@kezo You were lucky to get a granny charger. According to our local dealer, @Ianfca is correct. Hyundai now only supply a charger for use with charging points (type 2?) with the PHEVs now. Bizarrely, their EVs now also come with a granny charger. How daft is that? It seems utterly pointless to charge a PHEV on a public charger (isn’t one of the main attractions of them that you don’t have to?) and charging a BEV on a granny charger would take several days! The sales guy apologised for not thinking that through, but has said he would sort one out for us if we order (along with, hopefully, a set of mats – especially as AP discounts seem to be off the table).
Updates since last post – handed the pre-facelift model back this afternoon. As we couldn’t charge it, we have been running around in Hybrid mode all day, which is clearly the worst mode for mpg. It seems as though ‘Auto’ is the most sensible mode to drive in, as it runs mostly in EV mode but the occasional engine usage keeps the battery going longer and extends it’s range. Unlike many PHEV drivers, I’m not being at all fooled by the stated mpg on the computer. For it to mean anything, you’d have to recalculate it manually, adding in the fuel equivalent cost of charging it – which nobody does as it’s far too complicated! I can’t be bothered to work it out either, but I don’t reckon that the fuel savings will be quite as much as some claim. Having to charge the thing after each use will be a faff compared to the zero maintenance petrol car that we have now, so I need to get my head around whether the saving is big enough to add in the hassle factor.
I took out a brand new facelift PHEV Ultimate for a 10 mile blast. It didn’t seem as quick as the pre-facelift one but, as with the pre facelift model, it was still OK. Not blisteringly quick (like the iX1 30e that I had recently), and certainly not as quick as my current X1 20i, but perfectly adequate. The added weight of these PHEVs is quite noticeable and I can now see why they need to have high PS figures to help counter it.
I’ve now got a facelift Hybrid Ultimate for 24 hours to see how the new tech compares. The sales guy said that although the PS is less than the PHEV, it would feel quicker as it’s lighter. I felt the opposite tbh and the engine noise was more noticeable and felt more strained than in the PHEVs. I’ll drive it more tonight (to test the matrix headlights) and tomorrow but I’m already thinking I’d prefer the PHEV, even if the maths aren’t necessarily in its favour.
The leather seats in the Ultimate feel the same as the alcantara ones in the N Line S (I.e. not great). My shoulder blades seem to be at the top of the seat and it doesn’t feel right. It would be OK for 95% of our journeys, but might be more problematic on longer journeys. A mate of mine has had several Santa Fe’s and I’ve never found the seats comfortable in those either.
If we get a Tucson PHEV I think we’ve settled on the Ultimate. Whilst I prefer the styling of the N Line S I prefer the leather seats and easy access system. The main decider though is that our local dealer has had a Cypress Green Ultimate with Cypress Green interior in for a customer, and my wife loved it (and the Motability entitlement is hers – I’m just the chauffeur 🙄). It looks pretty much grey with just a hint of green and is a shade darker than even the darker of the two greys, so it helps to mask the naff plastic wheel arches and sills. The Cypress Green interior is basically the black leather interior but the dark grey cloth door trim strips and dashboard strips are a sort of lighter grey / green colour. Sounds awful but actually looks really nice and adds a bit of contrast. I still prefer the Moss Grey lighter interior, which I think would be a nice contrast with the dark exterior, but the boss will decide 🙄