Hybrid or Electric car for towing1250kg Sprite 2

Kelteglow
Kelteglow Club Member Posts: 38
First Comment

My lovey 2L Citroen Picasso is 10yrs old I would like to change to something Hybrid or Elrctric .Can anyone recomend a suitable car ,Maybe Chinese or other .Thanks Bob

Comments

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,486
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    I'm confused as to me the two are totally different. An all electric vehicle will easily tow your caravan, but you have to plan your journey around shorter distances and charging points. They require a totally different mindset. A hybrid [plug in or self charging] offers the flexibility of longer journeys between re-fuel/re-charge over the electric option, but when towing offers no real advantage over a modern petrol only vehicle. If you looked at a VW Golf for example, a PHEV would cost about £3K more than the petrol only version but in real life returns similar mpg towing figures. Yes as a solo vehicle it will have an advantage, but only you can work out how long it would take to make up the £3K premium.

    Colin

  • Dann_UK
    Dann_UK Club Member Posts: 6
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    I have had my Hyundai Tucson now since new (2023). Its the N Line S Hybrid. I tow a Swift Major 6TD no issue at all. I was initially thinking about the plugin version or full electric but as the industry stands at the moment I don't really think that a fully electric car is best for any towing. As when you are on site there are limited charging point for cars and to charge off your pitch is not allowed or frowned upon. Next car maybe the Hybrid Jaecoo 7 or 8 or maybe something from Chery…..

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Trusted Posts: 24,220
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    On club sites you can charge at your pitch providing it's done via the caravan. Obviously it will be a slow charge but it’s not frowned upon at all providing you pay.

  • Oscarmax
    Oscarmax Club Member Posts: 287
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    We are on our second PHEV, 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 PHEV and now a Suzuki Across PHEV, the Mitsubishi was ok, the Suzuki Across brilliant.

  • wh1nbrew
    wh1nbrew Club Member Posts: 129
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    If I understand the last budget, you definitely don't want a plug in hybrid - pay per mile (as things stand, including abroad!), plus road tax.

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,486
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    The maths on it is not really simple and you would have to do some calculations. 3p mile full electric and 1.5p mile PHEV still look attractive compared to petrol/diesel. I think its 58p litre tax on fuel which at 45mpg works out you are paying 6p mile in tax.

    Colin

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 14,660
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    edited January 26 #8

    Not sure PHEV owners need to worry about pay per mile charges at 1.5p a miles? The car I have just sold was an HEV and to pay by mile would have been a much cheaper option than standard VED., more so if you only do a modest amount of miles. If the pay by mile option is workable then I imagine in time it will be rolled out to all vehicles?I the mean time I can't see it as being something to worry about.

    David

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,486
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    I read it that the pay per mile is in addition to the standard VED.

    Colin

  • Oscarmax
    Oscarmax Club Member Posts: 287
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    I last filled up with fuel on the 1st October 2025 when we returned from the New Forest, that was 1629 miles ago, since I have been running on off peak 8.5 pence kWh electricity, I still have enough unleaded fuel for another 250 plus miles, I will probably top up the tank the end of February/ early March for the caravan season.

    For us the PHEV is perfect we only use fuel mainly for towing or on holidays, we achieve around 50/55mpg with a depleted battery, so I am quite happy to pay the 1.5 eVED.

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 14,660
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    @eribaMotters sorry didn't appreciate it was in addition. Having said that you would have to do a fairly high mileage for it to really hurt? I have always thought that road pricing was the way to go but, of course, with a reduction in VED. Be interesting to see how it developes. Road pricing was originally talked about back in the nineties when there were hardly any EV;s

    David

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,486
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    I remember commenting some time ago about the ideal and fairest solution, to me anyway, was If all charge points for vehicles had a meter it would be easy to charge a unit cost per Kw, just as a set cost is charged per L of fuel.

    You could then get away with the separate VED as you would be charging for proportional useage, ie the more you used the more you paid.

    Colin

  • Oscarmax
    Oscarmax Club Member Posts: 287
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    Public EV charging point are very high mainly due to the grid connection charges which have risen sharply. Our home Podpoint EV charger shows exactly (including transmission losses) how much our PHEV has drawn of the grid.