Cheap EVs that can tow? £10k (ish)

[OutInTheShed]

So, used EV, cheap as possible to tow a modest trailer?

Target audience, dinghy sailors need to tow <350kg trailers, 750kg might be a bonus.
Cost of retrofit towbar matters.

Range while towing not crucial. But good range without a trailer would be valuable.

I've heard various stuff about Konas, some plated for towing, some not.
MG estate maybe? I've heard it's comedy money to retrofit a towbar?

[sawman]

I tow my dinghy with a toyota bz4x - its leased and i ordered it with a hitch, cost me about £10 a month more. We also have a volvo xc40 and i asked about retrofitting to that and they wanted £1k

I looked at kona but it was more expensive on the lease than toyota and i couldnt spec the hitch when ordering. Theres a good deal on tesla m3 at present they will supply with hitch for about £300 a month

Not sure about 10k options….

Edited by sawman on Friday 10th April 20:50

Edited by sawman on Friday 10th April 20:51

Edited by sawman on Friday 10th April 21:13

[ShortBeardy]

Tesla Model S

[Russet Grange]

I've looked into this, and there don't appear to be a great many. Often a tow hitch can be fitted, but only for something like a bike rack.

If the Kona could tow (and I don't believe the EV vesrion can, certainly not the ones around the OP's price bracket) I'd be very interested.

Ioniq 5 will for sure, and I think some e-Niros can.

Tesla M3 and MY have to be factory fit. Not any Model 3s have tow hitches, but plenty of Model Ys do.

Leaf Gen 2 doesn't, which is a shame, as I'm a fan.

[OldGermanHeaps]

ShortBeardy said:

Tesla Model S

Most cant tow at all.
Only 2022 and newer or thereabouts.
Certainly not in 10k budget.

[samoht]

Polestar 2s can tow 1500kg, and are getting towards that price range

Cheapest - £11k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604021...

Cheapest with towbar fitted - £14k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604071...

fitting the official retractable towbar is £1k or so, so not cheap but apparently a good piece of kit. I think you can find cheaper aftermarket options.

[Russet Grange]

Hopping on with a question here. How are people searching on AT for a car with a tow hitch?

I know you can do a keyword search, but "towbar", "tow bar", "tow hitch"... I suspect that many cars equipped with one don't have it in the description, and if they do, it might not have the same wording.

At least Tesla have a checkbox.

[OutInTheShed]

I hadn't realised things like the Polestar had got so cheap.

I had a look at the PF Jones towbar website, it seems a few EVs have towbars for bike racks only.
I've heard that some models are allowed to tow in some countries, the plate on the vehicle says different things according to market, even for LHD cars in different EU countries?
You never really know where you stand until you see that plate.

[Phunk]

Etron, Enyaq, E-Niro, Model 3 and iPace come to mind.

I did a retrofit of a Blink towbar to my Enyaq myself, easy enough job, towbar was around £350 IIRC

This lists every EV that can tow if it helps:

https://ev-database.org/#group=vehicle-group&a...

Edited by Phunk on Saturday 11th April 10:00

[A500leroy]

I know it's not in price range but Renault 5 and Fiat Grande Panda can be spec'd with a towbar.

[tr7v8]

Most of the MG BEVs can tow, my S5 can but you won't get a cheap one. I'd be looking at a PHEV Outlander. My one 2018 was chopped for the MG and I was given 8K for it. It sold retail a couple of weeks later for 9.5K That'd tow 1500kg and given the torque would not notice a trailer. Also 4WD.

[OutInTheShed]

Phunk said:

Etron, Enyaq, E-Niro, Model 3 and iPace come to mind.

I did a retrofit of a Blink towbar to my Enyaq myself, easy enough job, towbar was around £350 IIRC

This lists every EV that can tow if it helps:

https://ev-database.org/#group=vehicle-group&a...

Edited by Phunk on Saturday 11th April 10:00

Why didn't google want me to see that?
Thanks for that.

I've fitted towbars to a few cars over the years.
Nothing with really modern electronics though!

[Phunk]

OutInTheShed said:

Phunk said:

Etron, Enyaq, E-Niro, Model 3 and iPace come to mind.

I did a retrofit of a Blink towbar to my Enyaq myself, easy enough job, towbar was around £350 IIRC

This lists every EV that can tow if it helps:

https://ev-database.org/#group=vehicle-group&a...

Edited by Phunk on Saturday 11th April 10:00

Why didn't google want me to see that?
Thanks for that.

I've fitted towbars to a few cars over the years.
Nothing with really modern electronics though!

To be fair, I had the same fear! I installed the hardware and got the local tow bar place to do the electrics

[Europa Jon]

If the OP has a budget of £10k, they probably couldn't afford any repair bills on their towing EV, so it's better to avoid battery propulsion until more money is available.

[samoht]

Europa Jon said:

If the OP has a budget of £10k, they probably couldn't afford any repair bills on their towing EV, so it's better to avoid battery propulsion until more money is available.

I don't see your logic. If you spend £10k on a diesel towcar and failed DPF regens dilute the oil and it runs its bearings, how is a new engine going to be affordable either?

Anyone buying a £10k towcar will need to have further funds for ongoing maintenance and repairs, whatever car, but in general there's less to go wrong with EVs than most vaguely recent diesels, so the odds are in your favour (unless you buy an I-Pace).

[stevemcs]

Europa Jon said:

If the OP has a budget of £10k, they probably couldn't afford any repair bills on their towing EV, so it's better to avoid battery propulsion until more money is available.

Surely that’s no difference to any other car, you could spend 10k on a vw group auto and be hit with a 3k bill for a gearbox failure, a discovery sport that lunches its turbo and dpf and face 4K, or a 330d that spins its bottom end bearings and lunches its engine …..

In all fairness you probably face a better chance of the ev being more reliable. I’d like to be able to tow with one but would want a genuine 200 mile range and we are not there yet.