RV FEATURE
PICTURE THIS
There are famous pictures taken of 5th Avenue,
New York, during the 1900 Easter Parade showing
it filled with horse-drawn vehicles and a single
car, and another picture taken in 1913 from the
same position showing only cars and one solitary
horse. How quickly the wheel turns!
Now, 120 years on, change is again coming faster
than we think. If the numbers roll as the industry
expects, cheaper, lighter and more range-efficient
PHEVs (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles) and full
EVs (electric vehicles) will be completely feasible
for most recreational purposes within a few years.
Toyota traumatised tradies when it announced
that a HiLux EV could be on sale as early as 2025.
Meanwhile, you could pop into your local Porsche
showroom and drive out now in a Cayenne
E-Hybrid.
PHEVs are the easy, interim step to full EVs
because by selectively operating on either their
internal combustion engine or stored battery
energy, they overcome one of the major barriers
to EVs: range anxiety. The new E-Hybrid Porsche
also bats back two of the other major sticking
points for travellers: towing capability and price.
TOWING CAPACITY
Thanks to a completely new platform, the
Cayenne E-Hybrid now has the same 3500kg
braked towing rating as other Cayennes (and
Toyota Land Cruisers, Land-Rover Discoverys,
Jeep Grand Cherokees and many of the latest
crew cab utes).
Then there’s price. Okay, a local RRP of $135,650
is not exactly cheap, but it’s the second cheapest
Cayenne you can buy, undercutting its twin turbo
V6 Cayenne S sibling by $19,100, and the range-
topping Cayenne Turbo by a whopping $103,400.
But hang about another couple of years, as
Porsche has promised a full EV version of its
smaller entry-level Macan SUV. And because its
platform is shared by other Volkswagen Group
family SUVs, you can expect an even cheaper
Audi and VW EV version.
Whether these smaller SUVs will offer enough
towing ability to haul large trailers is a moot point,
but with ever-lighter caravans, they might be able
to tow the 2500kg that used to be a byword for
‘Prado-friendly’.
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