Volkswagen Passat Estate is Top Towcar

Caravan lovers rejoice! The Volkswagen Passat Estate has been crowned Top Towcar of the Year 2011 by Caravan Times – the UK's largest online caravan magazine. That is hardly surprising, as this mile-muncher has numerous strengths. These include its rock- solid construction, superb handling, fair equipment specification, and low running costs. The most efficient versions average 64.2mpg, after all. Furthermore, with the rear seats folded flat, this workhorse has a huge 1,703-litre boot. Even with five passengers aboard capacity is 603-litres - so there is plenty of room for torches, hiking poles, and warm cloths.

Chris Jefferies, Editor of CaravanTimes.co.uk, said: ‘Among our forum members, Volkswagen is renowned as a reliable, practical and economical choice. Estate beat off strong competition this year and we expect to see plenty of them at campsites across the UK in 2012.’

The Passat These views have been echoed by other experts. In June 2011, for starters, the VW Passat Estate TDI 170 PS was named 'champion' at the Towcar Awards. These were judged by experts from What Car? and Practical Caravan magazines, as well as The Camping and Caravanning Club. The Passat's trophy cabinet must be larger than its boot.

By Stephen Turvil, motoring.co.uk

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