[Auto] The range game: how viable are EVs at towing?

[Agent47]

 

 

Until quite recently, you would have struggled to buy an electric car that could tow a caravan, so rare were they.

Forward to today and you’re spoiled for choice of EVs with braked towing capacities ranging from 500kg to 2500kg. Given that the typical single-axle family tourer weighs around 1500kg, you can assume there’s one that can tow it.

But what’s it like to tow with an EV? What effect does towing have on range, and when you run out of power, how do you recharge it with a large caravan attached? To find out, I borrowed a Skoda Enyaq iV 80 and a Bailey Discovery D4-2 tourer and went caravanning.

 

I chose these for their good towing match. What does that mean? Well, the Enyaq has a kerb weight of 2032kg and a braked towing capacity of 1000kg, while the Discovery has a maximum total permissible laden mass (MTPLM) of 995kg. To ensure the towing outfit remains as stable as possible, experts advise against towing a caravan with an MTPLM more than 85% of the car’s kerb weight.

Power and range-wise, the rear-wheel-drive Enyaq looked to be well up to the job, with 201bhp and 229lb ft on tap and a 330-mile range, courtesy of its 82kWh battery, which has 77kWh usable capacity.

To begin, I drove the Enyaq without the caravan from my home to an event at Brooklands – a round trip on a mixture of roads of only 38 miles. The trip computer showed the car had done 3.8 miles per kWh.

 

The following day, I drove to Bailey, based in Bristol, 105 miles away via motorway, to collect the caravan. On arriving at the factory, the trip computer calculated that the Skoda had returned 3.3mpkWh – understandable, given the higher driving speeds.

So, after two quite different journeys, the car had returned an average of 3.6mpkWh, giving it a potential real-world range of 277 miles. Now to hitch a caravan to it…

Thanks to the Discovery D4-2’s relatively light weight and compact dimensions, this bit was a doddle – at least after I had persuaded the Enyaq’s electrically powered tow hitch (a £995 option, including towbar preparation) to descend from its home behind the bumper. Rear numberplate affixed, electrical connections checked, runaway brake cable attached and tow hitch secure, the Enyaq and Discovery were good to go.

 

I had planned a reasonably long return trip of 60 miles – a journey that would take in a bit of busy Bristol, hilly rural roads and a stretch of the M5 to the midpoint destination, Greenacre Place Touring Caravan Park, just off the motorway at Highbridge.

With the gear selector in D/B to give the strongest regenerative braking, I cautiously pressed the accelerator and headed silently through Bailey’s factory gates.

 

However, at the back of my mind was the need to charge the car, a prospect that, given all those horror stories about unreliable chargers, filled me with dread.

I had chosen to charge at Sedgemoor Services on the M5, where I hoped there would be plenty of space to unhitch and park the caravan and a rapid charger that would accept contactless payment.

On the M5, my anxiety abated as the Enyaq settled down to an easy 60mph cruise. However, at this faster speed, its range quickly began to fall. With it predicting 34 miles, compared with 107 miles when I had left Bailey just 26 miles ago, the services at last hove into view.

I debated whether to park in the car area, where the chargers were likely to be but where space for unhitching the caravan would be at a premium, or follow the signs to caravan parking and unhitch there. I did the latter.

 

Link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/range-game-how-viable-are-evs-towing