Ready to purchase an Outlander for towing

[antonvs]

Hi. We are long time Mitsubishi Pajero owners (3 in total) and have have just downsized to a smaller caravan (1300kg ATM) so we can purchase a new Outlander.

In all the research we have done we are finding it hard to decide which would be the best drive chain - Petrol (Gas) or PHEV.

We favour PHEV but haven't been able find if it would be the best choice for towing.

Most of the use of the car would be for local car only driving in a country town with maybe 20 annual 300km return trips to our state capital. Then for towing the van we do several 500km round trips with our van as well as an annual trip of around 2000km.

We would love some advice on whether the PHEV would be the better choice and why. Thanks in advance, Anton

 

[AndyInOz]

It's a good question.

The car is absolutely brilliant zipping around town, and eats up loose surfaces like gravel roads/tracks, sand and snow.

Once you're towing, it become like any ordinary car of its size, except the engine is reasonably small.

I would expect quite poor mileage, especially if you tow at speed.

It's rated to tow 1500 kg when the load has active brakes, and 750 kg for an unbraked load.

The usual recommendation for towing is to keep the battery charging while you drive (Save mode), and specifically select Charge mode in anticipation of pulling a load up a hill.

We do have a member who towed a van around Australia and was happy with the experience.

 

[Phev2016]

I've towed with my 2016 Phev for the last 7 years. Our caravan weighs 1250kg and the car is 'fully loaded' when we tow and that's fine generally but will slow to around 45-50mph on some of the UK's long steep hills (motorways are fine but some of the dual carriageways in Devon and Cornwall are very steep!). Towing at 50-60mph we get around 23mpg (Imperial gallon); long motorway solo journeys at 70mph we get around 40mpg and in general local use it depends entirely on how much you are able to run on battery alone but it is very efficient in town driving, even with no battery charge left. I use the battery for about 50% of my local(ish) journeys as we frequently travel more than 20 miles and the average overall is 51mpg
It will slowly use up the battery when towing on motorways, even on Charge setting (Save setting works too but it only remembers the capacity when you set Save whereas Charge tries to charge whenever it can) but we generally stop after 2-3 hours for a break and add some more to the battery while idling. Emptying the battery is not a big problem when towing but if you then hit a steep hill with no/low charge left it will slow down to about 40mph because it has to generate the power to operate the motors - the engine does not drive the wheels directly at less than about 50mph. The latest Outlander is supposedly better as it reserves more of it's larger battery.
It seems you will be towing around 10,000km each year and I don't know how much of your total usage that is, but assuming a Petrol Outlander averages the same 25mpg towing and probably the same around town, you might not recover the extra cost of a Phev for many years.
Mine has been fine and I would buy another but they are no longer on sale new in the UK. I think I will soon go for a Rav4 Plug-in hybrid instead.

 

[antonvs]

I've towed with my 2016 Phev for the last 7 years. Our caravan weighs 1250kg and the car is 'fully loaded' when we tow and that's fine generally but will slow to around 45-50mph on some of the UK's long steep hills (motorways are fine but some of the dual carriageways in Devon and Cornwall are very steep!). Towing at 50-60mph we get around 23mpg (Imperial gallon); long motorway solo journeys at 70mph we get around 40mpg and in general local use it depends entirely on how much you are able to run on battery alone but it is very efficient in town driving, even with no battery charge left. I use the battery for about 50% of my local(ish) journeys as we frequently travel more than 20 miles and the average overall is 51mpg
It will slowly use up the battery when towing on motorways, even on Charge setting (Save setting works too but it only remembers the capacity when you set Save whereas Charge tries to charge whenever it can) but we generally stop after 2-3 hours for a break and add some more to the battery while idling. Emptying the battery is not a big problem when towing but if you then hit a steep hill with no/low charge left it will slow down to about 40mph because it has to generate the power to operate the motors - the engine does not drive the wheels directly at less than about 50mph. The latest Outlander is supposedly better as it reserves more of it's larger battery.
It seems you will be towing around 10,000km each year and I don't know how much of your total usage that is, but assuming a Petrol Outlander averages the same 25mpg towing and probably the same around town, you might not recover the extra cost of a Phev for many years.
Mine has been fine and I would buy another but they are no longer on sale new in the UK. I think I will soon go for a Rav4 Plug-in hybrid instead.

Thank you so much for your detailed response. We foresee that 80-90% of our annual driving would be either local within all electric range or one to two 150km motorway trips (without towing).
I perceive two distinct benefits of opting for PHEV:
1. For most of our driving we will be gaining the cost benefit (return on envestment)
2. For towing we will have the pulling torque of the full drive chain, albeit with due higher running cost. This aspect is to be expected as it is now with our current rig, a MY16 Pajero Sport. Depending on load we are used to seeing our efficiency drop by 40%. If this is the same with a Outlander PHEV, we are prepared for it.

 

[littlescrote]

Good summary from Phev2016 but I would also add that the PHEV manoeuvrability is so much better than an ICE at campsite speeds, and nice to be able to hook up and glide away silently at any time of day or not. Not only that, but the remote control of the climate control system that you get with a PHEV is a nice bonus, as well of course as the ability to provide electrical power (depending on fitted equipment).

 

[Phev2016]

Good summary from Phev2016 but I would also add that the PHEV manoeuvrability is so much better than an ICE at campsite speeds, and nice to be able to hook up and glide away silently at any time of day or not. Not only that, but the remote control of the climate control system that you get with a PHEV is a nice bonus, as well of course as the ability to provide electrical power (depending on fitted equipment).

Excellent point regarding on site manoeuvrability. It's easy to quietly move tiny amounts very slowly (aligning tow hook), on sloping ground or very steep hill starts with no burnt out clutch or complaining auto gearbox.

 

[antonvs]

It's a good question.

The car is absolutely brilliant zipping around town, and eats up loose surfaces like gravel roads/tracks, sand and snow.

Once you're towing, it become like any ordinary car of its size, except the engine is reasonably small.

I would expect quite poor mileage, especially if you tow at speed.

It's rated to tow 1500 kg when the load has active brakes, and 750 kg for an unbraked load.

The usual recommendation for towing is to keep the battery charging while you drive (Save mode), and specifically select Charge mode in anticipation of pulling a load up a hill.

We do have a member who towed a van around Australia and was happy with the experience.

.......We do have a member who towed a van around Australia and was happy with the experience.
Thanks for your help Andy. I wonder if you know the link to his post or what channel it was in?

 

[AndyInOz]

.......We do have a member who towed a van around Australia and was happy with the experience.
Thanks for your help Andy. I wonder if you know the link to his post or what channel it was in?

Sorry, I've had a dig in Search but have not been able to find them.

I can remember them saying something like: "80% of our travels were in featureless grey in the SATNAV" hopefully other members will remember who it was.