By Paul Todd,
August 31, 2022
We take a look at the best vehicles for easy towing in 2022…
Congratulations, you’ve finally settled on a caravan or camper trailer. This is when the rest of your life begins. You’re excited…and you should be!
However, have you considered all the nitty gritty when it comes to towing? What’s the ball weight of that camper? The ATM of your beautiful new 21ft van? Is your current car up to the task or do you need to upgrade? Maybe you’ve had your trusty 100 series LandCruiser since new and it’s starting to get a bit long in the tooth?
The way that the 4WD market has evolved over the last ten to fifteen years has been nothing short of mind-blowing. So let’s take a look at the best vehicles for towing across each major category to tow that new toy of yours.
We’ll start with the biggest and best vehicles for towing and work our way out from there.
Best full-size dual cab ute for towing
The reintroduction of the full-size American ‘pick up’ to Australia has been extremely well received. For good reason too! These things are purpose-built tow tugs that just happen to be a luxurious drive while you do it.
On outright numbers alone, the Ram 3500 is a clear winner when it comes to the best vehicle for towing. A payload of 1759kg sees to that. However, because the 3500 requires a light truck license to legally drive it, the Ram 2500 is the most practical option for most people.
The Ram gets one over the Silverado here thanks to a couple of key features; namely the exhaust brake, trailer sway control, and the fact it’s actually a genuine six-seater. There are plenty of other features and options that’ll appeal to many. We find that the Ram Box is a great feature for a rig like this that spends most of its time with a caravan attached.
It’ll tow 3500kg on a 50mm ball, 4500kg on a 70mm ball, and 8000kg on a correctly set up fifth wheel hitch.
The Ram 2500 is a top choice for a towing vehicle.
Best dual cab ute towing vehicle
The winning combo in this sector isn’t exactly rocket science. We want 3500kg towing, a decent payload and a diesel V6 up front. VW gave us that and now Ford has raised the bar to a new level altogether with the next-gen Ranger.
It ticks the regular boxes but it offers so much more, including being a top vehicle for towing. There’s even a trailer light check function that runs through the lights in a sequence. This means if you’ve hitched up the caravan on your own you can still check the lights.
The Ranger has its own integrated electric brake system, and the Tow/Haul mode makes a noticeable difference to the vehicle dynamics. A spot monitoring system can adapt to the length and width of your trailer to assist with overtaking.
It’s even smart enough to physically resist if you attempt to merge when there’s something in your blind spot!
Best large 4WD wagon for towing
There’s only been one real vehicle towing contender in the large 4WD wagon category for the best part of 25 years; the mighty LandCruiser. We haven’t seen anything to suggest that the 300 is the heir to the throne that has been firmly cemented as Toyota property by the 200 series.
While Nissan has produced an excellent offering in the Y62 Patrol, it is so hard to beat the effortless torque of diesel when towing. The main problem in this segment is availability. If you want a 300 series, get in line. It’s not easy to get your hands on a Y62 either but they’ll almost certainly come in quicker once you place your order. On that note, ordering a Y62 will also leave less of a dent on your hip pocket compared with the 300.
Our thoughts are this: Everyone was up in arms when Toyota dropped the 1HD-FTE transitioning from the 100 to the 200 and we’ve seen a similar reaction now that the 1VD-FTV has been dropped in favour of the smaller 3.3l V6 diesel. They got it right last time so we’re backing them to have it right again. 300 takes the win for the best towing vehicle here.
Best medium 4WD wagon towing vehicle
This one is probably the most debatable sector at the moment. The medium-size 4WD wagon range is bigger and better than ever and as a result, there are quite a few options when it comes to decent towing vehicles. We’re confident after driving the next-gen Ranger that the Everest will have an impact here upon release but until then we can only compare what’s actually available.
The Isuzu MU-X is an excellent option here and probably offers the best bang for your buck. Unlike the previous model, the 2022 MU-X is a full-featured vehicle with a host of interior upgrades. The legendary reliability of the 4J engine is still there and most importantly, it’ll pull 3500kg. They’re a nice car to drive, are quite reasonably priced and they’ve got an excellent reputation for reliability.
