5 GREAT... AFFORDABLE HYBRIDS

David Motton looks at five great-value hybrid cars capable of towing a variety of caravans

- 

THERE ARE MANY benefits to combining petrol and electric power, but a low purchase price isn’t one of them.

Hybrids are almost always more expensive than cars that simply rely on an internal combustion engine.

You don’t have to pay silly money to own a full hybrid, though. The cars on this list promise good value. As well as a competitive list price, you can expect affordable running costs.

Hybrids sometimes have disappointing towing capacities, so that’s something we've kept an eye on while making our selection here.

These five cars are all affordable to buy and run, and most are capable of towing a full-size caravan.

HYUNDAI TUCSON 1.6T 239PS ADVANCE 2WD

Hyundai has recently increased the towing capacities of several hybrid models as part of its midlife 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 sensibly matched caravan. The 85% match figure of 1443kg now falls within the uprated 1510kg towing capacity.

Wider appeal

If you like the sound of the Tucson but need a 4x4, 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.