Testing a Kuga PHEV
Jun 26, 2020 15:44:08 GMT
Post by Avant on Jun 26, 2020 15:44:08 GMT
I'd gone on long enough about the Corolla, so let's start again.
The Kuga PHEV sounded like another one for the shortlist, and so it proved. The helpful salesman at Edwards Ford in Salisbury let me have an hour with it on my own - this was enough and I did about 40 miles of good mixed driving.
It was a very new car which had been sittting in the showroom during lockdown: even so the MPG indicator showed 67 mpg when I started and was up to 72 mpg when I'd finished, and I didn't hang about. This is a real benefit, with performance on a par with my 2.0 petrol Q2. I think I'd gain a bit on the long runs up the A303, but a great deal on the many short 8-10-mile round trips wch could all be done on electric power. I'd have to install a wall charger at home, but this would soon pay for itself.
Ride and handling seemed fine, as you'd expect from a Ford. The steering had a rather strange elastic-band feeling to it, but that might have been because of lane-keeping assistance which I couldn't see how to turn off, as there was no handbook in the car.
And, as with the Corolla that I've also tried recently, you can have a space-saver spare wheel as an option. That's an essential for me (unless perhaps the car was on run-flats). And both these cars also have proper separate controls for heating and AC, showing that there are some manufacturers who still listen to their customers.
So the Kuga is a good one to think about, but the rest of the year should be interesting with some more PHEVs in the pipeline: Skoda Octavia, Renault Captur, and BMW X1 and 330e Touring. The last two may come out too expensive if some of the essentials (like lumbar support) are on the options list. That's already the case with the Volvo XC40, and Volvo petrol engines all seem to be distressingly heavy drinkers.
The Kuga PHEV sounded like another one for the shortlist, and so it proved. The helpful salesman at Edwards Ford in Salisbury let me have an hour with it on my own - this was enough and I did about 40 miles of good mixed driving.
It was a very new car which had been sittting in the showroom during lockdown: even so the MPG indicator showed 67 mpg when I started and was up to 72 mpg when I'd finished, and I didn't hang about. This is a real benefit, with performance on a par with my 2.0 petrol Q2. I think I'd gain a bit on the long runs up the A303, but a great deal on the many short 8-10-mile round trips wch could all be done on electric power. I'd have to install a wall charger at home, but this would soon pay for itself.
Ride and handling seemed fine, as you'd expect from a Ford. The steering had a rather strange elastic-band feeling to it, but that might have been because of lane-keeping assistance which I couldn't see how to turn off, as there was no handbook in the car.
And, as with the Corolla that I've also tried recently, you can have a space-saver spare wheel as an option. That's an essential for me (unless perhaps the car was on run-flats). And both these cars also have proper separate controls for heating and AC, showing that there are some manufacturers who still listen to their customers.
So the Kuga is a good one to think about, but the rest of the year should be interesting with some more PHEVs in the pipeline: Skoda Octavia, Renault Captur, and BMW X1 and 330e Touring. The last two may come out too expensive if some of the essentials (like lumbar support) are on the options list. That's already the case with the Volvo XC40, and Volvo petrol engines all seem to be distressingly heavy drinkers.
