@kezo We certainly preferred the interior over the new Tiguan and facelifted Kuga – significantly in fact. The CX-60 felt a bit more premium, but the tech was a generation behind. I am also mindful that Auto Express have just voted the facelifted Tucson their Car of the Year in the medium SUV class, saying that the changes that have come with the facelift have kept it top of the class for the third or fourth year in a row.
As you say, I’m sure that the running costs will work out less. That’s not a major consideration for us – we place convenience over cost, hence why we don’t want a BEV – but cheaper running costs will help offset the high AP (although, by todays standards with Motability it’s quite reasonable, especially since the £800 drop a few months ago).
I’ve still not attempted to work out what impact the charging cost has on ‘real’ mpg on longer journeys. Off the top of my head, I’m guessing that it reduces the mpg stated in the car by something in the region of 5 to 10 mpg, but if some folk can get 55-60 mpg then if that means 45-50 mpg in real terms then that’s comparable to my BMW, which would be excellent. As you say, as long as longer journeys aren’t more expensive once factoring in charging costs, the local journey savings all add up to a tidy sum, as well as being quieter!
Like you, we don’t like black headlinings in any car, but at least you have a sunroof which you can leave the sunscreen open. Without that they are far too oppressive imho. The hybrid does have acoustic glass (just checked as we still have it) but it’s definitely noisier than the PHEV, presumably because the engine is running far more. It also seems to rev higher than in the PHEV, which makes it even more noticeable. As you have mentioned, the car does hold on to higher revs longer than needed, which isn’t good, but at least the transition from EV to engine is seamless (again, it’s better in the PHEV than the hybrid – not sure why, other than it switches a lot less in the PHEV). Like you, I shall be driving the PHEV in ‘Auto’ mode as, having tried all 3 modes extensively, it’s by far the best economy wise (Question – does it default to that mode every time you start the PHEV? I couldn’t check, as it was forced into hybrid mode once the battery had depleted).
Ive attached some photos of the Cypress Green Ultimate that the dealer had just received. It’s wet in the photo and looks better dry! I’m glad that we are going to be ordering as the lad at the dealership has bent over backwards to help us, with 3 different car loans totalling 48 hours. A really proper test drive and absolutely no short changing with us being Motability customers, so top marks to them.
