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So, looking at a coupe of cars for next month, Mazda CX-5 Exclusive Line and Ford Kuga ST Edition.
Kuga FHEV reports say around 45-50mpg average so pretty decent.
Kuga PHEV (and this is what I don’t understand)
Ford say 3 to 3.5Hrs to charge on a 7kW supply, so that’s 24.5kWh, now I may be missing something but with my current supplier (Octopus) it would cost me about £8 to charge it fully @ 32p/hr. So apart from having to pay for a wall charger and get somewhere to park it would still cost me £8 for a range of 28-41miles.
What’s the point of it? if the FHEV does average 50mpg then it would only cost about £6 for the 41 mile range?
The Mazda is now MHEV but there’s no new reports on the 2023 model showing real world mpg, all the reviews are for the previous 2022 model. Given the difference in the current AP’s the Kuga FHEV would cost me £1,000 more than the Mazda but only save me about £600 in petrol over the 3 years (16,000 miles). The PHEV is a whopping £2,700 more!.
Please excuse spelling/typos. Apart from being a clot it turns out I had one on my cerebellum that's now causing various problems!
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One other thing to consider if looking at a Kuga is there is a facelift due before end of year.
Not a big one just upgraded lights and better infotainment system and changes in spec levels.
The fhev on the other hand is just pointless
I disagree, as it depends on a persons ccircumstances.
If you drive mostly local journeys within the battery’s capability of 20-30mile and have somewhere to regularly charge it a PHEV maybe the better option. On the otherhand if ost of your driving is longer journeys and you don’t have the means to charge at home, a FHEV becomes the better option.
Looking at it another way , if all of your journeys are under x range taking into account colder weather range, an EV maybe a more viable option if you have the means to charge at home.
if all of your journeys are under x range taking into account colder weather range, an EV maybe a more viable option if you have the means to charge at home.
Even if only most of your journeys are within EV range, an EV should still be a viable contender.
EV charging is widely available, and some cars have the ability to charge from 10-80% in just around 30 minutes on the fast chargers.
Thats enough time to stretch your legs and have a quick coffee or something.
The average UK private mileage is around 8000 miles per year, averages out at about 200 miles per week. If you can get an EV that will do that, and pay 10p per kWh for night charging, it will generally cost a lot less than even most ICE cars to run.
If you can do 3.5 miles per kWh and charge at 10p/kWh, and drive all of those 8000 miles on that electricity – that will cost you £228.57/year in fuel. That’s not using the ICE at all, and charging only at night on your lower rate, no motorway charging etc.
The current UK unleaded price is 147.9p/l. 8000 miles at 44mpg (very achievable for most hybrids and what I was getting from my Corolla) would cost £1222.50.
So just under £1000/ year. So if you are paying £2000 extra for the PHEV version you save £1000 over the 3 year lease.
But then you have to factor in: 1. Some PHEV vehicles cost more than £2000 over the FHEV/MHEV equivalent; 2. It’s completely unrealistic they you are going to run your PHEV on electric only for the three years – in fact you are going to HAVE to use the ICE every 30-60 days just to stop the fuel going bad in the tank – which leads to; 3. You are certainly let going to have additional fuel costs of both unleaded and, likely, motorway charging or emergency home charging on higher rates, and 4. As many have noted on these boards, your overall electric bill is likely to increase quite a bit on an EV tariff unless you drink all your hot drinks/watch all your tv etc at night.
So that £1000 saving is going to evaporate once you factor in additional fuel/charging costs, and higher electric bills in general. And that is the BEST CASE SCENARIO. A great number of people who rent (and even a number who own) can’t arrange to charge at home, so the whole thing is moot. And finally, we have to accept that charging is more inconvenient and time consuming in a number of situations.
My point is: with the APs as they are now, there is no advantage to getting a PHEV at all.
Even though I can charge off peak at home and the vast majority of my journeys are local, I totally agree, the current AP being asked for PHEV makes them unviable.
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
Octopus Go 12 pence off peak/ 41.64 pence normal rate kWh
Octopus Standard Rate 33.73 pence kWh
Our current average yearly energy consumption 3900 kWh, 2600 kWh domestic use 1300 kWh charging up the PHEV, it actually works out cheaper of the year to use the Octopus Standard Rate
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
If you drive under 200 miles per week, you’d be better off paying for something like the SE MG4 Standard range, £999 AP.
If you can do all your charging at night on 10p p/kWh, it should cost around £30 in electric per month for 800 miles, and an extra 7p pKWH for your day usage based on 40p/p/kwh the equivalent of around £14 per month (200kwh/p/month is the average)
Any usage you can shift to nighttime cheap rates would be a bonus – washing machine/dishwasher/tumble dryer etc.
An EV works out best for me personally this time. Huge cost saving in fuel and the Trophy MG4 on order is up there with unreal value for money.
If you can get in and out of a Kona or MG4, and it has enough boot space, and you can charge at home, then either of those 2 is a no-brainier in my opinion; I’ll happily agree with you/ concede there. The APs are very reasonable.
But for many on here, the lower seat position and/or small boot make them completely unsuitable. They also lack trim a lot of people seem to need. They’d suit our needs, but can’t fit a family of 5 comfortably. Well, the Kona would suit our needs if we could pack 5 in – the MG is too low.
100% understand the seating height needed by some, including myself, I currently drive a honda CRV, however didn’t find the MG4 seating too low, maybe only borderline high enough for me though.
In comparison it’s definitely lower, just doesn’t cause me to bend my back too much getting in which is a major issue with hatchbacks and estates for me personally, which most ICE cars tend to be, if at all within reasonable AP.
I made that comment referring to my needs as I was discussing my decision making.
But a fhev is really only viable if you can’t plug in or can’t afford the PHEV.
But saying that comparing the two the FHEV is barely more economical than my current diesel where as the PHEV in all I’ve watched fairs vastly better and with my circumstances can save more in fuel costs over 3 years to cover the AP.
Free charging at my local shopping centre and hospital help.
Just be aware that PHEVs are very slow chargers. Half an hour at the shops will likely only get you 3 miles, if the XC40 is anything to go by.
I have a Volvo xc40 PHEV since last March and have hardly put a penny of electricity or petrol in it.
I travel locally and there is still free charging in my area.
If you travel locally it is likely a PHEV will work for you but charging an PHEV takes a long time and if you don’t have home charging or a charger close by I fear it may become a bit of a chore to drop it at a charger then return some three hours later to pick it up.
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