Some electric cars can tow with a bit of forward planning. We’ve listed some of the best electric cars for towing and their towing capacities
If you’re after a tow car that doesn’t produce any exhaust emissions whatsoever, it’s a good time to buy – lots more electric cars with high towing capacities have come on to the market recently.
You’re not spoiled for choice if you have seriously deep pockets, with the Volvo EX90, Polestar 3 and Lotus Eletre SUVs all being able to tow around 2,200kg. We’ve listed some cars below that are a little bit more attainable – although, as electric cars being able to tow are still fairly new, you won’t find many truly inexpensive cars on this list.
Why can’t many electric cars tow?
With electric cars serving up all their power instantly, you’d think they’d be ideally suited to towing a large trailer. And some are, but many electric cars aren’t rated to tow at all. There are several reasons:
- Adding a heavy trailer may risk overwhelming the powertrain and brakes
- Electric cars are heavier than petrol ones, reducing the maximum permitted gross weight of a car and trailer
- Some carmakers don’t want to increase ‘range anxiety’ for EV drivers
Even if an electric car can tow, its range will drastically decrease with a big load on the back. While it varies from car to car, you can expect an EV’s range when towing to be roughly half of its normal quoted range.
It’s also worth noting that many of these cars will need a towbar fitted as part of a factory order – you may not be able to have them fitted retrospectively.
Can you tow a caravan with an electric car?
Want to rock up to your campsite without disturbing your neighbours? Plenty of electric cars can tow a caravan – you just need to work out the weight of your caravan to see which cars fit the bill. If you have a small-to-medium-sized caravan, you can get away with an EV that has a 1,500kg towing capacity. If it’s a larger ‘van, you’ll be a lot more limited as to which cars are suitable.
Some electric cars are particularly suited to caravanning in a way you might not have thought of. High-tech models like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 offer bi-directional charging, which means you can power electrical appliances from the car’s battery. Perfect if you want to go off-grid (but perhaps not too far from a public charger).
Best electric cars for towing 2024
Kia EV9
Towing capacity: 2,500kg
Many carmakers say they’re pushing upmarket. Well, Kia has the mouth and the trousers. The Kia EV9 is the Korean brand’s flagship electric car and it’s priced to take on high-end EVs from Audi, BMW and Mercedes. Pictures don’t lie: the EV9 is enormous, and that enables seven comfortable seats – or six luxurious ones.
If its mansion-rivalling interior space isn’t enough, you can hook up a large caravan to the EV9 and it won’t break a sweat. You’ll need the dual-motor all-wheel-drive EV9 for towing duties, which offers a 313-mile range without anything hooked to the towbar.
Read our Kia EV9 review.
BMW iX
Towing capacity: 2,500kg
Behind its awkward styling is a seriously impressive EV. The BMW iX has a next-generation interior with a brand-new infotainment system, plus deft handling, serious amounts of space and, as you’d expect, serious power.
That power is able to get the iX up to speed very quickly, and it’s also enough to enable a chunky 2,500kg towing capacity. So whether that’s a car trailer, caravan or horsebox, the BMW iX has the power to pull it all.
Porsche Macan
Towing capacity: 2,000kg
The new, fully electric Porsche Macan has only just launched, but the bare stats are enough to get us in a bit of a tizz. Up to 639hp in the Turbo version, or up to 350 miles of range in the standard car, and a two-tonne towing capacity for both.
And with 800V charging wizardry, the new Macan can claw back 80% of its charge in around 20 minutes. So your caravan adventures don’t have to involve waiting at a gloomy motorway service station for hours!
Mercedes EQC
Towing capacity: 1,800kg
Comfort, refinement and tech are the order of the day in the Mercedes EQC. For towing a horsebox, say, that’s ideal. You’re not going to be chasing 0-62mph times with Trigger in the trailer, are you? It’s an assured, stable (pardon the pun) tow car, one that’s undramatic but still very capable of whooshing you up to speed at a canter.
Its 110kW charging capacity is plenty fast enough – recharging to 80% takes around 40 minutes, which is just the right amount of time for a TV episode or a slap-up meal in a motorway service station.
Audi Q8 e-tron
Towing capacity: 1,800kg
Previously just called the ‘e-tron’, the Audi Q8 e-tron now has the badge respect it deserves. This is a flagship car that’s Audi’s mission of intent – everything it knows about electric cars. There’s a fast SQ8 e-tron plus two normal models, called the 50 and 55 – the latter boasting a bigger battery and a more powerful motor.
The 55 is the one we’d pick for towing duties. Its more potent power output – 408hp vs the 50’s 340hp – gives it even more oomph and, crucially, it comes with a bigger battery too. And that means more range – 333 miles without a Bailey Unicorn Champagne in tow. Q8 e-trons also get faster charging than ‘lesser’ e-trons, and the 55’s 170kW charging capacity sees battery state restored to 80% in just half an hour.
Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin Motor
Towing capacity: 1,800kg
It might look small but the electric Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin Motor packs a powerful punch. Under your right foot is 408hp and a sub-five-second 0-62mph time, which doesn’t sound very Volvo-like at all!
However, with a towing capacity of 1,800kg, the XC40 can tow a mid-size trailer with ease. And there’s plenty of storage inside for a well-thumbed copy of Practical Caravan magazine. So, don’t worry, it’s still very sensible and will still be welcomed into a boggy field next to a rural pub.
Mercedes EQA
Towing capacity: 1,800kg
Just like the bigger Mercedes EQC, the brand’s smallest electric car will happily tow a car or caravan. You’ll need one of the four-wheel-drive Mercedes EQA models to tow – that’s either the EQA 300 4Matic or the EQA 350 4Matic.
Range is good, with these options managing up to 264 miles between charges. Because it’s based on the Mercedes GLA, rear-seat space in the EQA is also decent enough. Performance is also respectable, even if it doesn’t offer the on-paper figures of the other cars on this list. But you might have to pack light – the EQA’s 340-litre boot is a little less than what you get in the A-Class hatch.
Hyundai Ioniq 5
Towing capacity: 1,600kg
Few carmakers would be brave enough to put the retrofuturistic Ioniq 5 into production, so hats off Hyundai. It’s been around a little while now but, whenever one drives by, it still forces your brain to tell your eyes to look at it and your mouth to open wide.
The Hyundai group has some of the best electric powertrains in the biz right now – the Ioniq 5 is rapid and rangey. The top battery option has a range north of 300 miles so, even with a caravan on the back, there’s plenty of juice to go at least a couple of counties away. Underneath the arcade-game bodywork, the Ioniq 5 shares parts with the sporty Kia EV6 and luxurious Genesis GV60.
BMW i4
Towing capacity: 1,600kg
You’ll have noticed that most of the cars on this list are SUVs, largely because that’s what focus groups tell manufacturers what to build. But a growing number of carmakers are producing sleeker electric cars – slippery styling is good for efficiency and range figures.
Few people can talk about the BMW i4 without mentioning the Tesla Model 3. While the Model 3 might be one of the best-selling EVs, the i4 is more practical – with a taller tailgate and a bigger boot – built to a higher standard and a better tow-mobile.
Tesla Model Y
Towing capacity: 1,600kg
Actually, everything we’ve just said about the i4 applies to the Tesla Model Y, too. In those same respects it’s a better car than the Model 3, and its melted marshmallow styling helps efficiency. We’d probably recommend the Long Range AWD model for towing, as its bigger battery increases range to 331 miles.
What’s more, Tesla’s near-enough painless Supercharger network makes recharging easy – it’s integrated within the car’s infotainment system and can automatically work out where you’ll need to recharge. And, when it knows it’s navigating towards a chargepoint, it’ll precondition the battery to make sure it charges at the highest possible rate.
Other electric cars that can tow:
- Polestar 2 – 1,500kg
- Nissan Ariya e-4orce – 1,500kg
- Ford Mustang Mach-E – 1,500kg
- Audi Q4 e-tron – 1,200kg
- Skoda Enyaq – 1,200kg
- BMW iX1 – 1,200kg
- Volkswagen ID.4 – 1,200kg
- Tesla Model 3 – 1,000kg
- Citroen e-SpaceTourer – 1,000kg
- Renault Megane E-Tech Electric – 900kg
- Kia Niro EV – 750kg
