Skoda 1.4 PHEV
I'm considering changing my towcar, currently Honda CRV 2.2 Diesel. I'm looking primarily at Skoda Kodiaks or Superb estates - we carry 2 paddleboards and 2 bikes in the boot so space is at a premium. I really liked the look of the RAV4 PHEVs, a 2.5 petrol engine once the 30 miles electric is used up but they come with a measly 70kg noseweight. I don't want to be forever faffing around getting a near-1500kg caravan balanced for every trip, I'd have to use the full 70kg. The other cars offer up to 100kg noseweight so I'd be happy with the caravan at anything between 80kg and 90kg, no need to be too precise.
So, here's the crux - I've just come across a Skoda Superb 1.4 petrol with 30-odd miles available from batteries. From what I read, when in towing mode the battery is forever being charged so as to be able assist the engine when required, up to a total 218PS. Has anyone had any real towing experience with these - I wonder if the battery is up to, say, a long motorway pull up Shap for instance?
Thanks in advance for your inputs and suggestions.
Comments
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I tow with a RAV PHEV and once you have worked out how to get the noseweight to 70kg then I don’t see why you have to ‘faff around every trip’. I personally find it quite easy to remember how I last loaded. However the real world EV range of the RAV is high 40’s solo, barely half that towing. Overall mpg is upwards of 45 and often in the mid 50’s solo, high 20’s is typical towing mpg. For the VW unit used by Skoda real world solo range is 30 miles on a good day. Towing will again reduce that by about 50%. The RAV also has the benefit of 4wd on demand. There are caravaners who use the closely related Passat estate PHEV and generally give glowing reports. I personally think the 1.4 engine is a bit underpowered for a towcar and after nearly ordering a Tiguan PHEV we opted for the RAV. We have towed into the Bavarian and Austrian mountains and up the A9 to Inverness with its very long climbs. After years of buying various VW group cars I can very highly recommend the Toyota - or the Suzuki Across which is exactly the same car made for Suzuki by Toyota and easier to buy new at the moment.
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Thanks for that flatcoat, I hadn't looked at the Suzuki. As you say, they are pretty much the same as the RAV4, unfortunately (for me) including the 70kg noseweight. It's things like the gas bottles - last December we went through 1 and a half bottles of gas, so that's 10kg lost right at the sharp end of the van straight way. Perhaps balanced by the reduction in wine bottles from under the bed?
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We tow a Swift caravan which are notoriously nose heavy. Initially it was a struggle to get below 80kg nose weight but with trial and error we got there. I always drain the water before a trip (which saves around 10kg gross, about 5kg on the nose) and keep front locker contents to a minimum. Items such as tools, hook up cable, awning and loose chairs all go in the car. We only take minimal food basics and shop locally to the site. And to be honest with the dynamic forces imparted on the hitch when towing a caravan from road undulations, braking etc I don’t lose any sleep if the static nose weight is a touch over. You can measure the load ten times in immediate succession and will probably get 6 different readings.
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My question is do you need or want the Electric side to the power train. I know of one caravaner who tows a similar van to mine with the 1.4 engine of the Superb in a Golf. His fuel figures are no better than my 1.5 non PHEV same series engine.
The basic engine is a gem and makes you question a diesel for all but the very heaviest Caravans. You will as above typically see a 50 % drop in economy when towing. I'm running at 36mpg towing a 1300kg Eriba Feeling at 55/60mph, as opposed to 70+mpg when solo.
I would stick with the non PHEV 1.5 unit in the Kodiak.
Colin
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Is it cost effective. On your cost equivalent of 90p per litre you are saving about 50p. If a PHEV vehicle costs about £4000 more then you would be looking at 8,000 gallons at say 50mpg, so 400,000 miles. I also thought service costs are higher.
I'm not meaning to sound negative, I'm just trying to get my head around the economics.
Colin
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I tow with a Kodiak, 2ltr 200bhp DSG and absolutely love it for both towing and solo. Bags of space in the back, and has plenty of oomph when needed.
A couple of points though if you are buying used Skoda.
1. Older Kodiaq models only have a 80Kg noseweight limit. Newer ones are 100Kg
2. Retro fitting a towball can be an issue if the car hasn't had what Skoda call 'tow ball preparation' I've read a post on CT where a member bought a Skoda Octavia having been told by the salesman that a tow bar could be fitted, only to find that it couldn't when he took the car to be fitted. In this case he was lucky, and the dealer swapped the car.
Check the weight figures on the VIN/Compliance plate thats on the inside frame of the drivers door and get confirmation from the dealer before committing
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Myth no1: Servicing costs are not higher
Myth no2: The future residual will also be higher so the additional capital/purchase cost is not a 100% loss.
Fact: my petrol economy matches any previous diesel tow car.
Fact: performance/acceleration matches any decent hot hatch.
It depends on what the OP wants and if the 1.5 or 2.0 petrol versions work, then fine.
At the time we bought the RAV some of the non PHEV options we might have considered were on ridiculous delivery times and in some cases too light in weight to tow a mid range van.0 -
We used to tow our Swift Conqueror 2016 with a 2.2 diesel Honda CRV nose weight 100kg, later when we changed over to a Outlander PHEV we had to do some load adjustments to achieve 70kg nose weight, we notice very little difference in the way it tows.
Skoda Superb PHEV an excellent stable tow car with it turbo charged 1.4 engine, it electric motor assistance and it 6 speed auto transmission.
PHEV like the Kuga and Toyota PHEV 2.5 engines use the Atkinson cycle, in very basic term the inlet timing is very late, in reality they intake charge is nearer 1600cc not 2500cc as assumed, the exhaust timing is as per Otto cycle 2500cc.
The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has a variable cam timing giving both the Otto and Atkinson cycle.
A PHEV is really a matter of choice, is it cost effective probably the majority of users no, as we have solar panels, solar battery and a dedicated EV charger we can charge both off peak or off our solar panels the majority of the year.
I have ordered a Suzuki Across PHEV
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Thanks everyone for your inputs.
I've decided to go old-fashioned and opt for a 200bhp diesel Kodiaq. Like Colin above, I ran the sums on a PHEV and in purely economic terms they just don't run - I worked out that even if I could recharge for free, the extra capital cost for the PHEV would be the equivalent of more than 3 years of liquid fuel.
I appreciate Flatcoat's argument that some of that capital cost is recoverable when the car is sold on, but I anticipate keeping this car for up to 7 years by which time the battery is probably getting near replacement. About 40% of my motoring is towing so I'm going to prioritise for that scenario.
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