I agree with you Glos Guy, I also have a Tucson PHEV and whilst generally happy with the car, its drive modes could be improved. During the winter, say on short journeys to the supermarket and back, it seems reluctant to go into EV mode until it has warmed up the fuel engine. Which is understandable in a way, but it means the journey is almost over before I can take advantage of cheap EV driving.
Yes, I am finding that the engine is idling at around 1100 rpm whilst driving, presumably in order to provide heat in the cabin, which is fair enough. A car isn’t any good IMO if, in order to conserve range or reduce running costs, you have to drive around without the heating on . ‘Local’ journeys for me are around 25 mile round trips, so thankfully the EV mode activates during the journey.