Towing with Hybrid/electric cars

I wonder how far it can tow that weight though.

In Oct 2018 i swooped my 65plate Ford Kuga for the 2019 model Outlander PHEV with the new 2.4ltr petrol engine.Without a doubt the Outlander does not come anywhere near the towing performance the Kuga had. I have done a lot of short breaks e.g 50/60 miles distance from home and found the Outlander sutable for the role. I have just come back from a long trek from Wakefield to Fairford. I did find the car lacking but what you have to take into account the many different modes you can put the car in, normal/Save electric/Charge and I found in the Eco mode and cruise set at 54/56 mph the car did well 32mpg average. But as mentioned previously the 6 days I was there I did not use any fuel as I charged the car overnight while on site, covering a total of 168 miles free of charge.

Just think on those members who doubt the coming of the electric age, not many of you tow the caravan every single day of the week i.e going to work shopping visiting family and friends, this is where the Outlander shines again I rarely put fuel in as I charge it overnight at home at a cost of 94p in return for 28miles distance.  

For us this is an interesting article, at present like yourself we have a Ford Kuga, ours is a 2.0 diesel 150 powershift towing a 2016 swift Conqueror 480 1454kg, travelling around the 50-55mph we achieve 32mpg.

I am assuming the 32mpg you achieved is towing a caravan? if that is correct I am quite impressed, we are looking at the changing to a hybrid next year possibly the new Toyota Rav4 and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

We are with Octopus energy off peak overnight tariff 5 pence a kWh = £0.50 for a full charge.

I believe the new Kuga due next year will have some electric and hybrid options with a respectable towing capacity.

Might be worth a look if you like your Kuga.

https://www.carwow.co.uk/ford/kuga/news/2791/ford-kuga-price-specs-release-date

But 28 miles on electric would be next to useless for me. It's 25 miles each way to work & there are no charging points on the car park .... I doubt they'd let me pass an extension lead through an office window. 😉

The majority of my journeys are less than 30 miles and once a month 40 miles to the daughters were I can recharge for £1.60 so the Outlander PHEV make great sense.

It all comes down to how many short trips v long trips and towing trips you do and the economics are fairly easy to estimate. There is one thing that is rarely discussed (probably because so far its an unknown) how long the batteries will maintain a say 90% efficiency?

When all the people willing to spend their money on the experimental  offerings from the major manufacturers have funded the development of a decent full EV  capable of what an ICE can do, then, if I'm still around,  I'll consider one.

Until then, I'll stick with filling up with Diesel in about 5 minutes, having a range of about 400 miles and be able to tow 2 tons. 

Like this 

Yes that does make sense. Our full EV can travel any distance thanks to the range extender topping up the battery, we just need an occasional 8 pints of petrol. The regenerative system works well too. The only thing missing is towing but the hybrids can do this so what's not to like (and in the long run save. )  It's good to hear from those who have experience with these vehicles.