There may be times you may find yourself asking “How much can my 2020 Skoda Kodiaq (or other car) tow?” From small lightweight utility trailers to boat trailers and caravans, there are many tasks and purposes that require towing.
If you are in the market for a new car, thinking about what your towing capacity requirements will help you narrow down your choice more quickly. And if you already own a Skoda – first of all, congratulations! – it would be useful to know how much your car can tow should you ever have the need for it.
What is my car’s towing capacity and why is it important?
Calculating your actual towing capacity is not as simple as it may appear, especially when you are towing heavy loads such as a caravan. There are many factors to take into consideration, including the different masses of the tow vehicle and trailer, and also the load distribution across them both.
In order to tow safely and legally, you must not tow a trailer within that exceeds your car’s towing capacity, which is the maximum amount of weight your vehicle is able to tow as recommended by the manufacturer. This information is usually listed as two separate figures – one that applies to unbraked towing, and the other to braked towing (both expressed in kilograms).
The key figures to look for are maximum braked towing capacity (or the maximum weight of a trailer equipped with brakes), maximum tow-ball download weight and the Gross Combination Mass (GCM), which is the maximum your vehicle-and-trailer combination can legally weigh.
Basically what it comes down to is that the vehicle-and-trailer mass combination – that is the Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) plus the Gross Trailer Mass (GTM) – always has to weigh within the GCM limit.
The towing capacity figures of your Skoda should be listed in the owner’s manual. Alternatively, you can find out from a vehicle manufacturer’s vehicle specification sheets or just ask your local Skoda Perth dealer.
The maximum weight you can handle differs for each vehicle, and even between different variants in the same line-up.
Here is table of some key figures of the towing capacity of different Skoda vehicles for handy reference:
| Tare Mass (kg) | Gross Vehicle Mass (kg) | Max. trailer load without brakes (kg) | Max. trailer load with brakes (kg) | Max. downball weight (kg) | |
| Skoda Karoq | 1,425 | 690 | 1,500 | 75 | |
| Skoda Octavia (Manual) | 1,219 | 620 | 1,500 | 75 | |
| Skoda Octavia (Auto) | 1,234 | 620 | 1,500 | 75 | |
| Skoda Octavia Wagon (Manual) | 1,251 | 630 | 1,500 | 75 | |
| Skkoda Octavia Wagon (Auto) | 1,266 | 640 | 1,500 | 75 | |
| Skoda Octavia RS 245 Auto | 1,391 | 710 | 1,600 | 75 | |
| Skoda Scala (Manual) | 1,203 | 620 | 1,250 | 75 | |
| Skoda Scala (Auto) | 1,215 | 620 | 1,250 | 75 | |
| Skoda Superb | 1,463 | 750 | 2,000 | 90 | |
| Skoda Superb 4×4 | 1,573 | 750 | 2,200 | 90 | |
| Skoda Superb Wagon | 1,490 | 750 | 2,000 | 90 | |
| Skoda Superb Wagon 4×4 | 1,600 | 750 | 2,200 | 90 | |
| Skoda Kodiaq | 1,858 | 2,551 | 750 | 2,000 | 100 |
And a little recommendation – before setting off on a road trip (e.g. caravaning), it would be wise to independently check vehicle weights (this can be done at your local weigh bridge), equipment ratings and your owner’s manual, to make sure you’re driving within legal parameters. This way you not only avoid any fines and penalties, but more importantly keep yourself safe on the road with a load in tow.
