Morning @kezo I knew that the charger would be under the boot floor, so I took the boot floor out to just find a hole where the granny charger should be 😡. There was a bag in the boot with a charger for use with charging stations, which I don’t have (nor is there one even remotely near where I live and, besides, it would be a pointless exercise as it would be far too much time for far too little reward). Thankfully there was plenty of petrol in it. Anyway, you’ve confirmed my thought that there should be a granny charger with the car. Why somebody has removed it I have no idea 🙄
I noticed (before the battery died) that when in ‘Auto’ the car seems to run in EV mode most of the time so I think that, like you, if I get one I shall do that rather than run in EV only. I took the car out for a late run last night to test the headlights (not great but I don’t think they are matrix headlights that the facelift has). The car was in ‘Hybrid’ mode as the battery was depleted and after 20 plus miles the battery had only achieved 1 mile EV only range, but I noticed that it still went into EV mode when slowing and pulling away (as you’ve previously mentioned, the battery still has about 12% even though there’s no EV only range left.
First impressions not bad, even though I’m conscious that, being the pre-facelift model, the interior is dated and the car has a bit more puff than the new one.
Likes – Seamless and quiet transition from EV to engine and vice-versa. Adequate performance when pressed. Road noise a little less than my BMW (the only X1 weak point).
Dislikes – The seat back seems to be pressing on my shoulder blades (I’m 6ft 2), meaning I’m having to have it a little more reclined than I’d like. The seats look the same on the facelift model but I’ll check again on the Ultimate in the showroom later. Doesn’t feel any quicker than my (on paper) less powerful petrol BMW, but I’m guessing that’s due to it being a PHEV and heavier. Sat Nav mapping not as good as I’m used to, nor is functionality. Maybe the facelift is better. Acceleration can feel a bit lethargic, unless pushed when there’s a slight lag before it kicks in. In contrast, my BMW is more instantaneous and responsive.
I’m conscious that this is the pre facelift model so some issues may have improved slightly. I’m going out again in it shortly with my wife. Unfortunately it will be mostly in petrol mode, but the weather isn’t as bad today. It’s certainly in with a chance, but I’ll make my mind up when I’ve had a short drive in the newer PHEV and had another 24 hours in a facelift (non-PHEV model). At present, I feel that I prefer my BMW but, on the basis that we have to change to get the hoist, it’s probably as good as we’ll get on the scheme these days.
Out of interest, we looked at the new Tiguan, facelift Kuga and Mazda CX-60 yesterday. The Kuga was the worst of the 3. Looks OK from the outside but the interior is very cheap and nasty (the door cards are just dreadful). The infotainment isn’t angled towards the driver and there’s no auto hold (which is the one thing that, 3 years on, I still miss on my X1). The new Tiguan doesn’t look as imposing in the flesh as it does in photos & videos. Neither of us liked the interior. Those huge slabs of  piano black with hundreds of ambient lighting coloured dots look dreadful and my wife said that she couldn’t sit looking at that 😂. Interior quality wasn’t a patch on our previous Tiguans, so I agree with what reviewers have said about that. The Tucson interior quality and design was far better than both the Kuga and Tiguan, albeit not BMW level (as you had said). The CX-60 feels like a class up from the Tucson (which it is) but the interior seems a bit dated compared to the facelifted Tucson. I watched a WhatCar? review on it yesterday and they said that the ride and engine noise were both very poor. Hoping that I can iron out the few niggles with the Tucson over the next 24 hours or I’m a bit stuck!