2021 Ford Kuga PHEV - How NOT to charge a PHEV

[@peterdavid5279]

I took delivery of one of these 10 days ago and used it during the half term week in the West Country (Somerset). We chose a PHEV (cancelled a Tesla M3 order) because there are virtually zero charging points within a 15 mile radius of the place we visit every summer and we can only recharge using a 13-pin socket, which charges the Kuga overnight with no problems. The first part of the journey was a 150 mile drive to our holiday destination which predominantly used the petrol engine, but we got an unexpected boost as the Kuga effectively runs in MHEV mode once the battery is exhausted. We got an additional 26 electric miles out of the 150 we initially drove to our destination, saving the 35 mile battery for our first trips around the area. Overall, on the trip we got ~60 miles to the gallon across petrol and electric engines, which included some long, fast motorway stretches. We managed ~650 miles on a single tank of fuel (45 litres) with 5 litres left when I filled her up again. There and back with some significant driving in between on a single tank, something even my wife's oil burner Zafira has never achieved!! One word of advice, use the 'L' mode to maximise brake regeneration. Once we'd worked this out, even though the battery was showing zero charge, nearly every part of each drive where we didn't go above 30mph was in electric mode. This also obviously saves on brake wear as you never have to touch the brakes if you drive sensibly. The Kuga PHEV is a joy to drive, it's my first automatic and electric vehicle of any kind and it has changed my driving style completely to one which is much more relaxed and less stressful. If I could ask for one thing, it would be a charging cable that's just 2m longer for our 'away' trips. At home we'll soon have a wall charger and this will be irrelevant.

[@DamoDrives]

Congratulations and glad to hear you are enjoying the new car. Rey interesting feedback and hopefully others will find this useful as well 😊

[@Ford-Explorer606]

Well its basically good too have you here 😌. Hope you're enjoying like a newly married man

[@harrycastle5941]

This is a great owner review, thank you. Could I ask if you installed a wall charger in the end, and also why? I'm trying to weight this up against an external socket, as most charging will be overnight anyway.

[@peterdavid5279]

@@harrycastle5941 Hi Harry, I haven’t installed a wall charger yet, but plan to. Most of the daily trips I have been doing during lockdown (and working from home) have been easily within the range of a single charge, and even a 4-6 hour recharge has not been a problem. There have been a couple of occasions where I’ve exhausted the battery and then needed to go on another trip an hour or so later, and in those cases a wall charger and a 3 hour recharge would been great. We’ll into winter driving now and the annoyance of the cold on range. During the -4 conditions this week I’ve been lucky to get a full charge of 18 miles and then even luckier to get 12 of those in reality on short local journeys such as the school run. Still getting great regen/MHEV even when battery is empty. Just did an 18 mile trip with just 5 battery miles available, but 12 of the miles were still electric.

[@leoric18ify]

Got my phev St line X just a week ago, full equipped. It is one of the best car I have had so far. Extremely happy.

[@DamoDrives]

how are you getting along with the new car

[@pauldavison7105]

If you look up ecodriver on YT he tests the car both electric only and separately from flat. He got electric only in the mid 40,s and from flat at 74mpg. One point he focussed on when running from flat is not putting the car in charge mode. He does it accidently for part of his test but the majority is just normal mode. Doing this on a lengthy drive the car still generated 2 thirds of its power from regenerative electricity. The morale of the story is explore what affect the different modes have on your driving. Charge mode isn't always the best mode to be in when the battery is flat.

[@DamoDrives]

Will try and a look

[@valkman761]

I don't understand why you use EV Charge mode when the battery is empty. You can easily drive in EV Auto and it will only use the engine as primary source for requested power with much better mileage. You charge at home, not with the petrol engine.

[@vincentpauly7850]

As an update for those considering buying a Ford Escape (USA) in 2024, the phev no longer even offers charge mode. One gets EV automatic, EV Now, and EV later only. Even when the battery reads 0 mile range, you'll still go into electric mode in the automatic mode, plus the hybrid battery still gets some recharging from braking and go down hill (if you try to coast downhill, the car will try to charge and you'll notice an almost jarring slow down.)

[@tomturner7193]

My new ST-Line X Edition PHEV is my third Kuga, having previously owned a Kuga Mk1 (2010) and a Kuga Mk2 (2013) which was quite simply the best car I have owned in 45 years ... until now. This new Kuga takes the title for me. It is stunning to drive. Running on electric only on my daily commute, with a sensible right foot, I have achieved up to 48 miles on a full charge which takes into account the energy recovered through regen braking. Well impressed.

[@DamoDrives]

That’s really good 👏. Have really enjoyed driving the Puma and Kuga (this weeks video is on the Puma ST which is rather good) but certainly not good on fuel if you press the loud pedal too much lol. The ST-Line X looks are really good and not that different from the full on ST

[@Ford-Explorer606]

Glad that I've made you that proud 👏and happy and attracted your mind. Special thanks to the wonderful reviewer for making wonderful vids to spread popularity about me

[@FlexDRG]

Looked at the St line X myself. Found the ride too stiff as my daily drive has 16 speedbumbs. The regular Titanium X version did lots better in speedbumb comfort. The Kia Niro PHEV (2021) was even better and ended up choosing that one over the Kuga. (Price &size weren't a real issue for the dessision). Comfort and dashboard were most of it. The straight up vertical center screen just wasn't for me. Looks like an afterthought. And i kept wanting to tilt it backwards.

[@wintersun398]

Sounds like you are a very careful driver; anticipating the road ahead, gentley pressing accelerator, rarely coming to a complete halt. I’ve watched a lot of Kuga EV range tests which get around 32miles - look at the way their EV indicator is rapidly switching between regen power. That suggests they are pulsing the accelerator.

[@davidblack5725]

I have one off these cars in Spain for 2 years, and I know the car is fantastic.

[@simonschultz8695]

Just got one of these and absolutely love it. Drives beautifully and so easy. Couple of negs - mine came without a mini spare wheel and now they cannot provide one. Also what about the parcel shelf??? what is the point in that?! Could you perhaps do a video explaining the use of all the interior controls as cannot find a decent one anywhere and there is a lot of stuff to get to grips with. Thank you so much for this video

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed the video , there is another video in a POV drive that will cover some of the other controls. If you subscribe and click the notification bell you will get alerted when it comes out

[@peterdavid5279]

My parcel shelf connecting brackets just snapped off the first time I tried to stow the thing!

[@Ford-Explorer606]

Spare wheels are gonna cause me a lot of burden to carry on. Also the ride quality with make you feel pathetic about me

[@davidbovine]

Thanks for your review. Very down to earth. I’ve had this model as a company car for six weeks now. I get reimbursed for business mileage at the HMRC agreed rates and the current figure is 18p/mile. I think the figures you mention in the review are for diesel vehicles. Over 1,200 miles I’ve averaged 120mpg. That’s mostly shorter journeys and charging at home, but about 400 of those miles were journeys of over 100 miles, so I’m pleased with the efficiency. The 19 inch wheels are standard on the ST-Line X. All in all, a really nice car.

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed the review , just checked on the HMRC web site and that rate was for LPG right next to Petrol so thanks for the correction. It seems the perfect company car with all those savings. I do not know the numbers but I am guessing electric costs less than 18p/mile so you make money for every mile lol

[@wintersun398]

How are you getting on now? the AFR for the car is 26pence/mile. That seems very good if you’re getting well over 45mpg on petrol alone. Any other comments in your year of ownership?

[@davidbovine]

@@wintersun398 still getting on well. Now up to 26,000 miles and have averaged 118mpg over that period. I charge as often as I can (home and work), but driven with a bit of restraint, it’s possible to hit 60mpg on most trips, even when the EV battery is depleted. Couple of issues with the ‘normal’ 12V battery, which seems to be a theme with hybrid cars, but aside from that, no issues. Very comfortable on long journeys and the stereo is very good. Has worked out well for me on the numbers front. Much cheaper lease cost than a full EV and far more generous fuel payments via the HMRC AFR rates, though there’s more BIK tax to pay than for a full EV. I’m likely to go full EV next time, but this has been a good stepping stone.

[@flahwang]

QUESTION: I have been trying to source information on how this performs on longer journeys. I regularly go 50-100 miles at work, which would be between charges at home. Can you program the car to anticipate longer journeys and not use EV only? I am trying to calculate the true MPG I would get when doing higher daily milage between charges.. Any info welcome.. thanks

[@stevewall1553]

Best Kuga review I’ve seen well done 👏

[@DamoDrives]

Thanks for your kind words and glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@Truthbomb918]

Are the indicators an extra price to use or what. It's like watching a BMW driver

[@DamoDrives]

Did not tick that option box 😂

[@paulginger6448]

I’ve just put a deposit down on this exact car from Hendy in Tunbridge to have it delivered to Fareham. I will be having a look and test driving it next week 👍🏻

[@DamoDrives]

That’s great news 👏. If you pop in please tell them you watched this video. Hopefully it gave you some useful information about your new car

[@KCnLex]

I think the Fords may be more popular in the UK than in the states. Good video, not sure I am ready for an EV or a partial EV just yet. Wheels are really sharp on this car, looks good going down the road with that style. Boy can't get used to the lack of engine noise. I thought you were saying Cougar and then saw the title....so now I have to go look up and see what a KUGA is if anything! What a hoot I watched the PP video on that $100,000 plus Audi and then followed up with this one, next I think is a Land Rover and then I missed the one you did on the BMW at which point it will be time to walk the dog, go to the garage to change the rear lights on the Roadster from the OEM to the Union Jack ones. You UK KZbinrs motivate me to learn which is always a good thing.

[@DamoDrives]

Thanks for the lovely comments as usual, it is a good car and fun doing something a bit different with the review. You have very good taste in youtubers lol and I like the sound of the new lights 👏

[@Ford-Explorer606]

Yes exactly American fords are crap . Will make you feel like " fords are the worst" . Henceforth we are the best fords you could have

[@Ford-Explorer606]

@@DamoDrives special thanks to you for reviewing me

[@familiedegier7072]

Thank you for your nice review. Ik like this car👍😃🇳🇱

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed the review

[@michielthijssen1268]

Thank you for this nice review. Is there anything you can say about whether to go for the panoramic roof option or not? I mean, it looks great and I am certainly considering it, but doesn’t it add like extra top weight to an already heavy car with that battery of 250 kg? And did you experience any additional noises from it at high speeds?

[@DamoDrives]

I would go for the pan roof just lets in some extra light, it might be a bit heavier but I feel for the type of driving the car is designed for it would not make a massive difference (this is just my opinion) and noise was good

[@michaelwhitney3301]

St line x is the better option because you don’t get the pan roof in the vignale… I have one due to come in November , I sat and went through all the options and even the agent agrees vignale shouldn’t be too spec

[@wintersun398]

how long did your order take to arrive? How many miles are you getting on a full battery , and what mpg when it’s empty? cheers!

[@vehementi8497]

Got an ST-Line X in 1.5 Petrol on order, this is a very good review of the specs and drive.

[@DamoDrives]

Congratulations on the order and glad you enjoyed the video 😊. Not sure which country you are watching this in but interested on the delivery date, many of the dealers I speak to say 6 months or longer

[@vehementi8497]

@@DamoDrives I'm from the UK and I placed the order back in August and according to my local dealer, no new Kuga's are being built until January earliest. Likelihood is because of the chip shortage, PHEV's I believe are on a longer delay.

[@DamoDrives]

I think most manufacturers are having the same Issue although some of the manufactures like Hyundai and Kia have less of an issue as they make there own chips but still suffering (no real Proof of this just talking to people) you will end up forgetting you ordered it and get a call saying your car has turned up “ummm what car I never ordered a new car “ lol

[@vehementi8497]

lol, that's exactly what's going to happen "Kuga? What Kuga?" I read as well that the Japanese company Renesas, who makes the chips/silicone components for Ford and other manufacturers had a huge fire that destroyed the production floor about 3 months ago. It's going to take them a while to get back on their feet and back up to full speed.

[@connect1410]

To much functional central console? Well 2023 model will definitely make you smile with AC controls on touchscreen. Good luck with that ;) And manual? In electric mode single gear?

[@DamoDrives]

Since reviewing this things have moved on a lot (for good and bad) had the Mach-E where most things are on the massive iPad , works for some things but really difficult to change temperature etc without taking your eyes of the road so really you have to stop

[@praeparatus_supervivet]

Battery capacity can drop down to about 50% when the temperature is below zero degrees outside. Similar issues with other PHEV or EV cars but perhaps other brands cope with the cold better than the Ford Kuga.

[@JS-rb2ru]

Hi there getting a kuga phev stline x hybrid. It not the plug in mode so does it work similar to review. Great review.

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed the review, a lot of it will be the same, if it’s a HEV obviously you do not plug it in and you do not get the benefit of running on pure EV just better mpg and more responsive acceleration , pulling away in electric. I am sure there are a few additional changes but having reviewed other models not sure. Enjoy the new car when it arrives

[@delhog6161]

Try and get your hands on a ST LINE X. With a Diesel engine. I’ve been waiting for six months. Ford UK have told me there isn’t a bill date for the vehicle and they don’t know when it will be built. Shocking

[@DamoDrives]

It is not just Ford having issues unfortunately with supply most manufacturers are the same but that does not help you

[@level5822]

When charging the battery whilst driving (charging mode) it will reduce mpg quite a lot.

[@DamoDrives]

Thats correct although it can be difficult as you sometimes want to use the battery when driving around in town,

[@familiedegier7072]

Thank you for your review. I like this car👍🚘💪

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed it 😊😊

[@Bobspikeyhair]

I've had one of the first models of Kuga since it first came out in 2008 so now nearly 13 years old and I still love it, but time is coming that I feel I need a new car and don't know what to choose. This one looks good but I do need plenty of boot space to carry p.a. equipment about sometimes. I like the way my present Kuga's seats fold down completely flat but I notice in your film you don't pull the bottom seat upright before lowering the back of the seat - can you still do this on this model? it might put me off having one just for this reason.

[@DamoDrives]

I really cannot remember 😳, probably give your local Ford dealer a call if you are seriously considering 1. Hope the rest of the video was of use

[@iandoolan8757]

I don’t actually think that 33/34 mpg while charging the traction battery and driving a heavy SUV at the same time is bad at all. Bear in mind that in 21 miles it increased the battery charge by 12 miles. If you then changed the car to EV only and drove those 12 miles, the mpg for the 33 miles then driven would be 51/52. The Kuga PHEV is more technical and efficient than the video portrays.

[@jurrianbreur637]

Aint it better to use eco instead of normal mode?

[@steveb4012]

Good review, we had a choice of an X1 PHEV or the model featured in your video. We've ordered the X1 but I remain intrigued by the Kuga. Boot capacity on the Kuga PHEV is circa 410 litres, the battery and optional spare stealing quite a lot of space. CVT gearbox put us off a bit as we'd test driven a RAV 4with one, loved it asides from the gearbox. How did you find the ride of the Kuga? I've read reports that it is hard and choppy because of the battery weight. Overall the car looks good, is certainly well equipped, shame cabin quality couldn't have been improved a little, doorcards in particular.

[@DamoDrives]

The type of driving I did it was comfortable as I felt reflected the type of driving someone would do , rather than down some twisty county roads (I might be wrong) the cvt used in this way was very smooth and relaxing but not engaging. Not problem with the ride quality , slightly firmer than cars from the likes of Citeron but not a show stopper.

[@steveb4012]

@@DamoDrives appreciate the reply, try an X1 phev and post the video! Steve

[@DamoDrives]

If I can get 1 I certainly will do

[@graantmnz]

its a shame that Ford use the term CVT - ( a dumb marketing move ) as the car uses an e-cvt which is no way similar to the well documented CVT by Nissan , plagued with failures. The e -cvt does NOT use belts and has been very reliable ...check out the ford maverick ecvt transmission video to see how they work on YT

[@BryerGaming]

Your fuel figures are borked due to the fact you tested it in L mode. Highly recommended in the manual not to use L mode unless you need too.

[@markwilliams8655]

Very nice review, well done to you !!

[@DamoDrives]

Thank you , glad you enjoyed it

[@juanmamariscal3451]

What is the consumption difference between ev auto and ev charge?

[@DamoDrives]

I did not get a chance to try both but I would suspect 10mpg less

[@nigelbath]

If you run out of battery the car will still do about 49 mpg as long as you dont use the engine to charge the battery

[@DamoDrives]

49 mpg is ok but quite poor performance though if you are not using both The electric motor and ICE

[@level5822]

@@DamoDrives 49mpg is very good for a vehicle that size

[@farangtravels3956]

I was looking at a Ford Puma, but the interior sucks, bought a Mazda XC 30 instead. Nice review 👍

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed it , not driven the Mazda but will take your word as your purchased 1 lol. I like some areas on the inside especially the digital dash But some areas could be better. What’s the price difference between the XC30 and this ?

[@Ford-Explorer606]

Puma is short should have bought me

[@markwilliams8655]

Excellent all round review….

[@deltadog6830]

why go into normal mode to get the figures up when the correct mode would have been ECO MODE not a true representation of its economic capabilities

[@andrewmcdermott2326]

great review,very informative.Question though-are you zammo from grange hill?😂

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed the review, I had to google zammo even though I watched it growing up lol

[@andrewmcdermott2326]

@@DamoDrives good man zammo,ordered an st line x last Saturday-happy days😉mind yourself,thanks👍

[@DamoDrives]

Congratulations ordering 1, which dealership did you get it from and did this video help or had you ordered it already 😊

[@andrewmcdermott2326]

@@DamoDrives i'm in Ireland mate,i was kind of waiting for that enyaq but they're sold out and too expensive anyway.test drove the ford and loved the solid brisk drive-very well specced as well and yes your review (among others i have to say)was a big help,thanks👍

[@DamoDrives]

Great, nice to know the content is helpful and enjoyable 😊

[@lloydmillership9682]

POINTLESS stick with my diesel 1.5 ecoblue 72 mpg on a run 52 round town and 10k cheaper than hybrid save ya money

[@Ford-Explorer606]

Hmmmm black color... sporty

[@DamoDrives]

Would you choose that colour

[@Ford-Explorer606]

@@DamoDrives sure will choose it definitely. But red is my pick .. respected sir

[@Ford-Explorer606]

@@DamoDrives keep making more great videos

[@uzpuz]

had 2 problems not happy

[@DamoDrives]

Problem with the video or your car ?

[@lloydmillership9682]

300 to 500 miles drugs have been kicking in then