Towing a caravan

[Nic]

Hi, I am intending to buy a Kia Niro PHEV 2022, which is licensed to tow up to a caravan up to 1300kg. Indeed the Camping and Caravanning Club rate it as a good tow car for this weight. However, I assume they will have tested it with a fully charged battery and I am concerned about driving (in hybrid mode) through France and encountering a steep hill, and whether there will be sufficient battery power remaining to lend the necessary torque required at that point.
If anyone has experience of towing a caravan I would be grateful to hear your experience in this respect.
Thanks, Nic

[Slartibartfast]

No experience of towing, (no towbar fitted to mine) but for what its worth... I find that if I drive in HEV mode (as opposed to HEV Auto) the battery stays well charged (at least 90%) at all times, so there is always plenty of battery assist available for steep hills etc. The car thus behaves like a self-charging hybrid, but with the bigger battery capacity. My Niro PHEV (2023 ) usually shows a battery range of about 37miles when fully charged, and this never drops below about 32miles electric range at any point in a journey when in HEV mode. This means that you can go on a long journey across country, and arrive at a city with a no emission zone while still having plenty of battery available.
If, however, you drive in HEV Auto mode, the car tends to use up most of the battery first, and only switches to petrol when the battery is well depleted, and the car does not make up the deficit later in the journey.
But I don't know if the car would behave the same way when towing. For all I know when a towbar is fitted there are additional electronics that sense when towing and alter the car's behaviour.

[Nic]

Thanks that’s very helpful