Towing with a fully electric tow car comes with challenges. Switching from petrol or diesel to the best hybrid tow car is a much easier transition to make.
By ‘full hybrid’, we mean a car that uses an electric motor and an internal combustion engine to drive the wheels, but does not plug in to recharge.
Not so long ago, many hybrids were hampered by low towing capacities. That is still the case with some – indeed, recent hybrid models from Hyundai and Kia have worse towing capacities than their predecessors. But there are plenty of petrol-electric cars capable of towing well, providing that all-important trait of stability that we look for in the best caravan tow cars.
If you’ve come down on the side of a hybrid in the plug-in hybrid vs hybrid debate, these are the full hybrid tow cars that we would recommend.
Vehicles pictured may not be exact model or year
What is the best hybrid car to tow a caravan?
Nissan X-Trail e-Power 213 e-4orce Tekna 5st
Ford Kuga 2.5 FHEV ST-Line
Kia Niro Hybrid Pure
Hyundai Tucson 1.6T 239PS Advance 2WD
KGM Actyon Hybrid K50
Lexus RX350h Premium
Kia Sportage 1.6 T-GDi HEV (207hp) 2WD ‘3’
Toyota Corolla Touring Sports 2.0 Hybrid Design
The best hybrid tow cars
Nissan X-Trail e-Power 213 e-4orce Tekna 5st
- Price: £45,855
- Kerbweight: 1988kg
- 85% match: 1690kg
- Towing limit: 1800kg
The X-Trail is a hybrid of sorts, but not like the others here. Whereas most hybrids turn the wheels using both sources of power, the Nissan is only ever propelled by electricity. The 1.5-litre petrol engine is there to act as a generator.
It’s an unusual arrangement, but works well when towing. The X-Trail is powerful and responsive. Although the engine can be noisy, it settles into the background once cruising.
One unintended upside of most hybrids for caravanners is that they tend to be heavy – having mechanical and electrical power and hefty batteries makes for high kerbweights. In this specification, the X-Trail weighs just under two tonnes, which contributes to secure and stable towing manners.
The towing capacity varies, depending on whether you choose the five- (1800kg) or seven-seat (1650kg) model. The third row of seats is painfully cramped, so we’d save the extra cost and choose the five-seater. There’s plenty of room up front and in the second row, and lots of storage around the cabin.
If you like the sound of that but not the price, we’ve seen a 17,000-mile 72-reg car priced at under £31,000.
Take a look at our review of a 2023 Tekna, the Nissan X-Trail e-4orce Tekna, a car which we thought was well-designed and thoughtfully built.
Ford Kuga 2.5 FHEV ST-Line
- Price: £38,565
- Kerbweight: 1689kg
- 85% match: 1436kg
- Towing limit: 1600kg
The Kuga is a really excellent hybrid. We’ve seen better than 30mpg while towing a caravan, which is as good or better than we would expect from a similar turbodiesel vehicle.
Despite being a full hybrid rather than a plug-in hybrid tow car, the Kuga FHEV regularly runs on electricity for short distances, contributing to its impressive fuel economy.
Both front- and four-wheel drive versions are available.
Here, we’ve gone for the front-wheel-drive model, because it’s almost £2000 cheaper and will be more fuel efficient, but the 4×4 could be worth the extra cost if you are someone who tows all year round, or who stays regularly on grass pitches.
Either way, the Kuga makes a stable tow car. We would be happy to tow long distances with the Ford, one of the traits which saw us shortlist the Ford Kuga 2.5 FHEV 183PS ST-Line X AWD for the best car for towing a 1500kg caravan category at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025, while the Ford Kuga 2.5 FHEV ST-Line FWD made the shortlist at our 2026 Awards too.
In solo driving, the Kuga is an enjoyable drive, with firm but well-controlled suspension. That said, it’s not going to be as comfortable around town as a Škoda Karoq.
Inside the car, there’s plenty of space, whether you travel in the front or the back. However, the boot is on the small side for an SUV of this size.
The Ford is reasonably priced in this spec, but you could save a lot on the used market.
We’ve seen a 22-reg model with 50,000 miles, advertised for just £18,999.
Full review: Ford Kuga 2.5 FHEV 183PS ST-Line X AWD
Kia Niro Hybrid Pure
- Price: £30,845
- Kerbweight: 1474kg
- 85% match: Above max tow
- Towing limit: 1100kg
The Kia Niro is a hybrid with a relatively low towing capacity. However, with a limit of 1110kg the Kia is still suitable for towing an Eriba Touring 310 or a Freedom Carpento 410.
Choosing ‘Pure’ specification keeps the cost right down, with a list price of under £31,000. Even though it’s the cheapest model in the range, this car is respectably equipped with climate control, a 10.25-inch touch screen and a six-speaker stereo.
With petrol and electric power working together the Niro has a power output of 136hp, enough for dependable performance towing a lightweight caravan.
In solo driving, the Niro is simple to drive, comfortable and quiet. It’s not as much fun to drive as a Seat Ateca but it is very easy to live with.
There’s plenty of space inside whether you are travelling in the front or rear. What’s more, there’s a lot of storage dotted around the cabin.
The seven-year warranty is reassuring and so is the five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP.
Would you prefer to buy used? We’ve seen a 2023 car with 65,000 miles advertised for £14,720. That’s less than half the cost of a brand-new car.
Hyundai Tucson 1.6T 239PS Advance 2WD
- Price: £35,025
- Kerbweight: 1698kg
- 85% match figure: 1443kg
- Maximum towing weight: 1510kg
Hyundai has recently increased the towing capacities of several hybrid models as part of its mid-life updates to the Tucson and the Santa Fe. Of these two tow cars, the five-seat Tucson is the cheaper option. Go for the two-wheel-drive model in the entry-level Advance specification and the price is £35,025 before any discount you can wrangle.
That’s decent value, especially as the updated Tucson has more power than before. There’s 239hp, and with the petrol engine and electric motor working together it should cope with a sensible car/caravan match. The 85% match figure of 1443kg now falls within the uprated 1510kg towing capacity.
If you like the sound of the Tucson but need a 4×4, prices for the four-wheel-drive version start from £42,935 with the same towing limit. We’ve yet to tow with this generation of Tucson, largely because the low towing capacity of pre-facelift cars will have ruled it out for most caravanners. That’s an omission we plan to put right soon.
On the used market, go for a 1.6 CRDi diesel mild hybrid from 2019 and you could pay as little as £11,750 for a car with 60,000 miles on the clock.
KGM Actyon Hybrid K50
- Price: £38,995
- Kerbweight: 1725kg
- 85% match: Above max tow
- Towing limit: 1300kg
KGM is the new name for SsangYong. The Korean SUV specialist has recently introduced hybrid versions of the Actyon and Torres.
We have briefly towed with the new Actyon Hybrid, pulling an unloaded farm trailer rather than a caravan (p69). The KGM coped well – it would have been a surprise if it hadn’t – and we plan to put the car through a sterner test soon.
Although the Actyon is a weighty car and powerful car, the towing limit is a modest 1300kg. Care will be needed to match the Actyon to a full-size caravan – the Bailey Discovery D4-4 and Swift Basecamp 4 would make suitable matches. From the driver’s seat, the Actyon doesn’t ride or handle with the polish of a Volkswagen Tiguan, but then again, the KGM offers range-topping kit for the price of a basic VW.
There’s just one model, the K50, and it comes with a 12.3-inch touchscreen, 20-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control, a rear-view camera, adaptive cruise control, leather and suede upholstery, and heated and ventilated front seats.
Although the Hybrid version is too new to appear on used forecourts, secondhand Actyons are priced from around £27,000 for a 2025 car with 17,000 miles.
Lexus RX350h Premium
- Price: £63,190
- Kerbweight: 2040kg*
- 85% match: 1734kg
- Towing limit: 2000kg
Lexus has been one of the pioneers of hybrid vehicles, offering petrol-electric power long before most rivals.
The RX sits right at the top of the Lexus SUV range, with a choice of full and plug-in hybrid versions. The RX350h is the entry-level full hybrid, or ‘self-charging’ hybrid as Lexus prefers to call it.
We’ve yet to tow with the latest RX, but the two-tonne kerbweight should deliver good stability while pulling a sensibly matched caravan. And what’s more, with a towing capacity of 2000kg, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to tow a tourer weighing 85% of the RX’s kerbweight.
Lexus quotes a 0-62mph time of 7.9 seconds in solo driving. This suggests that the RX350h will have enough punch to accelerate confidently, so long as you’ve been sensible when matching a car to a caravan.
With a price tag of over £60,000, you’d expect luxury from the Lexus. Everything you can see or touch is beautifully finished, and you can be sure quality runs deep. The brand always does well in customer satisfaction and reliability surveys. That makes the RX a very good used buy. We saw a 71-reg RX450h with around 45,000 miles, for £31,150.
*Includes 75kg for driver not included in Lexus’s published kerbweight
Kia Sportage 1.6 T-GDi HEV (207hp) 2WD ‘3’
- Price: £35,595
- Kerbweight: 1649kg
- 85% match: Above max tow
- Towing limit: 1360kg
The Sportage is Kia’s mid-sized SUV. Although the towing figures for the larger Sorento hybrid were cut when the car was last updated, the Sportage hybrid is still able to tow a reasonable choice of tourers.
Yes, a towing capacity of 1360kg is low for an SUV of this size and weight, but it’s enough to pull a Sprite Alpine 4 or a Bailey Discovery D4-4.
With plenty of pulling power from the petrol engine and electric motor, the Sportage will easily tow these vans up to 60mph, the speed limit when towing a caravan. The Kia is also very stable at speed, so long journeys should be pretty much stress-free.
We’ve suggested the two-wheel drive, but there’s a 4×4 car for towing a caravan with the same towing capacity – for a considerable premium.
In everyday driving, the Sportage handles neatly, although the ride is on the firm side. A Seat Ateca is more fun, while a Škoda Karoq is more comfortable. But the interior is spacious, with plenty of storage and lots of thoughtful design touches.
Shop on the used market for a big saving over new. We found an 18,000-mile, 23-reg car with a sticker price of £26,599.
Toyota Corolla Touring Sports 2.0 Hybrid Design
- Price: £35,220
- Kerbweight: 1475kg*
- 85% match: Above max tow
- Towing limit: 750kg
Owing to its very low towing capacity, the Corolla Touring Sports will only make a viable tow car for caravanners with certain types of caravans, such as a micro-caravan or a trailer tent. Something like a Freedom Microlite or a Mink Camper would be ideal.
With a kerbweight of close to 1.5 tonnes and a power output of 196hp, the Toyota will have no trouble towing a suitably light tourer up to speed. In fact, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher that the towing limit has been set so low.
On paper, the Toyota’s fuel economy should be excellent. The official combined figure of 60.1mpg is identical, whether you choose the 2.0-litre model that we’ve selected here or the
less powerful 1.8. We would be surprised if better than 30mpg wasn’t possible while towing, given the vehicle’s low maximum towing figure.
Inside, the Corolla Touring Sports is solidly made and roomy in both front and back.
The boot in the 2.0-litre car has a respectable capacity of 581 litres, slightly down on the 1.8’s 596 litres. The space is nice and square, so it’s easy to make the most of every available litre.
If you’d prefer to shop for a used car, we’ve seen a 23-reg model with just over 40,000 miles, priced at £21,914.
*Includes 75kg for driver not included in Toyota’s published kerbweight
For those who are heading off on tour this summer, don’t miss our caravan towing tips to help you stay safe on the road.
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