Shocking MPG with towing

[Davon]

Hi

Newbie here , thanks for the acceptance.
Can anyone please help or advise on this painful issue .
I have a 2.0 petrol Outlander PHEV, and have just come back from my first trip towing a caravan (1450kg. )It pulled very stable, however -----
with no real headwind , and over 60 miles of general A road , and 30 miles of motorway , my average mpg was 18!!
I kept to 60mph , and in fact it really struggles with very high revs, low power and noise,even on slight inclines ( I wish the engine would power the wheels sooner ) .
Can anyone PLEASE tell me the best mode to drive in , SAVE or CHARGE. ( eco is it worth it ?)

I feel this is not a good tow car .

Thanks

Davon

 

[HHL]

Well, as a car used primarily for towing it would not be my first choice...especially with the small tank. However, I would say that there would not be many petrol SUV's that would do much better as far a fuel usage goes towing 1.5t.

 

[STEVIAN]

i had 26mpg this weekend towing a caravan , i had it switched to charge at %75 soc , the mpg was as i had expected whilst towing.

 

[maby]

Well, as a car used primarily for towing it would not be my first choice...especially with the small tank. However, I would say that there would not be many petrol SUV's that would do much better as far a fuel usage goes towing 1.5t.

Agreed - for serious towing, there is nothing to beat a big petrol V8 or a serious turbo-diesel. I've never tried towing with our PHEV and accept that owners here have reported success, but all seem to report long periods of high engine revs and that scares the hell out of me - I'm from the world of 3.5 litre V8s and multi-litre turbo diesels that you seldom had to take much over 2000 RPM - that's the way I like to hear my engine!

 

[FrancoPHEV]

I have done lots of towing over the past 18 month, frequently with a fully laden but relatively low profile 2m trailer, and I do not find that there is much of an impact on MPG. However, and this is a big one, I have found that the MPG takes a huge hit as soon as I add my roof box. I guess that the same might be true if your trailer sticks up much beyond the PHEV's rood-line.

 

[Albacore]

I used my Phev to tow my 1500kg caravan to Bordeaux last year (and 3 trips to Cornwall). I had to fill up 3 times on the French side - but overall performance was good - a very smooth, relaxed and easy drive. MPG worked out at around 23-24 mpg on the way down, and a bit closer to 20mpg on the way back (different route,driving faster, uphill?!). Try sticking to 55-56mph (speedlimit in France). Way before I got the PHEV, when towing with a diesel Honda CRV, I noticed a considerable difference in fuel efficiency just by dropping 5mph. The Honda incidentally even at these speeds only got 25mpg at best. By the way, I use charge from the start of the journey, and in france even left it running on charge when stopped for a break for 20 mins a couple of times to try and restore some SOC - and that was also included in my mpg results.

 

[Futuresystem]

It's all about wind resistance, so the extra drag of a caravan will mean a big hit to your economy, far more than a low profile trailer. Also at 1450kgs, you're very close to the tow limit of 1.5 tonnes.

Slowing even a little will make a big difference to your fuel economy, but at the end of the day, moving a large SUV with a caravan on the back, is a big ask for a 2 litre petrol motor whether hybrid or not.

Cheers.