CX-60 Towing Mode and Charge Question

K

kiwi_matt

Hi team. I have a new CX-60 PHEV in New Zealand that came off the boat in late November. Only 600km and I haven’t experienced the issues others list so hopefully quite a few updates have been made to the latest models. I will post my experience after more kms on the clock.

I have a question about the towing mode that I haven’t used yet. I am going to be towing a 2000kg trailer in a few weeks time and there are some long hills on the route. I assume the car will really need both the electric motor and the engine operating when going uphill. Does the towing mode automatically place the car in charge mode and keep the battery topped up for hills or should I be putting it in charge mode and towing mode together?

Thanks heaps.
 
Hi Matt. The car always maintains enough battery charge to assist maximum power requirements. The charge mode is meant for situations like: a long route ending with entering a city where you don't want to (or are legally required not to) use the internal combustion engine.

Having said which I have never used towing mode, so I don't know if after a prolonged max or near-max power requirement the battery wouldn't get depleted. But I seriously doubt it, assuming everything is fine with your car. Even in a hilly area there are sections where you don't need full power and then the battery immediately starts charging again, from the engine or regenerative braking.

Good luck and drive carefully with that 2t load behind :)
 
Hi all. I thought I would post my towing experience for others that find this forum. I was pulling a 2000kg boat about 350km each way. This is on New Zealand roads that are not flash - very windy and hilly in sections.

Overall I was really impressed with the car as a tow vehicle. My previous car was a Mitsi Pajero Sport so a serious tow car and I thought I would notice the step down but I didn’t. The CX-60 was sure footed and had plenty of power - the advantage of the two engines.

I tried just using towing mode on the way there but I completely ran out of charge on a hill and then didn’t build any through regenerative braking before the next so about 3/4 through the trip I used the charge mode. On the way back I had the charge button enabled the whole time and that made a big difference. I wasn’t able to recharge my car at my destination so it started low and never got over about 40% mostly hovering in the 20% zone (the charging mode seems very slow).

My previous diesel used to do about 15L/100km on this trip there and a little less back (more down hills). A lot for a diesel - a combo of not a particularly efficient engine, big cumbersome boat and windy hilly roads. I was dreading what a petrol engine would achieve… Surprisingly it was essentially the same. 15L/100km there and 14L/100km back even with the charge mode on.

Hopefully all that info is helpful for others!
 
Hi @kiwi_matt,

I am looking at buying a CX-60 and the big unknown was whether I could tow my boat, so I was greatly encouraged to read your post. You mention that your boat rig is about 2000kg and I am wondering how that compares to my set up.

I have a 19' fiberglass half cabin (Alison Angler) with a 150 motor and a dual axle, galvanised steel, trailer. When we go away and are generally pretty loaded up with camping gear, fuel and water, plus all the water toys!

The plate says 950 kg for the boat, the motor is estimated to be around 180 kg and the trailer is about 500kg. (200 litres fuel/oil, 100 litres water plus another 100-150 kg of gear/ food etc) we are probably adding another 400-450 kg making the total loaded weight of boat and trailer around the 2000/ 2100kg mark.

I am kind of guessing with the weights above and it somehow feels heavier than what I have listed above. Is this comparable to your 2000kg boat and trailer setup?

None of the Mazda dealers have tow bars installed on their demo models so I and would be taking a bit of a punt buying one so would really appreciate your input.

Cheers, David

P.S. - Go the Wobbalys!!
 
Aussie Dave said:
Hi @kiwi_matt,

I am looking at buying a CX-60 and the big unknown was whether I could tow my boat, so I was greatly encouraged to read your post. You mention that your boat rig is about 2000kg and I am wondering how that compares to my set up.

I have a 19' fiberglass half cabin (Alison Angler) with a 150 motor and a dual axle, galvanised steel, trailer. When we go away and are generally pretty loaded up with camping gear, fuel and water, plus all the water toys!

The plate says 950 kg for the boat, the motor is estimated to be around 180 kg and the trailer is about 500kg. (200 litres fuel/oil, 100 litres water plus another 100-150 kg of gear/ food etc) we are probably adding another 400-450 kg making the total loaded weight of boat and trailer around the 2000/ 2100kg mark.

I am kind of guessing with the weights above and it somehow feels heavier than what I have listed above. Is this comparable to your 2000kg boat and trailer setup?

None of the Mazda dealers have tow bars installed on their demo models so I and would be taking a bit of a punt buying one so would really appreciate your input.

Cheers, David

P.S. - Go the Wobbalys!!
Click to expand...

Hey Dave,

Honestly this has been one of the biggest positives of the car for me. It was always going to be a compromise in this price bracket wanting a 2.5 tonne tower that could commute electric. I was going from a diesel Mitsi Pajero Sport (built on Mitsi Triton chassis) which is a big tow car but was sick of having a big lumbering car around town that felt like a truck. I wanted a car-like drive, a decent tow capability, electric commute and reasonable price point - oh and lots of the safety and comfort features on offer... Thought I was dreaming until I found the CX-60. Have had the odd glitchy thing with the car and had to have the gearbox software updated but I don’t feel I have compromised in any way with towing ability.

From a quick read I think my boat would be similar when loaded. It is 21ft fibreglass cubby cabin (Figlass Warrior) with stainless rocket launcher, 175hp v6 Mercury and a dual axle trailer. I load it up for big holidays but I don’t do all the fuel and water that you do so that might make the weights similar.

We have some fairly steep stretches of highway and the car keeps cruising (usually accelerating) up them - the 2L petrol might roar a bit on these big hills but it does the job. I think it does better on these than the Pajero Sport which makes sense as the PS max torque was 430nm and this beast is 500! If you have hilly stretches definitely leave the charge button activated to ensure you have plenty of battery for the electric motor to boost the petrol. Fuel consumption towing similar too despite diesel usually winning for towing.

Two things to watch - the towball doesn’t have as much allowable weight as other big tow cars (max 150kg). I bought a device to measure my boat and it was fine (120kg) - the dual axle helps and you will want to balance the weight when you load her. The other is to deactivate the auto tailgate before hooking it up! Almost had the tailgate open into the anchor….

Hope that helps,
Matt
 
Thanks Matt,

I am just about to put my signature on the purchase documents, so you have taken a great weight off my mind. It seems our boats/rigs are reasonably similar. I checked out your Warrior and it looks a very tidy boat!

Like you, I am also changing from a larger tow vehicle (Toyota Landcruiser) and thought that a smaller vehicle that is not huge on the road, drives like a car and is electric but could still tow would be like finding a unicorn.

Thanks for the tip about the towball weight and the tailgate deactivation. I will check the towball weight but feel it should be manageable. I can half lift it when I need to, but as the trailer is slightly larger than the boat requires there is plenty of capacity to move it around to adjust the weight loading. Moving it further back may also move the tailgate out of harm's way.

Thanks again for your advice. I will post something on here when I take my boat for a ride and let you know how I get on.

Cheers,

David
 
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