A year with a Kuga, and an issue

[anonymous-user]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Is this your first winter with the car, it’s not clear when you actually got it…

[jason61c]

It sounds more like you just bought the wrong car?

[Scrump]

Battery size on a plug in Kuga seems to be 14.4kwh.
The average cost of a kwh of electricity in the UK seems to be
17.2 p.

Therefore average cost to charge from empty using a UK domestic supply would be about £2.50.
This is likely to increase as electricity prices look set to be rising.

[TheDeuce]

Range drops when it's colder.

Apart from that, every problem you've had could be experienced with any car/manufacturer/dealer.

Apart from the problems getting the charger fitted, which are just bizarre sounding tbh.

I don't understand how this can convince you electric is bad. You haven't tried electric yet, you have a hybrid with a very limited all electric range and are complaining you had to fill it up on a long road trip

[worsy]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Notwithstanding the issues you have.

It's a plug in hybrid so doesn't HAVE to be charged right? In fact I think you should be able to keep it in full hybrid mode and it will regen charge and only use charge to assist the petrol engine.

Also, if someone came round to my house in a plug in hybrid and wanted free charge I think I'd also be a little miffed. Would you also be miffed if your BiL came round and syphoned off 5k of fuel from your car?

I suppose this does open up the whole debate regarding charging and when we are all in EVs, how etiquette will play out regarding charging your car when you go visit someone.

[AyBee]

If it's a plug-in hybrid, you don't have to charge it everywhere you go. Presumably you asked to plug it in and offered to pay for it? Or were you previously in the habit of going into their shed and taking the fuel from their lawnmower?

[TheDeuce]

worsy said:

I suppose this does open up the whole debate regarding charging and when we are all in EVs, how etiquette will play out regarding charging your car when you go visit someone.

I don't see it as a new sphere of etiquette at all, it's just plain old manners surely?

The OP had to be told by his brother in law how much power in ££ his car was using. It's perfectly simple for the OP to calculate that himself ahead of asking to plug it in in the first place. Asking to plug in without giving any consideration to how much of someone else's money you were effectively asking for is just rude.

I've plugged in at friends and relatives but I know roughly how much it will cost and normally more than compensate by paying for take away food, drinks etc. It's perfectly reasonable to ask to make use of a convenient plug socket but totally unreasonable to do so without understanding what you're asking for and preemptively compensating the kind owner.

[worsy]

TheDeuce said:

worsy said:

I suppose this does open up the whole debate regarding charging and when we are all in EVs, how etiquette will play out regarding charging your car when you go visit someone.

I don't see it as a new sphere of etiquette at all, it's just plain old manners surely?

The OP had to be told by his brother in law how much power in ££ his car was using. It's perfectly simple for the OP to calculate that himself ahead of asking to plug it in in the first place. Asking to plug in without giving any consideration to how much of someone else's money you were effectively asking for is just rude.

I've plugged in at friends and relatives but I know roughly how much it will cost and normally more than compensate by paying for take away food, drinks etc. It's perfectly reasonable to ask to make use of a convenient plug socket but totally unreasonable to do so without understanding what you're asking for and preemptively compensating the kind owner.

Agreed, payment is simply good manners. I was thinking more of the expectation that you could plugin and recharge.

[TheDeuce]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

How far is it to your brother in law's?

[Tractor Driver]

I’ve had my Kuga PHEV since April 2021. Currently on just under 12,000 miles and average economy over that period is 112mpg.

I charge it as often as I reasonably can (plugged in overnight at home at [currently…] 5p/kWh) but I wouldn’t dream of charging it at a motorway service area. It’s pretty slow at charging and the kWh unit rate at a motorway service area is very steep.

It gets plugged in when I’m at Tesco, if there’s a charger free and if I’m away overnight with work, I’ll try to select a hotel with free EV charging, but that’s about it.

Oh, and it does get plugged in on cheap juice overnight if I go to see my parents!

When I’ve been unable to plug in overnight and had to travel to work (30 miles cross country), it’s usually hit 60mpg with no charge on the traction battery. I’m pretty happy with that… and the current 22p/mile that HMRC allow me to reclaim from my employer for business mileage.

[jason61c]

I don't really get the issue? so the cars a bit of a st PHEV, however it does what its suppose to? you can't charge it for free? the range goes down in winter? you don't even need to charge it? you just bought the wrong car for you?

[essayer]

Where did you go in the U.K. that there weren’t any 7kW chargers?

[TheDeuce]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

So when you do go full EV you'll have zero issues then.

I don't know what part of your experience so far makes you think you'll struggle with full EV as and when

[TheDeuce]

essayer said:

Where did you go in the U.K. that there weren’t any 7kW chargers?

Can the Kuga only use 7kw chargers?

If so that's indeed going to make life tough to find one and always slow to charge...

On the other hand, who cares? It's a hybrid, just put petrol in it once in a blue moon. That's the whole point, not having to worry if there's no charger on a long trip

[Frimley111R]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It sounds extreme but we see people who use national companies often saying things like 'I sent my details in to them in September and haven't heard anything.' (this is an email we had in late December!) Or simply I can't speak to anyone or get any response.

The big installers tied up all the national work without having the infrastructure to service it or even understanding what is involved and it's led to a lot of very unhappy customers unfortunately.

[gmaz]

Not specifically related to the OP but this is the kind of thing that annoys me when "Fifth Gear Recharged" refers to PHEVs as "the best of both worlds" when in reality they are the worst of both worlds.

- To make the most of a small battery/range you have to invest £1000+ in a home charger
- Extra weight of lugging batteries around hits the ICE MPG
- Extra weight & complexity of the ICE hits the battery range, e.g. taking a tankful of petrol and an ICE 3 miles to the shops and back when in EV mode
- Extra cost of servicing and maintenance, more moving parts = more to go wrong.
- Compromised packaging of the drivetrain affects boot space etc

[Frimley111R]

gmaz said:

Not specifically related to the OP but this is the kind of thing that annoys me when "Fifth Gear Recharged" refers to PHEVs as "the best of both worlds" when in reality they are the worst of both worlds.

- To make the most of a small battery/range you have to invest £1000+ in a home charger
- Extra weight of lugging batteries around hits the ICE MPG
- Extra weight & complexity of the ICE hits the battery range, e.g. taking a tankful of petrol and an ICE 3 miles to the shops and back when in EV mode
- Extra cost of servicing and maintenance, more moving parts = more to go wrong.
- Compromised packaging of the drivetrain affects boot space etc

Depends on your viewpoint though. I agree with the points you made but they are also a vital stepping stone for many people from ICE to full EV.

[TheDeuce]

gmaz said:

Not specifically related to the OP but this is the kind of thing that annoys me when "Fifth Gear Recharged" refers to PHEVs as "the best of both worlds" when in reality they are the worst of both worlds.

- To make the most of a small battery/range you have to invest £1000+ in a home charger
- Extra weight of lugging batteries around hits the ICE MPG
- Extra weight & complexity of the ICE hits the battery range, e.g. taking a tankful of petrol and an ICE 3 miles to the shops and back when in EV mode
- Extra cost of servicing and maintenance, more moving parts = more to go wrong.
- Compromised packaging of the drivetrain affects boot space etc

I tend to agree. I understand that for those on a limited budget they make great sense - but like lots of cheap solutions... They are a compromise. A worst of both worlds indeed, if price isn't taken in to the equation.

[Nickbrapp]

It’s not the cars fault you have to charge it out the window, if you’re getting a hybrid or a EV you should have the charger fitted before the car comes, or at least have the stuff ready for it, Ie a free breaker in the fuse board or a separate RCD fitted at the meter

Sounds like Bp pulse are doing the install and they are usless, nothing stopping you just paying a electrican who knows how to do car chargers to fit it.

Range drops in winter, nothing you can do.

Sounds like buying a big bad aero SUV with a 2.5 engine is where you went wrong, maybe a Leon PHEV would have suited you better, Ford just seem to hash these things together without much thought

[Itsallicanafford]

AyBee said:

If it's a plug-in hybrid, you don't have to charge it everywhere you go. Presumably you asked to plug it in and offered to pay for it? Or were you previously in the habit of going into their shed and taking the fuel from their lawnmower?

Ha, this comment made me laugh, I charged up at my dads the other day and previously in my youth I most certainly did used to take his lawnmower petrol as well…