3 IS THE RAV4 HYBRID A GOOD TOW CAR?
with the cheapest fuel in your nearby area, and provide a location map.
You can download the free app, too, so you can check for stops while on the road.
If you’re driving in France, look at www.prix-carburants. gouv.fr. This clever website allows you to search by region for the cheapest fuel.
Finally, do take a look at our Road Sense series, which lists service stations on popular UK touring routes that have space for those in a caravan, and includes details of facilities that you’ll find there. You’ll find this month’s Road Sense, covering the A49, on p42.
QI would like to know your views about the Toyota RAV4 hybrid as a tow car. I am particularly wondering how it compares to the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. I have heard it can be tricky to fit a towbar to the RAV4 because of its CVT gearbox. I am planning to use the car to tow a 2000kg van. Jack Metcalf
David Motton answers…
We hope to do a full test on the RAV4 hybrid soon. We have had no reports of difficulties fitting towbars, and Toyota actually offers towbars that are suitable for the car on its own website.
The RAV4 does have a higher legal towing limit than the Outlander, but we would point out that this is 1650kg, some way short of the 2000kg you were planning. If you follow the 85% rule, you shouldn’t tow anything heavier than 1509kg, which is 85% of the RAV4’S kerbweight of 1775kg.
In contrast, the Outlander has a maximum legal towing limit of 1500kg.
There are other differences between the two cars. The Outlander is a plug-in hybrid, the RAV4 a self-charging hybrid that doesn’t need to be plugged in. That means it will not go as far on electric power alone as the Outlander would.