension kept car and trailer in line.

With just 90PS (89bhp) the Captur doesn’t accelerate hard with a trailer behind it, but the 30-60mph time of 19.4 seconds means you won’t be holding up traffic. Strong brakes stopped car and trailer from 30mph in just 9.7 metres.

Leave the trailer at home and the Captur is pleasant to drive, with nimble handling and a refined engine. Running costs should be low, with an official combined economy figure of 76.4mpg. We shortlisted the Captur for our Green Award, and achieved 33.8mpg towing on a mixture of A-roads and motorways.

Our practicality team found room for all the holiday luggage bar one item, and were impressed by the Captur’s high noseweight limit relative to its towing capacity. However, although the car comes with stability control, there’s no Towing Stability Programme.

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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