Ford Kuga hybrid

Macca16
Macca16 Forum Participant Posts: 2
edited March 2020 in Towcars & Towing #1

Hi all, 

I had a test drive of the new Kuga hybrid yesterday and wondered what people thought of it as a tow car, I have an Eriba Triton so am under the 1200kg maximum towing weight, the Kuga has a 225hp 2.5 litre petrol engine. The figures for fuel consumption is quoted at 201mpg overall and a range of 30-35 miles on the battery, this would get me to work and back on a daily basis so the saving there would offset the increase when towing the van.

just wondered what thoughts others had

Steve.

Comments

  • Oscarmax
    Oscarmax Club Member Posts: 257 ✭✭✭
    100 Comments
    edited March 2020 #2

    How did you find the Ford Kuga PHEV, regarding the fuel consumption claims, to obtain them you would virtually have to run on electric only, as regards the EV range that is based on city driving, in the real world you will achieve nearer  24 - 26 miles.

    We are going to change from our Ford Kuga to a Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 PHEV in May at present Mitsubishi is heavily discounting due to a new model later this year with a 20 kW battery.

    As regards EV home chargers we have gone for  a Podpoint  32amp and Octopus energy, they do a night time off peak 5 pence kWh, so to charge your PHEV 50 pence for 25 miles. EVO energy are offering a free charger, Mitsubishi have an offer with EVO energy a free charger and 2 years 10,000 free electric, over the 2 years we found buying you own charger and Octopus energy several hundreds pounds cheaper. 

    At present we have a 2017 Ford Kuga diesel 150bhp powershift, it tows our Swift Conqueror 480 very well, we are not sure how well the Outlander PHEV will tow compared to our Kuga, but to be honest we are looking it from the financial side, according to others on the Outlander forums the 2.4 Outlander PHEV are achieving 24 mpg as opposed to the Kuga 28/30mpg towing.

    Earlier this month we road tested the Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 PHEV and just fell in love with it, starting with 3/4 of a charger, electric seats on and travelling approximately 40 mile we achieved just over 70 mpg, however most of my journey are less than 25 miles.

  • Macca16
    Macca16 Forum Participant Posts: 2
    edited March 2020 #3

    I found the Kuga very good to drive, as it is the new model it has a lot of extras as standard on the first edition ( electric leather seats, power tailgate, electric sunroof ) Kuga ST-Line X model

    according to the dash reading on the test driver ( which wasn’t that long) I drive through town and also a main ‘A’ road it showed average of 53mph.

    I am looking at it as my commute to work is 30 miles round trip so would be fairly cheap for that which would offset the times when towing.

  • Oscarmax
    Oscarmax Club Member Posts: 257 ✭✭✭
    100 Comments
    edited March 2020 #4

    I would go back and give it a proper test drive, most dealer are offering 24 hour test drives, at the very least give it a good 100 mile test drive.

    When tested the Outlander PHEV we made sure we depleted the battery for the return journey, from the dealership to Telford it eventually recorded nearly 120 mpg on the return journey down the M54 running in petrol mode only it dropped from 120 down to 66 mpg, once back on the slower A road is regenerated by the time we reached the dealership it was back up to 70mpg. With more experience of how to get the best out of the EV system and regenerative brake, starting with a full battery and the heated seats of we believe we could have achieved 80mpg plus over the 40 mile journey

  • Oneputt
    Oneputt Club Member Posts: 9,144 ✭✭✭
    2,500 Likes 1000 Comments
    edited March 2020 #5

    I have no experience of hybrid vehicles but would say nearly all the towing reviews I’ve watched have been shot in Norfolk.  I discounted a hybrid due to the way we camp.  Last year we used 3 sites which were at an altitude of 2500 feet, so good old diesel was the way forward.  If I didn’t have a van I would probably try either electric or hybrid but that’s a different story

  • devason
    devason Forum Participant Posts: 1
    edited May 2021 #6

    I have the Kuga PHEV. Whilst driving purely in hybrid mode got around 53 mpg. Am picking up a Sprite Alpine 2 soon so will let you know the mpg towing purely in hybrid mode.

  • ScreenName571C4D27C6
    ScreenName571C4D27C6 Forum Participant Posts: 2
    edited March 2022 #7

    How does your kuga get on with towing, what's the mpg. I'm collecting a st line phev on Wednesday. Thanks

  • Amesford
    Amesford Forum Participant Posts: 685
    500 Comments
    edited March 2022 #8

    We have had a MHEV Kuga for a nearly two years and been very happy with it, can I suggest you order one direct from the factory with the electric tow bar fitted just press the button and out it pops and it worked out cheaper than an after market one 

  • winni1974
    winni1974 Forum Participant Posts: 52
    edited March 2022 #9

    Hi there all i have been looking at the Kuga self charging hybrid which as a better towing weight of 1600kg and my caravan is only 1450kg so looks goods however i would love to know what these are really like for towing ie whats it like on hills especially when the battery is flat so only using the petrol engine, and whats the mpg like towing and solo any help or advice here would be very much appreciated 

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