Recently, Skoda has highlighted the fact that 22% (1,375) of its retail customers fitted genuine Skoda towing systems (tow bar and electrical harness kit) to their vehicles last year. Skoda claims to be seeing an increasing number of customers requesting towing systems for farming and business purposes as well as for leisure such as boating, caravanning and equine activity.

Skoda towing systems cost from €499 and include safety and functional benefits such as Electronic Trailer Stability Assist, which works through the vehicle’s ABS and ESP systems to maintain vehicle control when the trailer begins to wallow and destabilise the trailer and the vehicle itself.

Skoda notes that engines have to work harder when towing a trailer, so the vehicle cooling strategy is altered to account for heavier loads on the engine.

The Skoda towing system also offers features such as trailer bulb monitoring, parking sensor deactivation, advanced park assist features and even an anti-theft device that triggers the vehicle’s alarm if an unauthorised attempt is made to disconnect the trailer from the vehicle.

A Skoda Superb Combi or estate with a 4x4 drive system can legally tow a standard 900kg horsebox and two 500kg horses on a standard B licence. Skoda is set to increase its towing and 4x4 range even further when it launches a larger SUV in early 2017.

Should you consider a 4x4 car?

There are a number of 4x4 cars on the market and the Irish Farmers Journal has test driven a few of them in recent months. Skoda has been leading the field by offering the 4x4 option across three model sectors in its range. These include 4x4 versions of the Octavia, Superb and Yeti.

With a 4x4 car there is drive to all four wheels, compared with most two-wheel-drive cars where the drive is usually to the front wheels only. The 4x4 system means that when the downward weight of the trailer is included, there is still adequate traction from the rear wheels. This feature, which should give better road holding and safer driving, can also be used for general non-trailer driving during the winter months or on poorer roads.

Here we look at the towing rating differences of three cars in the Skoda range to highlight the additional advantages in the towing capacity by adding the extra drive system. The 2,200kg towing rating for the Skoda Superb is equivalent to the capacity to tow a double horsebox with two horses on board.

It is important to remember that these 4x4 cars are more expensive than equivalent standard cars. They will also have marginally poorer fuel consumption levels.

Why buy a genuine towing system?

There are many towbar options available and the general advice is to go for one that is approved by the car or 4x4 manufacturers. However, expect that they will be more expensive costing anything from €500 to €900. Modern cars and 4x4s come with complex electronic and vehicle control systems, which cannot be tampered with at will.

Many of these cars include additional systems when you fit a factory-approved towbar, which may be the reason for the more expensive cost than a towbar provided by a more local supplier.

Many of the factory-approved models come with a trailer stability assist (TSA) system to help eliminate trailer weaving problems and give better vehicle combination control. For most systems, the TSA is included in the ESP electronic stability system and is activated if the vehicle is equipped with the towbar with its own electronic control unit (ECU). The more expensive kits include automatic trailer reversing systems, which are now available on some Volkswagen Passat models and the higher end Audi Q7 SUV.