TOW CAR AWARDS - The 2015 Mazda CX-5 has been voted best Tow Car in the 1,550-1,699kg category.

• Mazda’s CX-5 wins at the Tow Car Awards for the second consecutive year.
• The 2015 Mazda CX-5 voted best Tow Car in the 1,550-1,699kg category.
• Mazda CX-5 2.2D 175PS AWD Sport Nav awarded by the experts at Practical Caravan, the Camping and Caravanning Club and What Car?

The 2015 Mazda CX-5 has been voted best Tow Car in the 1,550-1,699kg category by the experts from Practical Caravan Magazine, What Car? and the Camping and Caravanning Club.

Selected from a field of 37 cars, the CX-5 was rated for its everyday driving ability, price, running costs and future resale value by What Car?, while the experts from the Camping and Caravanning Club and Practical Caravan Magazine subjected it to demanding tests that assess the cars behaviour when towing, and looked at practical features that make a tow car driver’s life easy.

Assessed pulling a caravan weighted to 85 per cent of its 1,688kg kerbweight, the CX-5 was tested for stability at 60mph, subjected to awkward cambers and bumps on a twisty handling circuit and measured for agility and steering responsiveness on slalom.

The judges also measured stopping distances, while other important tests included a hill-start on a 1-in-6 incline and measurement of emergency lane change stability. There’s also a focus on cabin practicality, luggage capacity and factors such as the ease of towing mirror fitment.

Testing the 2015 Mazda CX-5 2.2D 175PS AWD Sport Nav, David Motton, Tow Car Editor of Practical Caravan Magazine, commented “a mid-life update has made the Mazda CX-5 into a really superb tow car. It was already a stable tow car, but now it’s even better. Even crosswinds don’t seem to upset the Mazda CX-5, and better still, our practicality judges were just as impressed as the drivers.

The 2015 Mazda CX-5 features significant interior trim and standard equipment specification upgrades, as well as exterior enhancements. The standard equipment specification of every model in the CX-5 line-up has been enhanced through the addition of manual front passenger seat height adjustment, an electronic parking brake and a coming home/leaving home headlight function.

Mazda’s latest Multimedia Commander with separate volume dial for safe, intuitive interactivity and infotainment control features a new 7-inch, full-colour, centre console touch-screen incorporates DAB radio, two ports for USB connectivity and MZD Connect. Paired with a smartphone, MZD Connect makes it easier to take advantage of functions such as internet connectivity and access to social networking services.

Top-of-the-range Sport Nav models benefit from new exterior features including 19-inch Gunmetal alloy wheels, LED headlights including LED daytime running lights, and LED foglamps. On board, an already comprehensive Sport Nav standard equipment specification is further bolstered by a new Integrated Navigation system which offers greater accuracy, improved search features and three years of free map updating.

Perfectly suited to towing, the practical and upmarket Mazda CX-5 2.2D 175PS AWD Sport Nav benefits from Mazda’s advanced four-wheel drive system, which features variable torque distribution and precise slip detection, giving a front/rear torque split ranging from 100/0 to 50/50 percent, ensuring the CX-5 delivers the traction and grip needed for reassuring motoring in wintry conditions and confident towing.

The Tow Car Awards winning 2.2S 175PS AWD Sport Nav costs £29,395, while the £800 Safety Pack adds Adaptive LED Headlights, Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane-keep Assist System and Rear Smart City Brake Support. Useful when towing, Mazda Radar Cruise Control^ is another optional feature available on the award winning 175PS Sport Nav diesel.