Towing Electrics

I'd imagine if you bought the official electrics they would just plug in, maybe with some coding, but I'll bet they're £££....

I'm probably not overly bothered about that - my BMW 520d tow-bar added £12 / month to my lease - but I happily pay that just for the convenience, especially if I have 2 bikes and luggage with me.

If it's a few hundred quid to have a 7/13 pin socket hidden in the boot, that'll be fine.

Of course, this relies on Toyota offering a tow bar on the ES, which they don't at the moment.

(I really like the ES and don't want to be forced into the ageing IS300h or the faux SUV UX250h! - and I absolutely refuse to pay £410 in BIK tax each month for a new 520d or A6 TDI!)

Are you limited to makes or just value and CO2?

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHev has folding seats, is rather comfortable etc, low CO2, we below 100g etc, and there is a good range of models. We?ve had ours around 18 months and love it.

Call towtrust in atherstone ask to speak to Laura Robinson, they are a manufacturer of tow bars 01827 717412 , she will tell you what's available and will point you to an installer if you need one

We have a limited choice of brands - mainly what's seen as 'premium' to our customer base...

Audi, BMW, Lexus, VW and Volvo.

(Merc and Jag were withdrawn due to CO2 issues whilst VW and Volvo were int roduced as they promised a whole range of PHEVs which have not, so far, mat erialised!)

First world problems! Slightly surprised the Outlander PHEV doesn't cut it as premium, I'd rate them higher than VW and Volvo.

our customer base...

introduced as they promised a whole range of PHEVs which have not, so far, materialised!)

I'd not say Mitsubishi were perceived as 'premium' - and they're very budge t midi system inside. I know a few field engineers running them and they ca n't wait to see the back of them.

to our customer base...

re introduced as they promised a whole range of PHEVs which have not, so fa r, materialised!)

get midi system inside. I know a few field engineers running them and they can't wait to see the back of them.

I've just looked at the prices, too! - How much?! Nearly £40k - more t han a 5-series or A6?! That's mad.

Each to their own.

No sensible person pays list price. Try Carwow.

They provide lower list prices for computing the benefit in kind charge on a company car? Wow indeed!

Heh!

Just to get one close to the spec. of a 520d SE or A6 Sport takes you over £40k, with the associated road tax costs which just get added to the monthly lease... with relatively poor residuals, too, it means most fleet managers wouldn't go near one with a barge pole.

So don?t have one.

I suppose someone has to drive these cars from new.

Is there any reason why you don't consider a pickup? Or even buy a car yourself and claim mileage?

I got the impression the tax hit of a company car these days was such the company might just as well add the cost of leasing a car onto your salary and top up with mileage rates?

Pickups blow our CO2 targets out of the water. We may be a big oil company (sorry, supplier of integrated energy solutions), but we have certain social and environmental policies to comply with.

In terms of buying our own cars... as we do over 10k business miles / year, a company car is mandated. Even if it wasn't, I wouldn't fancy running something for 30-35k miles / year on a car allowance - if only for the fact that stuff like punctures, scuffs and scrapes, mechanical issues etc. aren't your problem, one call and you get a hire car and a fix.

See above. One reason we have to have CO cars is that they can control the health and safety - mandatory safety equipment etc.

The trouble is that the continual cocking about with global emissions standards means manufacturers are suspending production and struggling to keep up - hence BMW withdrawing the 330e and 530e last year and VW suspending production of Golf and Passat PHEVs.

New 330e July 2019

Yeah, we're all waiting to see how these come out on monthly lease costs

- current reckoning is that a 'nice' one - ie. the M-Sport, which gets leather rather than vinyl seats, will tip over £40k, which probably means we won't be able to order one, as the ill-advised government 'luxury car tax' adds over £20 / month to the rentals. Although this may be countered by the residuals... however, split fold rear seats are still a paid for option, ffs!

Fitting towbar electrics can be difficult if like my VW passat the car has LED rear light unit controlled by Can-Bus. One of the problems is that the wiring is not thick enough for the current that the normal trailer lights might take.

I bought a towbar and electrics from PFJones, Manachester for about £220 for can-bus electronics. I fitted the parts myself, very much more difficult than on any previous car. I went to PFJones to get the car reprogrammed. They charged £50 and the job took them about 15 minutes. PFjones were very helpful telling me how to do the job. IIRC having a towbar and electrics fitted would have cost £500+ Ordering the car with a folding car would have added more like £1,000 to the price.

I've seen those cars with a bike apparently free standing on the roof, only supported by some contact point where the wheel touches the roof. Don't know how it works, but it look scary, especially on motorways. I'm definitely not tailgaiting one of those.

Have you considered a horizontal roof rack for bikes? Much more elegant (and possibly less draggy?) than the vertical type.