The Land Rover Discovery 4 has won its class for the third consecutive year in the coveted annual Tow Car Awards.

Leading the field once again in the 1900kg+ class, the Discovery 4 reigned supreme over the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Volvo XC60 and XC70, Ford Ranger, Vauxhall Antara and Toyota Hilux to take the class victory.

Tow Car Awards judge and Haymarket Outdoor Leisure Group's Editor in Chief ‑ Digital, Nigel Donnelly, said: "If this were a horse race, the bookies would have stopped taking bets on the Discovery 4. Having won the heavyweight class two years in a row, it was always the red‑hot favourite. The big Land Rover is even better than before, thanks to the addition of an eight‑speed automatic gearbox. It's smoother shifting than the old six‑speeder and, along with tweaks to the engine, improves performance and economy.

"The Discovery 4 is a luxurious way to travel, thanks to the supple ride and roomy cabin. There are seats for seven, and if the rear two are stowed, there is more than enough space for a fortnight's holiday luggage. In fact, there's little on our list of what makes a practical towcar that the Discovery doesn't have.

"The Discovery is the best heavyweight towcar."

Laura Schwab, Land Rover Marketing Director said: "It is an honour to win this award for the third consecutive year and acts as a strong independent testament to the versatility and capability of the Discovery 4.

"Many of our customers choose the Discovery 4 as the perfect all‑rounder; the ideal towing vehicle both commercially and recreationally, as well as being a comfortable and luxurious tourer on road with class leading capability off‑road."

The annual test programme which started in 2007, is a joint venture between Practical Caravan, What Car? and The Camping and Caravanning Club.

The assessment which involves real‑world simulations to put each test car through the most relevant and rigorous tests, involving caravans weighted to 85% of the car's kerbweight, acceleration tests, high‑speed stability, brake tests, emergency lane change, hill start and practicality tests. The latter appraises the car's ability to cope with a typical caravanner's luggage, has suitable towing electrics, spare wheel, and technology to make towing easier and safer.

The Land Rover Discovery 4 features a host of intelligent technology creating a safe and comfortable towing experience: Trailer Stability Assist (Standard) automatically detects the presence of a trailer. Once 37 mph is reached, the sensors monitor the behaviour of the trailer. Should any swaying or oscillation occur, the system uses selective braking of the appropriate wheels to help correct any potential problem.

In addition Towing Assist, a next‑generation reversing aid, is also included with the optional Surround Camera System. The Towing Assist technology predicts the trajectory of both vehicle and trailer ‑ guiding when coupling a trailer and providing a predicted path for the vehicle when reversing by superimposing coloured lines over the image on the Touch‑screen.

The Land Rover Discovery 4 is available from £38,825 from all official Land Rover dealerships.

‑ Ends ‑

Notes to Editors:

The Tow Car Awards judging panel consisted of:

Nigel Donnelly
Haymarket Outdoor Leisure Group's Editor in Chief ‑ Digital

Steve Cropley
Editor‑in‑chief ofAutocarand European Car of the Year juror.

Iain Geddes
Head practicality judge and the senior technical advisor at The Camping and Caravanning Club

Ian Hewlett
The Club's technical manager and the newest addition to our judging panel.

Steve Huntingford
New cars editor ofWhat Car?, responsible for our high‑performance tests.

Nigel Hutson
Lifelong caravanner and former police Class 1 driver, who has been a judge since 2007.

David Motton
Former editor ofWhat Car?andPractical Caravan. Tows with dozens of cars each year.

Sue Taylor
Sue tows caravans and horseboxes and is features editor ofCamping and Caravanning.

For further information log onto www.media.landrover.com or contact:

Lucy Reynolds
PR Manager, Land Rover UK
T: 02476 564 161
M: 07801 699928
E: lreyno25@landrover.com                                      

Kim Palmer
Senior Press Officer, Land Rover UK
T: 02476 564 129
M: 07795 666169
E: kpalmer@landrover.com

Rachel Murray
Press Officer, Land Rover UK
T: 02476 564 127
M: 07780 494282
E: rmurra73@landrover.com

Editors Note:

Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true 'breadth of capability' across the model range. Defender, Freelander, Discovery, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque each define the world's 4x4 sectors, with 78% of this model range exported to over 140 countries.

Land Rover is committed to addressing the challenges of climate change and since September 2006 carbon dioxide generated by Land Rover manufacturing activities and UK customer vehicle use has been balanced through an industry leading offset programme run by Climate Care.