The Caravan and Motorhome Club has announced its Towcar of the Year 2027, and while the winning Škoda Superb Estate still has a little while to wait before it can join the classic scene, the latest results did send us rummaging through the archives.
Because here’s a slightly alarming thought: some of the cars that were winning awards for towing in the 1980s are now old enough to be classics in their own right.
That means this rundown may trigger memories of family caravan holidays, Laura Ashley-inspired interiors, tartan rugs, travel sweets and long motorway journeys where in-car entertainment meant “I spy” rather than an iPad. It may also remind you that some of the cars once trusted with hauling a tourer to Devon are now turning up at classic shows themselves.
So, whether you’re looking for a period-perfect tow car, have a cherished classic to transport to an event, or simply enjoy remembering an era when diesel estates and hydropneumatic hatchbacks could become award winners, here are a few former towing heroes worth revisiting.
Citroën BX 16 TRS – Towcar of the Year 1984
In 1984, Duran Duran, Lionel Richie, Prince and Tina Turner were filling the charts, while Citroën was quietly collecting towing silverware.
The BX 16 TRS might not be everyone’s idea of a natural tow car hero, but that was part of its charm. It was light, angular, comfortable and very French, with hydropneumatic suspension that gave it a wonderfully level-headed attitude to life. Complicated? Perhaps. A little intimidating to maintain once age and neglect got involved? Also perhaps. But as a towing machine, the BX clearly knew what it was doing.
Its rivals that year included the Ford Orion 1.6 GL, Austin Maestro 1.6 HLS, Vauxhall Carlton CD and Mercedes-Benz 190E, which gives the whole thing a wonderfully period flavour. It’s hard not to picture a test day full of velour seats, square dashboards and sales reps pretending not to want the Mercedes.
Back then, diesel cars were still treated as a separate category because they hadn’t yet become the obvious choice for towing. That would change quickly, and French manufacturers had plenty to say on the subject. BX diesels, the later Xantia and Peugeot 406 all built strong reputations as steady, comfortable, long-legged towcars.
You don’t see many BXs on the road now. They haven’t lasted quite as well as the pop songs of 1984, which is a shame, because the BX was a clever, roomy and strikingly modern car in its day. Especially with a caravan behind it.
Volvo 360 GLE – Towcar of the Year 1985
In 1985, Foreigner wanted to know what love was. For Towcar of the Year judges, apparently, it looked a lot like a Volvo 360 GLE.
Not the big estate Volvo you might expect, either. The 360 GLE was a saloon, and a slightly awkward-looking one at that. Its boot had something of the “added later” about it, as though the hatchback body had been persuaded into wearing formal shoes.
But it felt like a Volvo, and that counted for a lot. Solid, substantial and faintly upmarket compared with many mainstream rivals, the 360 had rear-wheel drive, a two-litre engine and the sort of reassuring weight that made it a good match for 1980s tourers.
That year, it beat the Vauxhall Astra 1600L hatchback into second place, with the Austin Montego 2.0 HLS in third. That is a deeply 1985 podium, and frankly all the better for it.
The separate diesel class was won by the Citroën BX 19RD, further proof that the BX was quietly building itself a tow car dynasty while nobody was looking.
Ford Sierra XR4x4 – Towcar of the Year 1986
By 1986, Ford had produced something rather more exciting: the Sierra XR4x4.
This was the dream combination for anyone who needed to tow a caravan but still wanted to feel as though they’d done rather well in life. A 2.8-litre V6, four-wheel drive and the familiar Sierra shape gave it the sort of showroom appeal that made ordinary 1.6L company cars look a bit apologetic.
It wasn’t the Sierra most people bought, of course. But that hardly mattered. The XR4x4 had proper fantasy value, especially if your usual motoring diet involved fleet-spec hatchbacks and a company fuel card.
Ford did rather well in the 1986 results. The Granada 2.0i GL came second, proving that size, weight and motorway manners were still very useful towing credentials. In third was the Rover 216 Vitesse, with fourth place shared by the Volvo 740 GL estate and, yes, another Citroën BX – this time the 19 TRS estate.
By this point, you begin to suspect the BX was turning up to towing competitions the way some rally cars turned up to forests: with a quiet expectation of success.
Renault 21 GTS – Towcar of the Year 1987
If the Sierra XR4x4 sounds like an obvious 1980s towing hero, the 1987 winner is a little more surprising.
The Renault 21 GTS took the top award, giving Renault one of its relatively rare overall Towcar of the Year victories. It’s easy to forget now just how common the Renault 21 once was on British roads, especially in the days when family saloons and estates were still everywhere and the SUV hadn’t yet arrived to swallow the market whole.
The 21 was roomy, comfortable and very much from the era when French family cars had a knack for making long journeys feel less grim. It wasn’t glamorous, but that’s the point. Good tow cars rarely are. They need to be steady, practical and capable of getting everyone to the campsite without turning the journey into a family trauma.
Renault would win again with the Laguna in 1995, but overall victories have been thin on the ground since. Perhaps another one is overdue.
Vauxhall Senator 3.0i CD – Towcar of the Year 1988
Then came 1988 and a proper outside-lane heavyweight: the Vauxhall Senator 3.0i CD.
This was the sort of car that seemed born to cover motorway miles. Big, smooth and quietly authoritative, the Senator had exactly the qualities the Towcar of the Year judges tend to appreciate: power, stability, space and the ability to make long distances feel easier than they had any right to.
It also had a certain blue-light association, thanks to the Senator’s popularity with police forces. Even without the flashing lamps, it had the air of something that wanted slower traffic to make sensible decisions.
In towing terms, the formula was simple. A 3.0-litre engine, a large footprint and plenty of weight all helped the Senator take a caravan in its stride. It may not have been the most glamorous classic-in-waiting, but as a period car for towing it now has real appeal. Especially if your idea of nostalgia includes plush seats, square switches and a faintly official presence in the rear-view mirror.
From campsite heroes to classic-car fields
Looking back through the Towcar of the Year archives is a reminder that not every classic starts life as a poster car. Some start as family workhorses. Some spend their best years towing caravans, carrying luggage and sitting patiently in motorway service stations while someone tries to remember where they put the flask.
The BX, Volvo 360, Sierra XR4x4, Renault 21 and Vauxhall Senator were not exotic machines. Most were once familiar sights on British roads, driveways and campsites. That’s exactly why they now feel interesting.
The latest Towcar of the Year winner may have decades to wait before anyone calls it a classic. But the 1980s winners are already there, bringing with them memories of long holidays, loaded boots and a time when the journey was often every bit as memorable as the destination.
Photo cred @Caravan and Motorhome Club Collection
