Towing with a hybrid

[Apis]

My mum is considering changing her petrol Yaris for a hybrid Yaris. She told me a saleman mentioned in passing that you can't tow a trailer with a hybrid.
Not that it matters to her at all as she doesn't tow anything, but is this true for any hybrid?
Sounds a bit mmm, really?

 

[stevieturbo]

My mum is considering changing her petrol Yaris for a hybrid Yaris. She told me a saleman mentioned in passing that you can't tow a trailer with a hybrid.
Not that it matters to her at all as she doesn't tow anything, but is this true for any hybrid?
Sounds a bit mmm, really?

Manufacturers certify some cars for towing....but not all. ( and those that do, they'll give weights etc )

So it is a grey area legally. Of course anyone can bolt a towbar to one and tow something, doesnt necessarily mean it would be legal to do so.

 

[Boabybooster]

You can tow with hybrids, it just depends on each make and model same as any car.

 

[Daviddunlop83]

Manufacturers certify some cars for towing....but not all. ( and those that do, they'll give weights etc )

So it is a grey area legally. Of course anyone can bolt a towbar to one and tow something, doesnt necessarily mean it would be legal to do so.

I don't think you can tow with a ford Mondeo ST 220 v6 legally.

I think it's purely down to the fact ford didn't want people towing with their flag ship model as obv the car is more than capable

 

[Big Pimp]

Some hybrids are zero rated for towing.

It'll be in the gross train stamp on the vehicle

 

[stevieturbo]

I don't think you can tow with a ford Mondeo ST 220 v6 legally.

I think it's purely down to the fact ford didn't want people toeing with their flag ship model as obv the car is more than capable

Likewise a Vauxhall Monaro.

it isnt that it is not capable, just that Vauxhall never had them type approved or whatever the nonsense is for to be legal to tow in the UK.

Obviously they're totally legal on oz and towbars are available etc.

I'd say with most hybrids they wouldnt want them towing though, as it would likely give idiot drivers an easy opportunity to overload and **** up any electric drive systems so I'd be surprised if any are legally approved for towing

 

[Apis]

Likewise a Vauxhall Monaro.

it isnt that it is not capable, just that Vauxhall never had them type approved or whatever the nonsense is for to be legal to tow in the UK.

Obviously they're totally legal on oz and towbars are available etc.

I'd say with most hybrids they wouldnt want them towing though, as it would likely give idiot drivers an easy opportunity to overload and **** up any electric drive systems so I'd be surprised if any are legally approved for towing

She said the guy told her it was something to do with the weight of trailer could push the car when slowing down and upsets the drive system in some way. (Bear in mind this is third hand, Chinese whispers)

I did a bit a research out of curiosity and it doesn't seem to be a general rule for hybrids, because a Lexus rx450h gets a good report for towing.

 

[stevieturbo]

She said the guy told her it was something to do with the weight of trailer could push the car when slowing down and upsets the drive system in some way. (Bear in mind this is third hand, Chinese whispers)

I did a bit a research out of curiosity and it doesn't seem to be a general rule for hybrids, because a Lexus rx450h gets a good report for towing.

It isnt a general rule for anything. In order to be legal to tow...the manufacturer needs to have approved it and all that nonsense. Some cars will have it, some wont. Doesnt really matter what fuel they use.

But it's easy to see how a hybrid type car could end up costing dealers a ****load in warranty claims from letting muppets drive some of them !

 

[Sailorbaz]

I wondered this too actually, when I was getting the tow bar fitted to my 5 series, there was a Golf GTE having one fitted at the same time, David Murphy towing I think was the name of the place, 1st class service.