@rosie54 As mentioned by another poster, we moved in the summer from a 2021 BMW X1 2.0i xLine 4WD to the new facelifted Hyundai Tucson Ultimate PHEV.
We loved the X1. It was better in almost every respect to the VW Tiguan’s that we’d had through Motability before. I’ve owned, or had as company cars, many BMWs over the years (3, 5 and 7 series) and driven well over 50 of them, so I fully understand all the reasons why you are anxious about moving away. As a point of interest, over 3 years and 26,000 miles I averaged 42.2mpg in our X1, but we don’t live in a city! BMW is, and remains, my favourite mainstream brand, but nothing BMW wise available through the Motability scheme remotely appealed. The i4 looks gorgeous but was too cramped and impractical, as was the iX2. Besides, like you we didn’t want a full BEV, even though we could charge at home. We value convenience over costs, which it sounds like you do too.
I might have been tempted to wait to see if the petrol or PHEV X1 would join the scheme but, having had 3 different 24 hour test drives in 3 different iX1s, I knew that what had always been universally regarded as the industries best infotainment system has now become too complicated to use on the move, with the rotary dial (and, from memory, the excellent favourite buttons) having gone. It’s also not as intuitive as it was previously.
We didn’t set out wanting a Tucson, but ended up there having eliminated everything else for varying reasons. We discounted the following;
New VW Tiguan – quality has taken a step down from the previous generation model, much previously standard kit is now very expensive options and neither of us liked the interior.
Ford Kuga – build quality the worst of everything we looked at. The door cards were unbelievably cheap and nasty and the whole interior felt very low rent.
Volvo XC40 – build quality not too far behind the BMW but it now feels a very dated car. The infotainment system is an odd shape, too small by today’s standards and is all touchscreen. Standard equipment not great either. Boot very small (this alone could have ruled it out for us as my wife has a wheelchair). Petrol engines woefully behind the market when it comes to fuel economy.
Subaru Forester – A good size but dreadful in all other respects. Performance and economy both poor. Tech is from yesteryear and the rear seats were the worst I’ve ever sat in. Truly awful.
Mazda CX-60 – This was a close second to the Tucson. Interior quality good and standard kit good also, but the AP was way too expensive (especially when the option packs were no longer included) and there were some consistent shortcomings highlighted in several reviews I’d watched.
We looked at and discounted some others, but they’ve slipped my mind for now.
The Tucson was the last car we looked at as whilst I’m familiar with the brand (having bought a few i20s for one of my daughters and my mate has had a string of Santa Fe’s) I didn’t see them as being for me. I’m also not too keen on the exterior styling of the Tucson. However, the recent facelift, which has transformed the interior, was a game changer. Of every car that we’d looked at, the new Hyundai infotainment system was streets ahead of all of them, especially in terms of functionality and intuitiveness.
The boot of the Tucson (even in PHEV form) is bigger than the X1 and swallows my wife’s wheelchair with ease. We were torn between the N Line S (which has better exterior styling) and the Ultimate (which has more standard kit) but in the end went for the latter as the N Line S felt a bit of a step down from the BMW (interior wise) whereas the Ultimate, especially with the Moss Grey (cream) leather interior is every bit as good quality as the Oyster and black interior we had on the X1.
Equipment wise, all the included kit (e.g. adaptive matrix headlights, adaptive cruise control, head-up display, infotainment etc) all works as well as the BMW equivalent systems (whereas the VW systems didn’t). The level of standard kit is eye watering. It wants for nothing.
My biggest fear was that it would feel like a step down from the BMW but frankly it doesn’t. We went for the 4WD PHEV and the jury is still out a bit for me as to whether a PHEV is for us. I convert my running costs into true mpg equivalent (very few PHEV drivers on this forum do this, and they quote the mpg as stated in the car, which is wildly overstated as it doesn’t allow for charging costs), so I’m averaging the equivalent of about 48.5 mpg (not the 80 mpg that the cars computer states). As to whether a PHEV is right for you depends on several things, most notably if you can charge easily at home and also what proportion of your journeys are within the EV range of the car. As with all PHEVs, they are heavy cars (due to the battery) with relatively small petrol engines, so aren’t very fuel efficient unless the battery is charged. On short trips (within the EV range) it’s very cheap to run, but on longer journeys (where it’s running on petrol or self charging hybrid mode) it’s thirstier than my X1 was. The transition between EV mode and petrol is seamless and you can only tell by noticing that the rev counter has started to give a reading. However, once revs get over 2500 rpm the engine isnt as refined as the engine in your BMW. I still maintain that BMW achieve the perfect blend of performance, economy and refinement that no other mainstream manufacturer matches.
Even though I charge inside my garage (so don’t have the elements to contend with) it’s still more hassle than a 5 minute petrol stop once every 3 or 4 weeks, so if I could wave a magic wand and swap the PHEV engine in the Tucson for the 2.0i petrol BMW engine I would. I’d happily sacrifice the running cost savings for the convenience.
As well as far better standard equipment and it being a bigger car, the Tucson also scores over the X1 in that it is quieter when it comes to road noise. The Tucson suspension is OK but not quite as compliant as the setup on the BMW X1 xLine.
So, if you want a car that won’t feel like a step down from the X1 then the Tucson Ultimate might be worth a look. If most of your journeys are under 40 miles round trips then the PHEV could be an option, but only if you can charge at home and are prepared to do so after every journey.
P.S. Unless you live near London, I wouldn’t worry too much about the comment above about low emission zones if you end up sticking with petrol. We live near one and they tend to only affect quite old cars. Most modern petrol cars are OK and besides if you have a Motability car it is road tax exempt and therefore may also be exempt from any potential charges. We never once had to pay any charges in our petrol X1 and were even exempt from things like the Dartford Crossing.