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I currently have a Tucson PHEV on 24 hour test and have a few questions for @kezo @JohntheLeg and anyone else who has one.
The car the dealer has given me, whilst brand new, is unfortunately the pre facelift model, so it’s a bit different from what I had researched. They are giving me a facelift one for another 24 hours when I take this one back, but it’s not a PHEV, so my education on PHEVs is right now.
I’ve just been on a decent drive in both EV and Auto (which was mostly EV) and deliberately let the battery run out so that I could then see what it was like on petrol only. All worked fine but I’ve just parked it in the garage with a view to recharging it and the ruddy cable in the car is one that only works in a charging station – not the 3 pin (granny charger) that I expected. This is irritating as tomorrow I wanted to take my wife on our usual ‘local’ journeys on EV mode but now can’t 😡. Two questions;
1) Does the Tucson PHEV come with a charging cable that can be used in a 3 pin plug as standard, or do you have to buy one?
2) There is a third driving mode that I haven’t used yet (Hybrid?), although I think the car may have now been ‘forced’ into it by the battery running out. Is this a mode where the petrol engine charges the battery? If so, if I take it out for a drive tonight (which I intend to do anyway to test the headlights) will I be able to ‘charge’ the battery? Is there a way to do this?
Thanks
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@kezo Quick question, as a break from the budget fallout
A few times lately I’ve been unable to select drive or reverse on the selector stalk. The car is started and P (park) is illuminated. I put my foot on the brake and select reverse and nothing happens. If I select drive a ping happens and a message comes up to say that gear is already selected, but it’s still in park. Today I tried turning the car off and restarting twice and I still couldn’t engage drive or reverse. In the end I locked the car (with me inside) and unlocked and then it worked. Have you experienced this? any thoughts? Thanks.I get that frequently and often think, its because I’m quicker than the car when I start the engine and select D or R too quickly, so like you, my reaction is to restart and try again, but to no avail. Come what is effectively the third attemp, I let the car run till all the lights turn off and again try, perhaps adding a bit more pressure to the brake pedal. Depending where you are it can be fecking embarrassing.
This showed the other day and I’m sure I have had a similar but not identical warning message before – will have to look through photos. It did however, reset on restart and I also get alot of electronic hanbrake warning😂
Glad it’s not me then @kezo I agree it’s ruddy embarrassing if you are manoeuvring in traffic. Like you, I find that I’m quicker than the car, as it takes too long to ‘wake up’. Also, as it starts in EV mode, you don’t have the reassurance that you do with an ICE car that the ruddy thing is actually on as it’s silent. I haven’t had the shifting system error or electronic handbrake warnings (yet), but this inability to put it into drive or reverse with nothing telling me what the car thinks I’m doing wrong is starting to wind me up. As soon as I find a private car that ticks every box for me it’s going back, but I’ve been looking for a while now and nothing has ticked every box yet.
Glad it’s not me then @kezo I agree it’s ruddy embarrassing if you are manoeuvring in traffic. Like you, I find that I’m quicker than the car, as it takes too long to ‘wake up’. Also, as it starts in EV mode, you don’t have the reassurance that you do with an ICE car that the ruddy thing is actually on as it’s silent. I haven’t had the shifting system error or electronic handbrake warnings (yet), but this inability to put it into drive or reverse with nothing telling me what the car thinks I’m doing wrong is starting to wind me up. As soon as I find a private car that ticks every box for me it’s going back, but I’ve been looking for a while now and nothing has ticked every box yet.
If it say’s “Ready”, I assume its all systems go untill it breaks😂
I’m not going to do anything or give it any real thought till after Christmas however, my initial plan was to hand this back and just run the 220, till my inofficial retirement date of 60.
Picked up our Hyundai Tucson Ultimate 2 wd self charging hybrid Serenity white with moss grey interior yesterday. We’re pleased so far, I’ll try to do a review and post some pictures in the new year. As far as I can tell we have blue link pro for 6 months then blue link plus for 2 1/2 years then blue link lite for the next 7 1/2 years giving 10 years in total.
Daughters motability car Hyundai Tucson Ultimate self charging hybrid Serenity White Moss Grey interior.
My car SEAT Ibiza SE Tec 1.2 petrol TSI 2017.Picked up our Hyundai Tucson Ultimate 2 wd self charging hybrid Serenity white with moss grey interior yesterday. We’re pleased so far, I’ll try to do a review and post some pictures in the new year. As far as I can tell we have blue link pro for 6 months then blue link plus for 2 1/2 years then blue link lite for the next 7 1/2 years giving 10 years in total.
Congratulations @Marc I’ll be interested to know what your average mpg turns out to be over time. I had a pre facelift self-charging Tucson for 24 hours and the mpg was worse than my previous BMW 2.0i petrol 4WD X1, which surprised me, but I find having to charge the PHEV after every use a faff so at least you won’t have to do that.
Also I miss having an accurate mpg reading in the car, as the PHEV takes no account of the cost of the miles driven in EV mode (so you have to work out an equivalent mpg figure manually – which I’ve now given up on), so you won’t have that to contend with either as you won’t be paying for the self-generated electric separately, so your stated mpg will be accurate. I hope that you like bings and bongs though, as Hyundai absolutely love them 😂
Picked up our Hyundai Tucson Ultimate 2 wd self charging hybrid Serenity white with moss grey interior yesterday. We’re pleased so far, I’ll try to do a review and post some pictures in the new year. As far as I can tell we have blue link pro for 6 months then blue link plus for 2 1/2 years then blue link lite for the next 7 1/2 years giving 10 years in total.
Congrats enjoy!
Bluelink: Pro 6 months, Plus 3yrs and lite 10yrs
I’ve had my PHEV Sportage since September and I must say that now the temperature is dropping, the engine runs for most of the short journeys. I was expecting the engine to run to heat the cabin, but even with the temperature turn down (or even off), the engine runs. I’m 99% certain this is to get the engine warm. It does make sense – if it stayed in EV mode and I had to floor the accelerator the engine would kick in when it is COMPLETELY cold and very excessive wear would occur.
This has resulted in me learning that PHEVs are not suitable for very short drives, nor very long drives. I’ll be doing a round trip of around 38miles in a few minutes and that is the sort of journey where this set up excels.
This has resulted in me learning that PHEVs are not suitable for very short drives, nor very long drives. I’ll be doing a round trip of around 38miles in a few minutes and that is the sort of journey where this set up excels.
I would agree. Not having to worry about range or recharging on public chargers is a big plus when on longer journeys, but the big negative is that fuel economy plummets once the battery is depleted due to lugging around a very heavy car.
PHEVs were primarily designed with company car drivers in mind, due to the lower benefit in kind taxation they attract (even though many company car drivers never charge them). As you say, the case for them for private motorists is quite narrow. I shall be fascinated to see what happens to the sales of PHEVs (and BEVs for that matter) in 2026, now that the pence per mile charges have been announced.
Facts & figures, being quite a content person in life I usually stupidly ignore them..
However I’ve noticed the MG hs hybrid+ has defo saved a few ££s on fuel, compared to the thirsty XC40..(70plate 2ltr)
Wales to Scotland return a few times, upto 100 mile runs, down to just the usual shop, hospital & appointment type runs in the weather we’ve had since pick up in Nov 2025.
Must say the MG hs going well so far, suspension could be a bit stiffer for moterway and higher speeds..
I’ve had my PHEV Sportage since September and I must say that now the temperature is dropping, the engine runs for most of the short journeys. I was expecting the engine to run to heat the cabin, but even with the temperature turn down (or even off), the engine runs. I’m 99% certain this is to get the engine warm. It does make sense – if it stayed in EV mode and I had to floor the accelerator the engine would kick in when it is COMPLETELY cold and very excessive wear would occur. This has resulted in me learning that PHEVs are not suitable for very short drives, nor very long drives. I’ll be doing a round trip of around 38miles in a few minutes and that is the sort of journey where this set up excels.
There are alot of variables with this particular setup compared to other PHEV’s!
If the engine does start, it will contimue to run, untill it reaches operating temperature for obvious reasons.
If the battery is fully charged, the only way the seystem disengage regen braking to keep from overcharging the battery is to fire up the engine. Also if going down an incline the engine will also fire up at >3,000rpm to help with braking and to prevent the battery overcharging.
Idling too long in EV will cause the engine to start, especially when cold, too much throttle or throttle input when in neutral.
HVAC is also a balancing act.
Also, PHEVs succumb to the same problems with winter/the cold and EV batteries, where they offer reduced range.
I have ASD and thus have difficulty with social and understanding information, written and verbal. I process information in logical blocks, before I reply. Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong.
I also have a corneal visual condition, which makes me visually impaired without daytime, or daytime bulbs, among other disabilities/conditions.Not impressed with the mpg, spent a couple of days at our caravan, a journey from the West Midlands to north Wales with a good mix of urban, motorway, 70mph A roads, 60mph A roads and up and down hills. The car display said 42.6 mpg, I filled the car up before leaving and again on return, 24.17 litres for 216.6 miles, so 216.6 miles divided by 5.32 gallons equals 40.71 mpg so the car display is not faulty as I at first thought it was.
Daughters motability car Hyundai Tucson Ultimate self charging hybrid Serenity White Moss Grey interior.
My car SEAT Ibiza SE Tec 1.2 petrol TSI 2017.I accept that the car is new and needs some miles on the clock and also it’s winter but I don’t drive fast and I was expecting better mpg. We have had the caravan for nine years now so have done the journey in a few different cars, to give some perspective, as follows:-
Seat Leon Estate 1.6 diesel company car 2016 – 2020 around 70mpg.
Seat Ibiza 5 door hatch 1.2 petrol private purchase 2017 – present around 52mpg.
Seat Arona 1.6 diesel motability car 2018 – 2022 around 65mpg.
Toyota Corolla Estate 1.8 petrol self charging hybrid company car 2020 – 2022, handed back on retirement, around 60mpg.
Vauxhall Grandland 1.5 diesel motability car 2022 – 2025 around 60mpg.
Hyundai Tucson 1.6 petrol self charging hybrid motability new car 42.6mpg.
I don’t understand why the Toyota was so much better and I don’t remember it being any worse in the winter. All that said we do like the Hyundai, I’ve not played around with the regen braking so I’m hoping that will help also once the car has done a few miles and possibly warmer weather things may improve.
Daughters motability car Hyundai Tucson Ultimate self charging hybrid Serenity White Moss Grey interior.
My car SEAT Ibiza SE Tec 1.2 petrol TSI 2017.Not impressed with the mpg, spent a couple of days at our caravan, a journey from the West Midlands to north Wales with a good mix of urban, motorway, 70mph A roads, 60mph A roads and up and down hills. The car display said 42.6 mpg, I filled the car up before leaving and again on return, 24.17 litres for 216.6 miles, so 216.6 miles divided by 5.32 gallons equals 40.71 mpg so the car display is not faulty as I at first thought it was.
“Hybrid” to use the term loosly, don’t work well at higher speeds due to the reliance of the ICE, where the engine provides more power and efficiency (if it wasn’t for the weight of PHEV’s) for sustained acceleration.
In Hybrid (HEV mode) the battery is used to assist acceleration and low speed conditions such as in the city. As such hybrid cars are more efficient when driving at lower speed and in stop start conditions, which allow a Hybrid to enter EV mode frequently and if you drove in Hybrid (HEV mode) locally 50mpg would be easy to acheive.
Rather than using all your EV range at 60/70mph, I would switch to HEV on these faster roads and switch to EV on slow speed roads or use the EV range for tootling around town at your caravan and make sure you return home, with no EV range left.
If 70+% of your use is on faster roads, you won’t see the return you were hoping for, as you can see throughout the thread kezo vs @Glos-Guy journeys and economy.
@kezo thanks for the reply, just to clarify it’s a self charging hybrid not a plug in, I don’t think it can be switched from EV to HEV. The car spent a significant amount of time in EV mode at high speed.
Daughters motability car Hyundai Tucson Ultimate self charging hybrid Serenity White Moss Grey interior.
My car SEAT Ibiza SE Tec 1.2 petrol TSI 2017.@kezo thanks for the reply, just to clarify it’s a self charging hybrid not a plug in, I don’t think it can be switched from EV to HEV. The car spent a significant amount of time in EV mode at high speed.
Is it fwd or awd?
@kezo thanks for the reply, just to clarify it’s a self charging hybrid not a plug in, I don’t think it can be switched from EV to HEV. The car spent a significant amount of time in EV mode at high speed.
Is it fwd or awd? https://www.tucsonforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1911
It’s the front 2wd I chose it because it is supposed to be more economical than the awd, it only has eco and sport modes I’ve not tried the sport mode yet. I’m not going to loose any sleep over it as it’s a nice car.
Daughters motability car Hyundai Tucson Ultimate self charging hybrid Serenity White Moss Grey interior.
My car SEAT Ibiza SE Tec 1.2 petrol TSI 2017.@kezo thanks for the reply, just to clarify it’s a self charging hybrid not a plug in, I don’t think it can be switched from EV to HEV. The car spent a significant amount of time in EV mode at high speed.
Is it fwd or awd? https://www.tucsonforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1911
It’s the front 2wd, I chose it because it’s supposed to be more economical than the AWD, it only has eco and sport modes, I’ve not tried the sport mode yet.
Daughters motability car Hyundai Tucson Ultimate self charging hybrid Serenity White Moss Grey interior.
My car SEAT Ibiza SE Tec 1.2 petrol TSI 2017.@kezo thanks for the reply, just to clarify it’s a self charging hybrid not a plug in, I don’t think it can be switched from EV to HEV. The car spent a significant amount of time in EV mode at high speed.
Is it fwd or awd? https://www.tucsonforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1911
It’s the front 2 wheel drive, it only has eco and sport modes, I’ve not tried the sport mode yet, I chose the 2 wd as it’s more economical than the fwd, I dread to think how bad that is 😂. I’m not going to loose any sleep over it though as I like the car.
Daughters motability car Hyundai Tucson Ultimate self charging hybrid Serenity White Moss Grey interior.
My car SEAT Ibiza SE Tec 1.2 petrol TSI 2017.Bit of a posting problem here, but three answers are better than one. 😂
Daughters motability car Hyundai Tucson Ultimate self charging hybrid Serenity White Moss Grey interior.
My car SEAT Ibiza SE Tec 1.2 petrol TSI 2017.A mate had a pre refresh model and would get c.50mpg, so around 45mpg on a motorway run. Though remember, its a breeze block compared to the Corolla 🙂
Not impressed with the mpg, spent a couple of days at our caravan, a journey from the West Midlands to north Wales with a good mix of urban, motorway, 70mph A roads, 60mph A roads and up and down hills. The car display said 42.6 mpg, I filled the car up before leaving and again on return, 24.17 litres for 216.6 miles, so 216.6 miles divided by 5.32 gallons equals 40.71 mpg so the car display is not faulty as I at first thought it was.
I’m sorry to hear about your disappointment @Marc but have to say that I’m not surprised. Hyundai don’t seem to have this hybrid malarkey nailed in the way that some other manufacturers have. As I mentioned some time back, I had a Tucson self charging hybrid on a 24 hour test and was surprised that on regular runs that I make it was delivering worse mpg than our BMW X1 2.0i 4WD Auto, which had no hybrid technology at all (but was incredibly economical for a quick car – and the engine was super smooth and whisper quiet compared to the Hyundai).
I spent the first 6 months manually calculating the MPG on our PHEV. Many PHEV drivers quote the mpg on the dashboard, which is incorrect as it takes no account of the cost of the miles driven in EV mode (an issue that you don’t have with yours). It depressed me as it was so disappointing, especially on longer runs mostly on petrol, so I stopped doing it and have felt better since!
@kezo Having just spent 48 hours driving a new BMW X5, I can confirm that all the incessant bings and bongs that drive both of us demented with our Tucson’s are not down to EU directives, but Hyundai’s interpretation and implementation of them.
The only warning noise that I had was the speed limit warning, and it’s three very quiet and soft gentle tones that frankly, with the radio on even at low volume, were barely audible, so much so that I didn’t bother to mute them as it was so unobtrusive.
Today I’m back in the Tucson and the contrast is stark. Even with the annoying and loud (even on lowest setting) speed limit warning muted, the ruddy thing was still binging at me for reasons that I simply could not fathom. It’s beyond irritating and clearly down to what Hyundai deems to be necessary, but it’s completely put me off getting another, as I have told our supplying dealer.
Given Asian cars are all the same, you could be onto something! Though if I remember to turn off speed limit and LKA mine is pretty quite other than seeing its own shadow ans screaming I’m going to crash, but I don’t use inbuilt navigation. That said I still haven’t used it since it sent me into meltdown and having the shine back on my 220d and its “total”silence.
Anyway back to you and how did the test drive go overall, thoughts on the 50e and overall size of the car?
Morning @kezo My Tucson definitely ‘bings’ at times other than speed warnings and even when the sat nav is not in use. Many of the ‘alerts’ seem to be when the speed limit changes, but others are for no obvious reason whatsoever. There is no accompanying message to help inform the driver what the car is alerting you to, so it just becomes an irritating distraction 🤬 Maybe I need to revisit all the menus and see if I have something enabled that I can turn off?
As, like me, you are looking to leave the Motability scheme and also considering a BMW X5, I’m very happy to share my detailed findings as a result of my 48 hour test drive in the hope that it might be of use to you. I’ll split the feedback into 3 sections. Positives, negatives (for X5s in general) and 50e PHEV specific negatives.
Positives
– Especially in M Sport Pro trim, the car looks good from all angles
– It doesn’t feel like a big car at all when driving it
– All round visibility is superb. High driving position, big glass area and no blind spots
– Usual BMW levels of quality, refinement and driver engagement
– The 489hp 50e is incredibly fast, in fact one of the fastest cars I’ve ever driven (and I’ve driven hundreds)
– Sprint mode is a hoot (hold the paddle for a few seconds and you get a short boost from the mild hybrid battery)
– One irritant of the X5 (the protruding side sills which soil the back of your trousers when getting in or out) can be avoided by dropping the air suspension (std on the 50e) to the lowest setting when you park.
– Speed limit warnings are barely audible (so I left them on), but a simple one steering wheel button press to mute. There are NO other bings or bongs. It was a sheer joy to drive compared to the infuriating nanny state Hyundai.
– Apps in the iDrive can be rearranged (like an iPhone) so your most used ones can be at top
– Servicing requirements are negligible (Oil @ 16k or 2 yrs, Brake Fluid @ 3 yrs, Vehicle Check @ 37k or 4 yrs, Gas Pressure Spring for bonnet? @ 5 yrs). So much so that I don’t think I’d bother buying the 5 year service pack.Negatives (X5 in general)
– Standard Sport Seats were firm on the base & gave me sciatic pain in my left buttock. I’m trying the optional Comfort Seats on the M60i and hope that they will be better. If not, it’s a show stopper.
– Air Suspension was nothing special. Certainly not the magic carpet ride I was expecting. This could be due to the extra weight of the PHEV (one review I watched suggested that it wasn’t as good on the PHEV as the ICE models for this reason)
– The air suspension lowering button on the tailgate (for loading) seemed to be hit and miss in operation.
– Lane change warning & blind spot warnings were also hit & miss. I will check this again on the M60i
– Auto Parking was very aggressive (too quick for comfort). I wouldn’t use it as a result.
– The indicator was very quiet (so much so I inadvertently left it on a few times)
– You definitely realise that it’s a big car when parking in a car park. If we didn’t have a blue badge (so can use wider spaces) I think this would be a show stopper, as it would be a hassle.Negatives (50e Specific)
– It took 12 hours to fully charge and gave me just 48 miles EV range as a result (claimed range 62 miles). The positive was that, unlike the Hyundai, I did get the full 48 EV miles and there was none of the ‘last 10 miles disappearing in 5 miles’ nonsense that I get in the Tucson.
– The fuel computer stated that the car had averaged 38.5mpg over first 5,000 miles. If that works the same as the Tucson (where mpg is wildly overstated, as it includes the miles travelled in EV mode whilst ignoring the charging costs), then it suggests that the car isn’t terribly economical in return for the faff of having to charge it
– The sound when driving was unimpressive (inside & outside) other than the initial mile following a cold start (surprising given that it has the superb B58 3.0 litre straight six), but you don’t get the BMW sports exhaust system on the 50e that you get on the M Sport Pro diesels and M60i
– No obvious indication that the petrol engine is on
– Iconic sounds (artificial EV noises) barely noticeable compared to the two iX1s that I test drove
– Sport mode noisy (holds on to revs) – to be fair, I find this in all cars, hence why I never use it on any car
– Slight lag before rapid acceleration kicks in
– Regeneration very noticeable when traffic ahead or approaching junction / roundabout, plus when the battery depleted (as it insists on recharging). I could not find a way to disable it and, as with the EVs I’ve driven, I dislike the sensation of it. I only want the car to brake when I press the brake pedal!So, in summary, I’m very glad that I have the M60i for another prolonged test in 2 weeks time, as if the 50e was the only engine option in the X5 I would not be interested in one. I’ve got my wife to concede that we should consider a diesel, but I’d get the 40d. The 30d is more than sufficient, and gets rave reviews, but the 40d would only cost me £3k more and I’d get the majority of that difference back at resale. However, the M60i V8 would only cost me £3.5k more than the 40d (even though the retail price is £11.5k more), which is very tempting. The M60i would cost me £900 a year more to fuel than the 40d, but I’ve done some work on resale values and the M60i is likely to be worth £6k more than the 40d at 2 years old and £4k more at 3 years, which completely wipes out the upfront cost premium and in fact covers most of the additional running costs as well. Now that’s very tempting!
On the subject of residual values, based on trade in prices only (not private sale or retail prices) of used X5s, due to the fact that we can get 100% VAT and VED exemption, plus the size of discount I am negotiating (thanks to Drive the Deal), the M60i may only cost me £8k in depreciation over 3 years (likely change date, as the warranty expires then and we would be eligible to buy another VAT free car). Insurance is only £658 Pa (pretty good for a top end Group 50 car) and, as mentioned, servicing requirements are neglible. In totality, I could be in the ridiculous situation where running a new BMW X5 M60i V8 for 3 years costs me about the same as running the Tucson through Motability! Admittedly I’d lose the interest on the large chunk of savings used to buy the car in the first place, but interest doesn’t put a smile on my face, whereas a 530hp V8 X5 might 😂
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