Hybrid or Electric car for towing1250kg Sprite 2
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
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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
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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…..
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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.
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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
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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
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I read it that the pay per mile is in addition to the standard VED.
Colin
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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.
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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
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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
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You are correct and that is what I thought I said at the end of my reply:-
"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
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Those who have off street parking and get a charging point installed at home - about £1000 I am told - can run cheaply on electric power to the supermarket and back. But my adult children don’t do it because they can only park on the street , and I get Waitrose to come to me for £2 a time. Nice delivery drivers too.
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"about £1000 I am told"
What! Mine was £300-ish with no grant.But that’s all irrelevant with a self charging hybrid. No plug in required.
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For us a PHEV is perfect for other it is a differnt story the only time we use fuel is when we are towing or on holiday, we have our own drive so can charge up off peak 8.5 pence kWh, the majority of our journeys are local. If you do long journeys a PHEV make less sense, if you cannot charge up at home off peak it is a no brainer, then the cost of a standard EV charger installation £1,000 (or a external 13 amp socket using a granny charger £200/£300) plus the additional extra cost of a PHEV over a HEV.
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If you can't home charge, a PHEV is pointless, you would be better off with a regular hybrid.
If you can home charge, the chances are when you get a PHEV, you will end up wishing it had more all electric range.
That's what happened to me when I got a PHEV. I loved the idea of a PHEV and felt it would have that that great "half way house" appeal. It turned out (for me) that whenever the diesel engine started, I just wished it would not, and that I could use more electric. We went full electric in 2021 and have not looked back. Our current EV tow car (Polestar 4) has between 160 and 180 miles of towing range, and about 300 miles solo. Granted - it's not a cheap car, and we have it as a company car, but there are some amazing deals on used EV that have some very good specs too.
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