Finally, there’s the question of range. Couple up a heavy or aerodynamically inefficient load to the back of your battery-powered car and you’re likely to see a dramatic increase in electricity consumption. This is a particular issue for caravan owners, who tend to want to travel far and wide in search of camping locations. As a stark example, in 2020, Audi North America used an E-tron to pull a 1800kg trailer on a 500-mile road trip from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Austin, Texas. Overall, the electrified SUV managed around 100 miles between charges – less than half the car’s 241-mile range when travelling untethered.
Electric cars that can tow
However, while many EVs can’t tow, there are a few that can – and more are hitting showrooms all the time as buyers begin to be slowly weaned off fossil fuels. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s Tesla that leads the way when it comes to electric vehicles that can tow and its gull-winged Model X SUV is able to haul up to 2270kg when using a braked trailer.
Next up in the muscle stakes are the Audi E-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQC SUVs, both of which can pull a braked trailer up to 1800kg and an unbraked load of 750kg. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and closely related Kia EV6 can handle braked weight of up to1,600kg, as can the BMW i4. All versions of the Polestar 2 have a braked limit of 1500kg and 750kg unbraked.
With a limit of 1,200kg its VW’s twin-motor ID4 GTX – thi is the same amount as the identically underpinned Audi Q4 e-tron 55 quattro and flagship Skoda Enyaq iV 80x.
At the bottom of the towing charts are a whole host of cars that have a maximum limit of 750kg, including the BMW iX3, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Jaguar i-Pace, Mercedes EQA, Mercedes EQS and Renault Megane E-Tech. This figure effectively limits them to medium-sized trailers and the smallest caravans.
Other electric vehicles that can tow include Stellantis’s electric MPV trio – the Vauxhall Vivaro e-Life, Citroen e-SpaceTourer and Peugeot e-Traveller – all of which are capable of towing up to a maximum of 1000kg.
This is the same figure that’s achieved by the rear-wheel drive versions of both the VW ID4 and the closely related Skoda Enyaq IV.