MG CAR OWNERS FORUM

What are your thoughts on towing with the PHEV? Has anyone measured the P300e's MPG while pulling a small caravan for an extended period of time?

With a maximum weight of 1,200 kg, I use my P300e to tow my Eriba Troll, which is a piece of cake. The electric motor's instant torque and the petrol engine's range make it an ideal towcar, and I get around 30 mpg when I use the petrol engine to tow. Several factors affect the actual value, but the most important are speed and the relative distances driven using the two power sources.

I was surprised to see that my P300e gets approximately 35 mpg on a long run without a caravan, which is typical for the car. However, when I add a (new to me) Swift Basecamp 4 (weighing about 1,100 kg), the gas mileage drops to 18.6 mpg, which is quite low. I was driving at or below 60 mph on highways and in some urban areas over a 120-mile distance. What do you think?

When I'm driving alone, I typically achieve about 40mpg, and when I'm towing on the highway, I typically keep the cruise control set at 56mph. The Basecamp is marginally lighter than the Troll, but the latter is better at towing thanks to its pop-up/drop-down roof. Although my ~30 is significantly higher than your 18.6! Maybe I'm including EV miles in my calculation. Before setting out on a long trip, I make it a point to have a full battery.

I am grateful. Is 40 still available when the EV is depleted? It appears that the majority of people get 35 as well. May I inquire about the distance of a long run? I understand that my Basecamp might not be as aerodynamic as your Eriba, and I was cruising along at 60 mph on cruise control, but 18.6 is really low, as you pointed out. Perhaps the brakes on my caravan are binding. I would be very interested in hearing your results after a long run, when the EV is empty and the mpg counter is reset.

Seems like my mpg numbers are a little higher than average; maybe my speedometer is being too optimistic. To see if it makes a difference, you could tow a vehicle at 56 miles per hour instead of 60 to see how much of an impact speed has on gas mileage.
My caravan is packed away for the winter now so I won’t be able to do any tests myself until April next year. After a towing trip, you would definitely notice the heat (and smell) if the brakes were binding.

A Riba Triton is towed by me. A little pop-top van similar to DavidA's.
Range in SAVE mode is 38–40 mpg on longer, mostly highway runs, and 28–30 mpg on solo trips.
A tall-looking van, the Base Camp will be less aerodynamic—though probably not by enough to notice a drop of 10 mpg, in my opinion.
The wheels would quickly become hot if binding brakes were used. Is it easy to push in a straight line? That should reveal whether the brakes are slightly engaged or if the hand brake isn't releasing completely.