Hybrid car for towing

[GaryB]

Mild hybrids don’t give you much of a “shove” as you pull away given the low power of the system compared to having a full propulsion motor. Their motor-generator is normally 48v and unlike a normal hybrid they cannot drive on electric only. Their system is more geared to urban stop start where the engine stops and on pulling away the motor generator moves the car before the engine then kicks in.

That's how my previous Volvo worked but was an excellent tow car. I guess it's probably more down to the engine that was used (around 195bhp from memory) didn't actually need any electrical assistance to move it along whereas the smaller engines used in the Kia might do?

 

[Guzzilazz]

Just curious, why the dislike of the mild hybrid? I had a Volvo mild hybrid and while the rest of the car was unreliable, I personally found the drivetrain to be great. Admittedly a very different car but just curious as to what the problem is with the Kia approach?

My previous car was an XC40, and I found the fuel consumption very disappointing. I wish I had bought a PHEV which has since been discontinued, but only after being loaned a PHEV - which despite being "uncharged" and cold got me back home at precisely half the fuel consumption (42mpg) than my journey to them at 21mpg. I could never get my MHEV to even reach 40mpg... EVER

The Sportage issue is that the MHEV and pure petrol have PPF issues, with cars getting "blocked" PPF warnings every 2-3 months, and Kia not acknowledging the issue. Fuel consumption on these variants is late 20's at best, and Kia have removed them from the range for the 2026 Facelift version

 

[GaryB]

My previous car was an XC40, and I found the fuel consumption very disappointing. I wish I had bought a PHEV which has since been discontinued, but only after being loaned a PHEV - which despite being "uncharged" and cold got me back home at precisely half the fuel consumption (42mpg) than my journey to them at 21mpg. I could never get my MHEV to even reach 40mpg... EVER

The Sportage issue is that the MHEV and pure petrol have PPF issues, with cars getting "blocked" PPF warnings every 2-3 months, and Kia not acknowledging the issue. Fuel consumption on these variants is late 20's at best, and Kia have removed them from the range for the 2026 Facelift version

Mine was the V90 mild hybrid and I got around 48mpg on average and around 23mpg towing the caravan. I switched away from Volvo due to various reliability issues. That's disappointing with Kia as I always viewed them as something to consider in the future.

 

[otherclive]

Mine was the V90 mild hybrid and I got around 48mpg on average and around 23mpg towing the caravan. I switched away from Volvo due to various reliability issues. That's disappointing with Kia as I always viewed them as something to consider in the future.

Kia seem to be down a bit in reliabilty and customer satisfaction surveys. At one time my Rio, Xceed and Forester all occupied the top three spots simultaneously. I’ve just resolved the Rios second (minor) fault in nine years 😁

 

[Guzzilazz]

My experience with the Sportage (which is an HEV) is brilliant, better than Volvo which in 2.5 years had 3 major faults, and one still wasn't fixed when I got rid (creaking suspension on going to full lock). The other two faults required rescue and home recovery. The XC40 was a petrol mild hybrid.

 

[GaryB]

The XC40 was a petrol mild hybrid.

Same with my V90. A mate had the V60 diesel mild hybrid and the economy was fantastic but he also suffered similar (software/electrical) issues as did I.

 

[Beachball]

My experience with the Sportage (which is an HEV) is brilliant, better than Volvo which in 2.5 years had 3 major faults, and one still wasn't fixed when I got rid (creaking suspension on going to full lock). The other two faults required rescue and home recovery. The XC40 was a petrol mild hybrid.

A friend at our seasonal site had a Sportage (Hev) for his caravan he said , it was a fantastic towed car

 

[trevormonty]

Bottom end torque of small turbo engines eg sportage 1.6T make them great tow vehicles. My Vitara 1.4T did better job towing power wise than CX5 2.5.
The plus side of going to a PHEV is you can power caravan from it if it has AC outlet. Also battery will help on big hills if you make sure its fully charged before hand.

 

[GaryB]

The plus side of going to a PHEV is you can power caravan from it if it has AC outlet. Also battery will help on big hills if you make sure its fully charged before hand.

I saw that on a YouTube video where the guy plugged his caravan into an EV when on a CL. Has anyone ever seen one of the adaptors for sale?

 

[otherclive]

I saw that on a YouTube video where the guy plugged his caravan into an EV when on a CL. Has anyone ever seen one of the adaptors for sale?

Adaptors are available for cars with V2L. Bottom of link shows a range of others for different car makes.

Vehicle To Load V2L adapter for Renault - Electric-Star

Power your 230V devices from your Renault electric car Up to 3,5kW For Renault vehicles having the V2L (Vehicle to Load) option V2L-Renault Designed & manufactured in EU

electric-star.com

This video might help.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ot0vUGmrAys&t=25s&pp=2AEZkAIB

 

[GaryB]

Thanks Clive, it was Andrew Ditton's video I saw, just couldn't find the adaptors anywhere. Looking at the adaptor (briefly, I'll have a proper look later) it appears that the vehicle has to be capable of being used as a power supply rather than just plugging into any EV/PHEV.

 

[otherclive]

Thanks Clive, it was Andrew Ditton's video I saw, just couldn't find the adaptors anywhere. Looking at the adaptor (briefly, I'll have a proper look later) it appears that the vehicle has to be capable of being used as a power supply rather than just plugging into any EV/PHEV.

Yes Gary, it has to have V2L installed, but as more arrive on the market I suspect many will eventually have it fitted.

 

[trevormonty]

AI result for Outlander & Eclipse PHEVs. Which have 20kwhr battery.

• 1500W Power Supply: Equipped with two 220-240V outlets (usually one in the rear cabin and one in the boot), it can power household appliances, camping equipment, or tools.
• Vehicle-to-Home (V2H): Using the CHAdeMO DC fast-charge port, the Outlander can power a home during outages or to mitigate peak electricity tariffs when connected to a compatible bi-directional charger.