Best hybrid car for towing?

[Simbapony]

what is the best hybrid or electric car for pulling a trailer please ? 40k budget.

Thanks

 

[Parrotperson]

Mmm. The thing you'll come up against wot hybrids is that they genrerlally have a crap towing weight. And even if they can tow a reasonable amount the electric part of the system will last five minutes or less where towing. Try a Lexus maybe or an Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. BUT check their towing weights carefully. A lot of hybrids just aren't designed to tow much at all.

 

[Sally Jennings]

I'm looking into switching from a diesel (Subaru Forester) to a hybrid vehicle following the installation of solar panels and a battery storage system at home, meaning that I'll have the capacity to keep a plug-in hybrid vehicle fully charged pretty much constantly at very low cost. I habitually cover less than 30 miles per day, so I should be able to make good use of the fully-charged electric range of something like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (braked towing capacity 1500kg).

However, I also need to be able to tow my Ifor Williams HB505 (plated MAM 2340kg; unladen weight 905kg) and at least one 500kg horse, so need advice on whether a hybrid's towing capacity and performance will meet my needs. I'd also love to hear from others who have experience of towing horses with a hybrid (most of the information online seems to relate to towing caravans, which is a whole different ball game, in my view!).

I've jumped on @Simbapony 's thread here as I can't seem to find a general towing 'channel' on the HHO Forum, although I have seen other threads with input from @ROG , who seems to be the acknowledged expert on towing and with whom it would be great to connect!

 

[Hallo2012]

we looked at this and generally the hybrids wont do it, not even for my 13hh pony!

in the end we got a fully electric car and have a 3.5 ton lorry on the way as it was the same money but easier!

 

[Kizzy2004]

I have the outlander phev (company car and they would only allow to order a hybrid)

towing capacity is only 1,500kg. I only have new forest ponies but with the weight capacity can only tow with one and have a bit of headroom rather then towing to the max capacity.

there are hybrid with a higher capacity such as the Volvo from memory but the majority are lower.

You certainly notice the difference. My phev struggles on hills and and generally drives on high revs the whole time (Towing with a pony that’s around 400kg). It’s an automatic as well so you can’t even select a gear. Not sure how it would cope in a muddy field and not sure I would even want to attempt it! I wouldn’t want to do particularly long journeys with it either as it’s a petrol engine and is quite thirsty on fuel. Electric range is 30 miles fully charged but not tested it on the towing on electric.

Personally I wish I hadn’t got it but circumstances meant I couldn’t justify running 2 cars. Not to say it’s horrendous and does the job but I am always mindful of where I’m going.

I think it would depend on how often you tow, weight of horse and where your towing too.

 

[Hallo2012]

I have the outlander phev (company car and they would only allow to order a hybrid)

towing capacity is only 1,500kg. I only have new forest ponies but with the weight capacity can only tow with one and have a bit of headroom rather then towing to the max capacity.

there are hybrid with a higher capacity such as the Volvo from memory but the majority are lower.

You certainly notice the difference. My phev struggles on hills and and generally drives on high revs the whole time (Towing with a pony that’s around 400kg). It’s an automatic as well so you can’t even select a gear. Not sure how it would cope in a muddy field and not sure I would even want to attempt it! I wouldn’t want to do particularly long journeys with it either as it’s a petrol engine and is quite thirsty on fuel. Electric range is 30 miles fully charged but not tested it on the towing on electric.

Personally I wish I hadn’t got it but circumstances meant I couldn’t justify running 2 cars. Not to say it’s horrendous and does the job but I am always mindful of where I’m going.

I think it would depend on how often you tow, weight of horse and where your towing too.

same. company car so limited on choice and even with a small pony the towing reviews generally were not good,and it stressed me that it wouldnt cope with wet ground etc and that the technology is relatively new so if im doing 300 miles alone and it breaks down.........

it was a total relief to bin the idea and get a little lorry sorted instead if i'm honest!

 

[Parrotperson]

plus if you are towing with one on hybrid mode you'll be lucky to get 25mpg. mine only does 35mpg on long motorway runs not towing. Thats why I'm selling it.

 

[Sally Jennings]

Thanks, everyone. The hybrid Volvo XC60/XC90 T8 does have a higher towing capacity than the Outlander PHEV (2100kg for the XC60 vs. 1500kg for the Outlander), which is actually higher than my Forester (though it won't be able to match the diesel Forester for torque), but I haven't been able find anyone who's actually towed a horsebox with one. It's really useful to hear your practical experiences of towing with the Outlander, which I'm going to have to rule out on the basis that my overgrown Connemara is significantly heavier than @Kizzy2004 's pony, so it sounds as though the Outlander would struggle.

It's frustrating because I tow relatively infrequently and the vast majority of my driving is short rural trips of under 10 miles (rather than long journeys where I'd need to worry about the fuel consumption with the petrol engine), so with my solar set-up at home a hybrid should be the way to go. Reading this morning that Plug-in hybrids are a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' is not particularly encouraging, though!

 

[RHM]

Someone at my work tows two horses in a ifor with her Volvo XC90, she loves it! I can tow but do so infrequently with my RAV4 hybrid (1600kg capacity) but it does lack power and like others have mentioned I think I wouldn’t enjoy a muddy field!!

 

[Sally Jennings]

Someone at my work tows two horses in a ifor with her Volvo XC90, she loves it!

Ooh, this is encouraging! It’s a hybrid XC90, right?

 

[chocolategirl]

Mmm. The thing you'll come up against wot hybrids is that they genrerlally have a crap towing weight. And even if they can tow a reasonable amount the electric part of the system will last five minutes or less where towing. Try a Lexus maybe or an Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. BUT check their towing weights carefully. A lot of hybrids just aren't designed to tow much at all.

Think this is true, we recently bought the P400e, and the salesmen knowing we had horses, told us not to plan towing with it as it would be no use!? Don’t know anything about others, but this one you can deffo discount ?

 

[Sally Jennings]

Crikey, that’s a worry, given that the Range Rover P400e is rated to tow 2.5 tonnes! Thanks for the tip @chocolategirl, that’s really interesting. Hope you’re enjoying using the car for non-towing purposes!

 

[Annagain]

I'm looking into switching from a diesel (Subaru Forester) to a hybrid vehicle following the installation of solar panels and a battery storage system at home, meaning that I'll have the capacity to keep a plug-in hybrid vehicle fully charged pretty much constantly at very low cost. I habitually cover less than 30 miles per day, so I should be able to make good use of the fully-charged electric range of something like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (braked towing capacity 1500kg).

However, I also need to be able to tow my Ifor Williams HB505 (plated MAM 2340kg; unladen weight 905kg) and at least one 500kg horse, so need advice on whether a hybrid's towing capacity and performance will meet my needs. I'd also love to hear from others who have experience of towing horses with a hybrid (most of the information online seems to relate to towing caravans, which is a whole different ball game, in my view!).

I've jumped on @Simbapony 's thread here as I can't seem to find a general towing 'channel' on the HHO Forum, although I have seen other threads with input from @ROG , who seems to be the acknowledged expert on towing and with whom it would be great to connect!

I don't know about which hybrids are the best but when it comes to the car's towing capacity, it's the ACTUAL weight you're towing that matters, not the MAM. MAM only applies to licences.

Having driven the new Defender and loving it, I'm curious as to what the towing capacity of the hybrid will be. Land Rover build their reputation on towing ability so it will be very interesting to see what the get it up to. I won't be buying one for a couple of years and it will be a second hand one then but a hybrid would suit me if I can tow a decent weight with it.

 

[RHM]

Ooh, this is encouraging! It’s a hybrid XC90, right?

It is yes, we are another company that has loads of hybrids on our company car list!

 

[chocolategirl]

Crikey, that’s a worry, given that the Range Rover P400e is rated to tow 2.5 tonnes! Thanks for the tip @chocolategirl, that’s really interesting. Hope you’re enjoying using the car for non-towing purposes!

Tbf, we don’t plan to tow with it, so can’t give you a true picture, it’s only what the sales guy advised and there’s no reason to doubt him? and yes thanks, it’s lovely ??

 

[Sally Jennings]

it's the ACTUAL weight you're towing that matters, not the MAM. MAM only applies to licences.

Yep, as above, I'm looking to tow a minimum of 905 + 500 = 1405kg. I have a B+E licence so MAM is not a problem for me, though it may be relevant to others looking into hybrid towing vehicles for use on a B licence.

 

[Annagain]

I’ve just read that, with the new hybrid Defender “a towing capacity of 3,000kg is possible” I don’t know yet if that means it’s not standard. It’s not much of a drop from the diesel version though, which is good as long as the usual towing performance isn’t too compromised.

 

[Orangehorse]

Keep an eye on the caravan magazines, they will know which cars can tow and how economical they are.

 

[Sally Jennings]

Keep an eye on the caravan magazines, they will know which cars can tow and how economical they are.

Yes, most of the information available online currently is caravan-centric. I do value input from people who are actually towing horses with hybrids, though, as a caravan and a trailer with horse(s) on board (with the inertia of the horses’ movement inside the trailer) are two quite different beasts. Unless I win the lottery it’s looking like I’m going to have to stick with dirty diesel for now, I have to say!