What happens if you dont charge your phev - Cupra Formentor e-hybrid

[@DamoDrives]

Would you choose the traditional petrol or e-hybrid

[@DerrCheckerHD]

I just Ordered my Formentor Hybrid with 204PS and i am going to install a wallbox at my Garage so i can Charge the Car. I think it is the Way to go, i also work as an Car Mechanic for Hybrid and EV Cars. :) Maybe can you do a Video where you show the Charging Stuff? Times with Household Plug, Time with Wallbox 3,6kW and so on? Maybe a Video about the Entertainment System would be Great with all the Features and Electric Features an so on, keep them good videos coming! (Sorry for my Probably not so good english, i try my best to learn it, i am from germany)

[@DamoDrives]

@@DerrCheckerHD thank you for the comment and glad you enjoyed it. There is another video on the channel kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZ6op3mCpJhpi6s.

[@DerrCheckerHD]

@@DamoDrives Thanks for you Answer! Yes i have seen that Video but i would really Like 2 Videos specified on these Topics :) cant seem to find one

[@DamoDrives]

Unfortunately the dealers lend me the cars so can be difficult to get the same cars again 😳

[@ferhan.c]

Traditional Petrol 150HP DSG here!!!! I will get mine in the next 5 or 10days. Im so happy.

[@vitsili]

I have a question. When you have not battery left the performance of the car will drop? In hybrid mode with no battery left you will get 204 hp of something less? The same question I also have while using the reserve mode. Thanks

[@monotts5218]

Just started following you in past 4 weeks. Many thanks for your reviews and in depth way you put them together. Very refreshing & appreciated. As a couple who do max 4k/5k miles pa in each of our petrol cars, initially we were looking at EVs & then we considered plug in hybrids, however, when typically a hybrid is around £5/6k on top of a like for like combustion vehicle & an EV is another £5/6k again, it just doesn't make sense - it will take years to recoup the additional expense. So we'll stick with our petrol driven cars and hope that as we've seen with other "new inventions" (ULED TVs, CD players) manufacturers come to their senses and prices tumble from their starting point. Keep up the gr8 work and look forward to your review of models like Qashqai ePower.

[@DamoDrives]

At the minute EVs are a life style choice and not mandatory as will happen in 2030. By 2030 the battery tech will be so much better and hopefully the price will be reduced as well. Thank you for following as well

[@hovishill2779]

A ICE version driven economically will get around 55mpg and cost £7.40 (£1.63 pl) and it would cost £13.47 to go 100 miles. So the hybrid does 100 mpg in hybrid mode, but whats the cost for that 100 miles with fuel and a electric charge at current standard prices?

[@billmartin4446]

Very interesting reviews. Thank you. I opted for a Cupra Formentor 1.4 EV as my company car in October. Like you, I love the looks and the feel of the car. But I'm not a fan at all of the 'big-brother' lane control, which, in some situations, has been quite dangerous - eg nudging me back into roadworks at the side of the road, if I cross a white line. It should be included as part of the custom profile settings but it isn't. Also, it can take a couple of minutes to wait for the very slow electrics to display the things I prefer to set before I drive off. But the worst thing for me is the poor fuel consumption (averaging around 40mpg on longer journeys), as someone who regularly drives 150-200 miles in a day, visiting customers. It's comforting to see you have the same problem. I have to say I'm not really quite sure what the point is of the 28-mile electric range I'm getting. If I was just driving locally it would be fantastic. But that's not what I do, most of the time. Also, the on-board satnav has been failing since I've had it, around once a week. My local garage confirmed there's a software problem but, after 4 months there's still no sign of Cupra fixing it so I can visit my customers without having to use a separate satnav. My thoughts are that it will be a very good and fun car, once they've sorted some of these key issues out a bit more.

[@DamoDrives]

That sort of mpg to me almost negates the benefit of a PHEV (other than the company car tax) and would be in the 310 lol (had the Cupra Leon 310 estate at the weekend) but certainly did not get 40 or even 30 😗

[@billmartin4446]

@@DamoDrives Thanks to your excellent videos on the Cupra Formentor, I have managed to improve my mpg slightly, to 45mpg on longer journeys, by keeping electric-only use mainly for 30mph areas. The trouble is, it's almost impossible to work out an accurate cost of charging the battery to get a true cost per mile. (For charging is via a 13-amp plug socket.) I'm told it costs around £2.50 - £3 to charge to 100% from no charge, though I don't know if/how I could check the actual cost. of course that will go up again in April 2022, with the enormous price hikes in electricity we're seeing. With the electric range I'm getting, of between 16 and 28 miles only, that currently works out around 10p per mile, before the April price increases kick in. If that's about right, it seems expensive motoring for the electric mileage. I still love driving the car but it's spoilt by the dodgy and very slow electrics, the sat-nav that is still failing regularly, the big-brother approach of things like Lane Control (which I can't turn off and set as a user preference) and the pitiful mileage from the battery.

[@Aaraa-t2b]

I’m a bit confused if it’s a company car don’t you get a fuel card etc to cover all fuel costs? I’m not sure why getting good mpg is an issue. I’m planning on getting the e hybrid as my company car in the future but have no plans to charge at home as I don’t get expensed back the amount of money I spent on charging it at home so I’m just gonna let it use fuel to charge up.

[@Own7000]

Dude buys a petrol car and then complains it has high fuel consumption when he uses the car in a way it wasn’t really meant to be used…go figure.

[@ritchiemclean]

Massive thanks for This video and the Last one. The most indepth videos I've seen on KZbin so far.... its been a big help with deciding which model to go with. I have a 2020 Leon cupra 290... 80% of the time it's city driving, around 8-10 miles a day. So for that reason a hybrid is ideal, we also like to travel Scotland camping and wanted to see how the car copes with 150+ miles and how the car would recharge during motorway driving. I was expecting worse than 39mpg. Was also impressed that it managed to charge up 9 mile range in a half hour drive

[@DamoDrives]

Really pleased you enjoyed it and found to helpful as well

[@loverboykimi]

40 mpg good enough for only petrol mode. Car is around 1.600 Kg. I wonder how is the situation in sport mode which I am more interested. Very good content. Thanks.

[@colmmcdaid1231]

Just came across your channel @damo looking at the Cupra Formentor. Excellent real life reviews. Great work and well done from a new 'follower' in Ireland 👋👍

[@DamoDrives]

Thank you for the support and nice comments. Quite a range of cars on the channel so hope you enjoy it

[@kroberts7576]

Ive been looking at Cupra hybrids and BMW.Thanks for highlighting the poor engine only performance when no battery left. This is exactly what I have been thinking. Ive been trying to find out how if these 1.4 tsi or Bmw 1.5 petrol engines struggle when the hybrid power is exhausted. The weight of the battery is equal to app 4 extra people on board, so with two passengers and these extra four plus luggage, I fear a journey to Cornwalls hilly dual carriage way sections would mean im reving the engine out and being passed by white vans, unless of coarse I save the electric power to help. This means im on petrol engine for the rest of the journey. Hybrids are good for local journeys where you can top up at home, but its not worth keep stopping every 30 miles to charge such a small battery. I will now look at going Full EV, Audi or ID4. Thanks again as every other car reviewer just shows how fast they are, but thats with both electric and engine, but no one tests the like you have...cheers

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed it and was of use to you. I reviewed the BMW 330e a while ago which was a good car with a slightly more powerful petrol engine BUT again you carry around more weight but notice the performance issue less.

[@napper1496]

You do know it’s got a turbo?

[@anniewilliams6502]

Thank you for a very interesting video. I am looking at the Cupra at the moment. Can you tell me, as someone who has only driven combustion engines, how hard is it to make the switch over to a hybrid? When I watched your video, I felt as if I needed a pilot's licence to be able to drive it. You seem to be able to do ten different things at once, and I admit, I was a bit lost and very overawed. Would you suggest a lesson with an instructor to talk me through it? I have been driving for 40 years, but this seems a little scary.

[@DamoDrives]

A lot of the features related to hybrid you do not have to change unless you want to, leave it in its automatic settings. In terms of tech I would just sit in the car and press the various menu buttons and it won’t take to long to get used to but don’t try and get used to them when driving (TBH you won’t use a lot of them). If you are buying from a Seat / Cupra dealer they have tech specialist in the cars and they will show you around (maybe even film it on your phone the main features)

[@anniewilliams6502]

@@DamoDrives Thank you for your fast reply. That's really helpful. Such a good tip to film it on my phone to go over later - Best wishes

[@NickLiang]

39.9 mpg for the small petrol engine pulling around so much extra weight with electric motor and batteries really isn't that bad......... it's actually really good.

[@DamoDrives]

If you don’t charge it might as well have a standard petrol and then not have the extra weight 🤔

[@NickLiang]

@@DamoDrives Yeah I agree, the whole point is to plug it in. But even when you run out of electric and you're completely reliant on the petrol engine, 39MPG is pretty impressive considering the weight.

[@richardstocks9139]

I am sure that if you were not continually trying to charge the battery whilst on the move, you would achieve a much better MPG.

[@DamoDrives]

It was not all of the time just enough to get some charge back for driving in town. i wanted to be realistic with how the car would be used.

[@danhyde7501]

Finally just the video I have wanted for ages now

[@DamoDrives]

That’s great 😊, are you considering getting 1 or just interested or possibly joking and it’s really not what you wanted lol

[@danhyde7501]

@@DamoDrives hahaha yeah mate ordered one about a month back, still got no delivery date 😭 all my fuel is paid for so that’s not an issue I just wanna know if I have to charge it at home or if lots of motorway journeys will be enough to keep the battery charged as surely you only need it for those bursts of acceleration…?

[@DamoDrives]

Lots of problems getting silicon chips for the cars so production times are taking a lot longer 😢. You could probably just set the battery to say 30% and leave it to do it’s thing . When you eventually get it have a play around and see what works best. Only had it for the weekend so might be other or better ways but does give you an idea

[@mitchyruns7818]

Hey Damo. Thanks for this. I’m choosing between the Cupra Leon and Formentor at the moment, I get a better deal as a company car so have an incentive for a a PHEV. Only issue is I can’t charge at home so the majority of the time I’d be self charging when driving. I currently average 37.2mpg in my BMW 118i series. Even without being able to charge, do you think id be hitting the same numbers in the Cupra, maybe better? Any advice appreciated.

[@ThePhatsalmon]

i have this car and have learnt more from your videos than from the dealership, now just to get that pesky alexa to work....

[@DamoDrives]

That is really kind of you too say so :), dont get me started with voice controls on cars .. i have always struggled with getting them to do exactly what you want them to do, they are alot better than they used to be but a little way to go.

[@kroberts7576]

I know when you boot it the engine it sounds a bit coarse, BUT whats the noise volume in normal driving sitting at say 50mph, and also pulling away. Thanks

[@DamoDrives]

It’s actual ok, quite a big vehicle , reasonable size engine so normal driving is ok. Little bit of wind nose at quicker speeds but no more than any other suv due to the aerodynamics

[@davidellis1079]

Very interesting video. I'm interested in the idea of a plug-in hybrid, as most of my journeys are within electric-only range. However I'm concerned that the petrol engine would take too long to run in, and also concerned about the fuel sitting in the tank for too long and deteriorating. At the moment I have a Ford mild hybrid, which works well for me.

[@DamoDrives]

Really please you enjoyed it, trying to give both sides of the story in this story. If you can charge it most of the time it’s a good car but as you saw not charging it the slightly cheaper petrol model is better. Not sure if you have seen part 1 which you will see how the mpg really is effected once the battery runs out . Good point about the petrol sitting in the rank of you are only using electric , not sure what happens 🤔

[@_Styllz]

Don’t worry about the fuel in the tank, it takes 3months for fuel to go off wen it sits in the tank without being used. So u have a good long period to get the fuel used & it will get to a point wen u haven’t got enough charge in ur battery then u’ll hv to use the petrol to drive and charge. To me plug-in-hybrids are good for those who do a mix of city and motorway driving 70/30 or 75/25

[@KyleMcNicol]

I’ve just got the CUPRA Leon Hybrid two weeks ago, if I’m being honest I haven’t really ‘ran’ in the engine, I’ve floored it quite a few times in its first 500 miles. I’ve got the car for two years and plan on doing 30k miles in that time. I do a lot of long distance motorway driving and I’ve still managed to get upper 50’s on those journeys, with round-town being pure EV mode. It’s totally worth the money, especially for my situation where doing so many miles creates an excessive fuel bill, but I still want the performance of the 2.0 TSI counterparts. 100% recommended if you use it right.

[@_Styllz]

@@KyleMcNicol it Funny u mentioned the Cupra Leon because i was having a look at it yesterday. What is like to drive? It looks so similar to the Formentor but only difference is that its lower to the ground

[@KyleMcNicol]

@@_Styllz Unfortunately I never test drove the Formentor so couldn’t tell you the differences, for me personally I do prefer a low driving style, so it totally suits that, if that’s what you’re after. There’s loads of different drive profiles that affect throttle response, DCC, ‘fake’ engine noise etc etc, but once the engine’s warmed up properly and you put your foot down after flicking the shifter into sports mode you really feel the power. The electric side is excellent for your daily needs about time too, plenty of power to get you rolling from traffic lights. I find it takes corners very well too. I do need to take a test drive of the 2.0 TSI variant to compare the difference, as I’ve heard the extra weight the car carries through the battery on the e-Hybrid version can make it feel less responsive, but as someone who is quite light to start off with, I like to hope my weight difference partially cancels out the additional weight of the battery and motor etc.

[@mihaiionescu4973]

Nice video. I have a question: let's say your battery is empty, you still have the 204 bhp (meaning the combustion engine will work harder to power the electric one also) or you will just have the 110 bhp of the combustion one?

[@dennishansen1769]

you always have full power no matter what

[@DamoDrives]

When accelerating on the motorway it did not feel like it had a lot of power as I would think 200bhp from 55-70 should be quite quick

[@sarojmahalik]

@@DamoDrives I have the same question, I asked to a VW sales person, he says once the battery is depleted then only the ICE 1.4tsi will be working. That makes no sense, can you please check this aspect? Or can you use the reserve battery to boost, instead of using the reserve battery to drive pure electric driving later?

[@DamoDrives]

I will message the dealer but if it still uses the electric then it must mean the battery is charged all of the time even if you tell it not too to be used so the petrol is having to work harder all of the time to charge and drive the car. maybe a quick 1 second boost when you accelerate but that’s it. Certainly did not feel as quick when on 0% battery (don’t think the battery is at 0% more 0% is available) this seems to have opened a can of worms of exactly what is going on under the bonnet lol

[@MegaVideomagic]

I would think that if there is no charge in the battery you will only have the power of the petrol engine which is 148bhp. It is just impossible to have also the power of the electric motor if there is no charge in the battery.

[@omarhaynes1609]

I see you have a set of Sony headphones, potentially XM3, 4 or whatever they're at now. I like your Style, take my subscription you trendy fella

[@DamoDrives]

Why thank you , really good headphones and not a bad car. Thanks for the sub

[@omarhaynes1609]

@@DamoDrives tremendous headphones. It's always nice being able to blank out the engine. I'm torn between the formentor, chr and (new) Sportage.

[@DamoDrives]

I really like the sportage kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZKzo5t5fb1nkNE

[@Eric-Marsh]

I get about 40 mpg in mixed use driving my 1.4L Ateca. So it sounds like the Formentor is not doing badly considering that it's also recharging the battery. If I were in the market for a new car at this time I would be seriously looking at one.

[@TheAllMightyGodofCod]

Well, considering that it recups energy and still gets the same mpg as an ateca which is taller and therefore with worst aerodynamic, I would say that if you are after economy, the Ateca does a far better job.

[@AndyRBL]

39.9 mpg = to 5.8 l/100km combined consumption, which means over 670km of range just on petrol. Adding 100% battery you should be able to go over 1000 km, combined. from what i;ve been told this car has a very good regen when breaking. on my test drive, i used only electric, for 45 minutes around the city and i still had over 85% battery i believe, starting from full. for a SUV that heavy, not using electric at all, it's awesome... mine should arrive by mid next week.. i'll do some tests myself.

[@DamoDrives]

Be good to see how you get on over 6 months of usage and making the best use of battery and petrol. Not sure if you have seen the 1st video where I was using petrol and electric over 120 miles

[@napper1496]

How did you get on?

[@AndyRBL]

@@napper1496 worst car in history. Selling it in a few months :))

[@issy37413]

@@AndyRBLwhat problems did you have?

[@Turbomgzt]

FFS 6hr charge for 25 miles! Full charge, 70mph motorway, 20mins down to a 1.4ltr turbo petrol in a big heavy car. Lucky to get 35mpg!

[@DamoDrives]

Be interesting to see what a full EV version will be like

[@Turbomgzt]

@DamoDrives full EV no good to me either. I do about 40k miles a year. My faithful diesel merc being replaced by VZ1 hybrid. Not looking forward to it. EVs only work for local trips. Until they can do 500 miles on one charge, I'm buggered.

[@everythingtechnew7400]

Really interesting & pretty good MPG considering it’s a large heavy vehicle. It would be really good to see this same test with the Leon Cupra e-hybrid.

[@DamoDrives]

Have reviewed both but not the same test

[@mVpSlayer]

I`m planning on buying a Cupra so thanks for this video. PS: Your forgot to get the onions and mayo..

[@stevecottrell5856]

Great work Damo 👍🏻

[@ethanevans5799]

Could you summarise the best settings for MPG for non charging for long Vs short/town journeys?

[@Teunkeij1]

What is the reason why there is no cupra mode button on the steering wheel?

[@DamoDrives]

I think it is only the performance 2.0 litre turbo that has that and this

[@as0t_]

It’s an optional. In my country’s, for instance, it’s like 600€+ just for that steering.

[@nevermindthebollocks1171]

Cupra is latin for copper, hence the reason for the copper detailing.

[@ukcarver]

I have a bmw 530e plug in hybrid and I’m getting over 100 mpg over the last 1000 miles

[@DamoDrives]

Very good numbers , driven the 330e which was very good so guessing the same but more comfortable

[@LawifiedUK]

I would like to see if you can put 2 isofix child seats in the back and fit a small adult in the middle of them

[@DamoDrives]

Might be a very tight fit and a very very small Adult

[@amh313]

40? That's really good for a pure fossil car even.

[@DamoDrives]

If you had this performance but remove the batteries and electric motors it would be alot lighter and probably get 50 mpg

[@melluzi]

40 mpg = 7.1 l / 100 km. I got 7.6 (37 mpg) today in a blizzard - snow, ice, traffic jams, Hankook W300 winter tires which are not the most efficient ones. Formentor 310 HP AWD. Sure you can easily double that figure at 180+ km/h on an empty motorway but neither this hybrid was tested at such speeds. Conclusion - perhaps it makes sense to have a hybrid in Spain or UK but certainly not in northern Europe.

[@acptelford1307]

Now driven 5000 miles in mine. Only 38mpg. Style over substance. The worst of both worlds. Useless battery range, useless petrol range. If false plastic moulded exhausts impress you, you deserve this.

[@DamoDrives]

Guessing it’s on finance so you are stuck with the car 🫣

[@acptelford1307]

@@DamoDrives Company car. So honest review

[@Own7000]

Is that bad for a petrol car, though?

[@acptelford1307]

@@Own7000Seriously?

[@Own7000]

​@acptelford1307 idk UK mpg dude, to me that translates into 6 liters per 100km, which isn't that bad for a petrol car.

[@niceboy60]

just get the normal Version and save yourself the hassel and £10,000 😳 You Welcome 🙏🏻

[@stephenmcqueen4029]

Does the V1 come with leather seats?

[@acptelford1307]

12000 miles now. So many design issues. Unless you drive one all the time you don’t know all its faults.

[@DamoDrives]

This is the only problem with getting a car for 1-2 days you will never understand what it’s like to live with. Anything major or just lots of little things ?

[@autozoomies]

if you bought a cupra and your thinking about mpg, you bought the wrong car, unless your aiming for a low number, my slightly modified mk3 cupra 300 is currently averaging between 15-18mpg 🤣

[@DamoDrives]

The difference really is this is a PHEV which is about mpg rather than what I suspect the slightly more fun 300bhp model

[@ripmax333]

@@DamoDrives slightly more fun? …i mean its 300hp.

[@napper1496]

But that’s a totally different car

[@goldenyoda7276]

In me Cupra in Brighton 🤓

[@DamoDrives]

Have you got 1 as well or just live in Brighton or both