The Grandland X makes a fine tow car, provided you are happy for your small SUV to be front-wheel drive.

It takes a while to get up to speed (overtaking will need a long, straight stretch of road and plenty of forward planning), but once cruising at 60mph the Vauxhall holds a straight and true course.

The Al-Ko ATC system did pick up some movements when slowing down from high speed, but nothing alarming.

Ride comfort is good, with or without a caravan in tow. The supple approach to bumps didn’t compromise the Grandland X in the lane-change test, in which the Vauxhall stayed under control even with the caravan sliding around behind it.

For a front-wheel-drive car, the Vauxhall handled the hill start well. The electronic parking brake kept car and caravan still on the 1-in-6 slope, and the car pulled to the top of the hill with just a momentary spin of the front wheels.

The Grandland X picked up a middle-of-the-road score from our practicality testers, in part because there wasn’t room in the boot for a full load of holiday luggage, although we were pleased that a trailer stability system is fitted.

Vauxhall hasn’t skimped on standard equipment, and that includes safety kit. The Grandland X earned a five-star verdict from the safety experts at Euro NCAP when it was tested in 2017.

Running costs should be affordable, especially if you can get anywhere near the 70.6mpg official combined figure.