Volkswagen wins at the 2012 Caravan Club Towcar Awards
Volkswagen emerged with no less than four awards from the Caravan Towcar Awards 2012 held at the Royal Automobile Club in London.
The awards were presented at the prestigious ceremony for the vehicles voted best in their classes by a panel of 11 judges, after the rigorous towing tests were conducted at the Millbrook Testing Ground in Bedfordshire. In all 30 vehicles were assessed and marked on acceleration, towing ability, braking, usability in terms of everyday caravanning, and the ability to cope with demanding hill starts.
The Volkswagen Jetta Sport 2.0-litre TDI DSG was the first Volkswagen to be rewarded as it was chosen as the overall winner of The Caravan Club Towcar of the Year 2012 awards, and achieved victory over 12 rivals in the under £25,000 class too.
Caravn Club judges were quick to praise the Jetta: "This car is as controlled as it is quick, offering stable towing both at speed and while driving around hills and bends. It steers smartly and accurately with little body roll, yet offers a well-damped ride even with a lively caravan on the back. It zooms up hills, stops on them securely and pulls away cleanly. And when you’re not driving it, it’s great to look at."
Despite its compact dimensions the Jetta Sport 2.0-litre TDI DSG has a generous noseweight of 75 kg and features a 140 PS common rail diesel engine, a six-speed DSG gearbox, and produces impressive amounts of torque – 320 Nm from just 1,750 rpm.
Next up was the Touareg Escape 3.0-litre V6 TDI, which secured victory in the all-wheel-drive vehicles over 1800 kg category and in the over £32,000 class.
With a commanding overall towing capacity of 3500 kg, the Touareg Escape 3.0-litre V6 TDI has a noseweight of 140 kg and is fitted with a centre differential lock and a rear axle mechanical differential lock enabling it to cope with testing conditions off-road. It boasts a noteworthy Torque of 550 Nm from 2,000 rpm, permanent 4XMOTION four-wheel drive, raised suspension and a 245 PS common rail diesel engine connected to an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
The judges verdict was that the Touareg is: "A near-ultimate towcar. The Touareg flew round the bowl at Millbrook with never a twitch, even on the hill circuit. On-rails cornering was interspersed with an apparently insignificant collection of steep gradients, including hill-stops and starts."
Such glowing endorsements from the Caravan Club will be music to Volkswagen's ears and a strong incentive to anyone looking to buy a Towcar to have a good look at both the Jetta Sport and the Touareg Escape.