Been an owner of the 2024 Kuga FHEV for a month now, lovely car, smooth ride and seems to get quite a lot of Electric usage when driving around town with stop/start and traffic lights etc. Found I’m not having to fill up the tank quite as frequently as my previous Petrol Focus which is a bonus
I ordered one as well, the Active X version PHEV, which in the Netherlands has 243ps. The Active X trim here is almost fully loaded, didn't get the panoramic roof and the matrix headlights. Can't wait to get my hands on it, but the leasing company says that delivery will be January 2025 :(, so for now I'm just watching video's of it on YT. Thanks for the content :)
@@DamoDrives Well first of all, I didn't really have a choice. In the Netherlands you can only order de PHEV atm, but even given the choice, I think I would go for the PHEV, unless the price difference would be dramatic. I can't charge at home, don't have a driveway unfortunately, but I can charge about 50 meters away in my street for a good price. Did the calculations and it's about 50% cheaper than petrol for me right now. Also, a few of my friends have PHEVs and I love the feeling of driving electric for short drives, but also want the freedom of taking a 2000 mile road trip whenever I want, so fully electric isn't for me just yet.
Ordered the ST-Line X on 2nd of May 2024 getting it tomorrow 29th October 2024 a bit of a wait but think it will be well worth it, great vehicle, btw I’m all excited 😂
Takes a bit of getting used to … although that’s CVT gearboxes in general. If I remember correctly they use CVT boxes as they are the most efficient. I found in the short drive I had it was pretty good , driving it normally and did not try hard acceleration.
@@KLZ60 interesting I need to compare to toyota because i heard CVT was really bad but apparently toyota ecvt not...this might play in favor of the kuga if true, I need a higher ground clearance SUV than what i drive now
@@DamoDrives I'm not an engine mechanic but I did some ECU tuning (dyno laptop and all) and I can easily understand why engines work with pretty much a 3d excel table with cells you land on depending on acceleration and rpm but between this theory and reality where you constantly modulate the accelerator (outside of cruise control) you are often off the "ideal" air fuel ratio which pollutes more than needed, CVT allow the engine to reach that ideal mix and then change everything else rather than raise rpms this is why CVT have a kind of "plateau" that's when you are at the optimal fuel efficiency and emission regime
@@fredEVOIX been driving my Active X fhev awd some weeks now. Fuel economy around 5.2 l/100km. Quite good for AWD SUV. Transmission (eCVT) is ok. Breaking and decerating feels a bit weird at first because of energy recovery. This is my first hybrid.
I ordered a PHEV Kuga in December 2023, preferring it over the FHEV version because: It has more power (225 vs. 190 horsepower). There is no control over the engine in the FHEV; it kicks in whenever the car decides. I received a government incentive of 6.2K euros. I received the car at the end of March, so here are my thoughts after three months and 6.2K km: I've averaged around 60 mpg so far, including a long trip. It's still hard to control when the engine kicks in. Even in electric-only mode, the engine starts by itself if you floor the gas pedal with a low battery. It needs to be charged daily. If you don't have access to a personal socket, it's better not to buy. I charge at work, but it still gives me range anxiety. These days, it's very hot, and after charging, the car consumes about 8 estimated miles per real mile driven. (Ouch!) I really like the electric drive feeling in the city. It's a bliss at traffic lights and in traffic jams. Overall, the car handles very well. If I were to buy again, I would get the same model, provided the government offers the extra cash, which is no longer the case. So, I'd probably go for a 1.6 manual Tucson instead. (Disclaimer: I am a diehard manual fan.)
Help me to understand one thing: so the FHEV has the same engine and a small battery, the PHEV has a bigger battery and some extra weight (about 70-80 kg as I look into that), so how PHEV consumes more? the principle is the same, right? when you're moving you're charging the battery but you have the advantage to store more into the battery in the PHEV because is bigger, so if you're traveling alot outside the city you have the battery prepared for the entrance in the city, also when you're taking a break at a supermarket you're also charging. Isn't the PHEV better this way? from what I've seen the difference in price is not that big.
It is all relative. If you drive mainly on highways, the battery and electric motor are basically useless, and the extra 100 kg will result in somewhat higher fuel consumption. However, if you drive in the city or on hilly roads, the bigger battery will store extra energy from regeneration, leading to lower consumption. I can't speak about the FHEV, but my PHEV regenerates a lot. Additionally, having the advantage that I can plug it in, it's hard to say in reality if, and by how much, one is better than the other.
Absolutely agree, driving pure electric in town is a bliss. I do have my own charger so we literally fill the tank every 2-3 months. PHEV makes lots of sense when you have somewhere to charge it and if there are some government incentives
6.2k incentive but you lost 28k buying it I'm afraid you don't know it yet but you will soon either if you try to resale it or if I really hope not it fails, don't scratch the underside that would be a "you" problem as far as warranties go, people every time you think about buying an EV or PHEV search it's "battery pack replacement cost" it will cure you guaranteed
@@fredEVOIX Maybe that's how it is; it depends on the perspective. That would mean if I lost 28K, I should have been looking for the perfect car at 1K. I'm not interested, and I wish good luck to anyone who believes they can find a car for 1K. Any car you buy will have problems at some point, more or less, until it dies. There’s no exception. What’s the difference between looking for a battery replacement in a PHEV versus a high-pressure pump in a premium Audi diesel? You could faint at that price too. If we think like that, we might as well say we shouldn’t breathe, as the air could become toxic. Anyway, back to reality-this is the only comfortable car with ground clearance over 160cm and a 2.5L NA engine for 29K. It came with the PHEV package, so that’s that. And an update after 4 months and 10k km: The car runs perfectly, zero problems. I found out a friend of mine has the same car, 2 years and 62k km, minor issues but okay. Anyway, time will tell.
I am really really doubting between PHEV and FHEV and it drives me crazy. I have no solar panels but can charge at home, hope this video will give me answers. is the Ford 2023 a reliable car?
an HEV FHEV battery is usually around 5-6000 a PHEV ford kuga batters is 28'000 and will for sure fail earlier just like on EV because they put a massive drain effort on the large batteries while an HEV has a balanced approach if that's not enough know that the depreciation of PHEV like EV is massive because those 28'000 ? they are considered a consumable and non-resellable by the manufacturer so you're burning 28k as soon as you sign the contract, sure you can "fool" someone into paying more but I can guarantee you a dealership won't
@@DamoDrives No, I didn't drive the PHEV. Although I could plug the car in my garage I don't drive every day and I drive 50% or more (Kms) in highway/roads annualy. In those long range (500 km) travels I would rarely save much fuel with the PHEV (may be a little). I do 5000 Km/year in town. With PHEV I could save 300 €/year. But I have to install a charger, and I would have a quite more complex electronic/software in the car. The FHEV is lighter, more agile, and less prone to failures.
thanks interesting I drive a focus rs but need an SUV with better mileage I pretty much doubled my miles/year and it's not only a shame on a sportscar but it's starting to cost a lot in BP ultimate too lol
It’s millbrook testing ground used by manufacturers to test their new cars for handling , high speed etc. Afraid it’s not available to the public. This was an industry event which you had to apply for and you need to be press, media, trade etc
Bought one of these Kugas on Saturday, replacing a 21 plate diesel S max. Quite looking forward to delivery after this review, if we do better than 37 mpg, all will be good
We have had our FHEV for two weeks and averaging 47mpg doing 10-30 mile journeys, not tried a long trip yet but happy with that so far. it is actually the same mpg as our diesel Focus ST we traded in..
no diesel option i getting 54mpg in local driving so the mpg hes getting isnt very good prices are too high putting you in the high V E D bracket so ill be sticking with my current kuga
definitely do but diesel are near extinct in Europe if not 2024 in 2025 people don't realitze it unless they check outside of their target cars but diesel and petrol are almost gone and in 2025 a lot of models will simply be gone like the ford focus the suzuki jimny the subaru legacy and plenty of others
Help me to understand one thing: so the FHEV has the same engine and a small battery, the PHEV has a bigger battery and some extra weight (about 70-80 kg as I look into that), so how PHEV consumes more? the principle is the same, right? when you're moving you're charging the battery but you have the advantage to store more into the battery in the PHEV because is bigger, so if you're traveling alot outside the city you have the battery prepared for the entrance in the city, also when you're taking a break at a supermarket you're also charging. Isn't the PHEV better this way? from what I've seen the difference in price is not that big.
Been an owner of the 2024 Kuga FHEV for a month now, lovely car, smooth ride and seems to get quite a lot of Electric usage when driving around town with stop/start and traffic lights etc. Found I’m not having to fill up the tank quite as frequently as my previous Petrol Focus which is a bonus
Well done, no bias just an honest opinion.
Thanks , difficult at times
Is it comfortable going over bumps?
I ordered one as well, the Active X version PHEV, which in the Netherlands has 243ps. The Active X trim here is almost fully loaded, didn't get the panoramic roof and the matrix headlights. Can't wait to get my hands on it, but the leasing company says that delivery will be January 2025 :(, so for now I'm just watching video's of it on YT. Thanks for the content :)
I would assume you can charge the PHEV at home ! Interested in what made you choose the PHEV or the FHEV ?
@@DamoDrives Well first of all, I didn't really have a choice. In the Netherlands you can only order de PHEV atm, but even given the choice, I think I would go for the PHEV, unless the price difference would be dramatic. I can't charge at home, don't have a driveway unfortunately, but I can charge about 50 meters away in my street for a good price. Did the calculations and it's about 50% cheaper than petrol for me right now. Also, a few of my friends have PHEVs and I love the feeling of driving electric for short drives, but also want the freedom of taking a 2000 mile road trip whenever I want, so fully electric isn't for me just yet.
Oh damn I just got my titanium with drive assistance pack (Also NL) damn this car drivers wonderful that 243 pk my god
I ordered the Titanium with Some packages. Gonna pick the new one up tomorrow. Its also a lease
@@QtvMobiel Nice have fun , you will be amazed how much power the car has!!! ( put it in sport mode 😊)
Ordered the ST-Line X on 2nd of May 2024 getting it tomorrow 29th October 2024 a bit of a wait but think it will be well worth it, great vehicle, btw I’m all excited 😂
What is your view of the CVT gearbox in this model?
Takes a bit of getting used to … although that’s CVT gearboxes in general. If I remember correctly they use CVT boxes as they are the most efficient. I found in the short drive I had it was pretty good , driving it normally and did not try hard acceleration.
It is actually eCVT. There is no mechanical variator belt.
@@KLZ60 interesting I need to compare to toyota because i heard CVT was really bad but apparently toyota ecvt not...this might play in favor of the kuga if true, I need a higher ground clearance SUV than what i drive now
@@DamoDrives I'm not an engine mechanic but I did some ECU tuning (dyno laptop and all) and I can easily understand why engines work with pretty much a 3d excel table with cells you land on depending on acceleration and rpm but between this theory and reality where you constantly modulate the accelerator (outside of cruise control) you are often off the "ideal" air fuel ratio which pollutes more than needed, CVT allow the engine to reach that ideal mix and then change everything else rather than raise rpms this is why CVT have a kind of "plateau" that's when you are at the optimal fuel efficiency and emission regime
@@fredEVOIX been driving my Active X fhev awd some weeks now. Fuel economy around 5.2 l/100km. Quite good for AWD SUV. Transmission (eCVT) is ok. Breaking and decerating feels a bit weird at first because of energy recovery. This is my first hybrid.
I've got one coming in a few days. It's my first car which isn't a Volvo S40 SE. I hope I can bond with it.
I ordered a PHEV Kuga in December 2023, preferring it over the FHEV version because:
It has more power (225 vs. 190 horsepower).
There is no control over the engine in the FHEV; it kicks in whenever the car decides.
I received a government incentive of 6.2K euros.
I received the car at the end of March, so here are my thoughts after three months and 6.2K km:
I've averaged around 60 mpg so far, including a long trip.
It's still hard to control when the engine kicks in. Even in electric-only mode, the engine starts by itself if you floor the gas pedal with a low battery.
It needs to be charged daily. If you don't have access to a personal socket, it's better not to buy. I charge at work, but it still gives me range anxiety. These days, it's very hot, and after charging, the car consumes about 8 estimated miles per real mile driven. (Ouch!)
I really like the electric drive feeling in the city. It's a bliss at traffic lights and in traffic jams.
Overall, the car handles very well. If I were to buy again, I would get the same model, provided the government offers the extra cash, which is no longer the case. So, I'd probably go for a 1.6 manual Tucson instead.
(Disclaimer: I am a diehard manual fan.)
Help me to understand one thing: so the FHEV has the same engine and a small battery, the PHEV has a bigger battery and some extra weight (about 70-80 kg as I look into that), so how PHEV consumes more? the principle is the same, right? when you're moving you're charging the battery but you have the advantage to store more into the battery in the PHEV because is bigger, so if you're traveling alot outside the city you have the battery prepared for the entrance in the city, also when you're taking a break at a supermarket you're also charging. Isn't the PHEV better this way? from what I've seen the difference in price is not that big.
It is all relative. If you drive mainly on highways, the battery and electric motor are basically useless, and the extra 100 kg will result in somewhat higher fuel consumption. However, if you drive in the city or on hilly roads, the bigger battery will store extra energy from regeneration, leading to lower consumption. I can't speak about the FHEV, but my PHEV regenerates a lot. Additionally, having the advantage that I can plug it in, it's hard to say in reality if, and by how much, one is better than the other.
Absolutely agree, driving pure electric in town is a bliss. I do have my own charger so we literally fill the tank every 2-3 months. PHEV makes lots of sense when you have somewhere to charge it and if there are some government incentives
6.2k incentive but you lost 28k buying it I'm afraid you don't know it yet but you will soon either if you try to resale it or if I really hope not it fails, don't scratch the underside that would be a "you" problem as far as warranties go, people every time you think about buying an EV or PHEV search it's "battery pack replacement cost" it will cure you guaranteed
@@fredEVOIX Maybe that's how it is; it depends on the perspective. That would mean if I lost 28K, I should have been looking for the perfect car at 1K. I'm not interested, and I wish good luck to anyone who believes they can find a car for 1K. Any car you buy will have problems at some point, more or less, until it dies. There’s no exception. What’s the difference between looking for a battery replacement in a PHEV versus a high-pressure pump in a premium Audi diesel? You could faint at that price too. If we think like that, we might as well say we shouldn’t breathe, as the air could become toxic. Anyway, back to reality-this is the only comfortable car with ground clearance over 160cm and a 2.5L NA engine for 29K. It came with the PHEV package, so that’s that. And an update after 4 months and 10k km: The car runs perfectly, zero problems. I found out a friend of mine has the same car, 2 years and 62k km, minor issues but okay. Anyway, time will tell.
I am really really doubting between PHEV and FHEV and it drives me crazy. I have no solar panels but can charge at home, hope this video will give me answers.
is the Ford 2023 a reliable car?
an HEV FHEV battery is usually around 5-6000 a PHEV ford kuga batters is 28'000 and will for sure fail earlier just like on EV because they put a massive drain effort on the large batteries while an HEV has a balanced approach if that's not enough know that the depreciation of PHEV like EV is massive because those 28'000 ? they are considered a consumable and non-resellable by the manufacturer so you're burning 28k as soon as you sign the contract, sure you can "fool" someone into paying more but I can guarantee you a dealership won't
I got a Kuga FHEV two years ago, now 20.000 km. Average 50 mpg (UK). Common 60-65 mpg in town.
Have you run a PHEV at any point ? Wondered how they compared in the real world
@@DamoDrives No, I didn't drive the PHEV. Although I could plug the car in my garage I don't drive every day and I drive 50% or more (Kms) in highway/roads annualy. In those long range (500 km) travels I would rarely save much fuel with the PHEV (may be a little). I do 5000 Km/year in town. With PHEV I could save 300 €/year. But I have to install a charger, and I would have a quite more complex electronic/software in the car. The FHEV is lighter, more agile, and less prone to failures.
thanks interesting I drive a focus rs but need an SUV with better mileage I pretty much doubled my miles/year and it's not only a shame on a sportscar but it's starting to cost a lot in BP ultimate too lol
Where is the track that you filmed this video? Is it accessible to the public?
It’s millbrook testing ground used by manufacturers to test their new cars for handling , high speed etc.
Afraid it’s not available to the public. This was an industry event which you had to apply for and you need to be press, media, trade etc
@@DamoDrives shame! You wouldn't happen to know/recommend places that I could take my regular car and do a bit of drag racing?
@@tomaszgospodarek2776 definitely not on a race track you'll have to search for them but maybe there are some drag strips in UK ? no idea
Bought one of these Kugas on Saturday, replacing a 21 plate diesel S max. Quite looking forward to delivery after this review, if we do better than 37 mpg, all will be good
Did you go for the FHEV model ? Not driven the S Max so not sure how it compares but this seems to do everything well and a good amount of room.
I have a 2023 Kuga PHEV and after 1200 miles my mpg is 170! Plug it in at home. Also seems to do about 50 to 60 mpg when it’s run out of electric.
We have had our FHEV for two weeks and averaging 47mpg doing 10-30 mile journeys, not tried a long trip yet but happy with that so far. it is actually the same mpg as our diesel Focus ST we traded in..
no diesel option i getting 54mpg in local driving so the mpg hes getting isnt very good prices are too high putting you in the high V E D bracket so ill be sticking with my current kuga
definitely do but diesel are near extinct in Europe if not 2024 in 2025 people don't realitze it unless they check outside of their target cars but diesel and petrol are almost gone and in 2025 a lot of models will simply be gone like the ford focus the suzuki jimny the subaru legacy and plenty of others
Help me to understand one thing: so the FHEV has the same engine and a small battery, the PHEV has a bigger battery and some extra weight (about 70-80 kg as I look into that), so how PHEV consumes more? the principle is the same, right? when you're moving you're charging the battery but you have the advantage to store more into the battery in the PHEV because is bigger, so if you're traveling alot outside the city you have the battery prepared for the entrance in the city, also when you're taking a break at a supermarket you're also charging. Isn't the PHEV better this way? from what I've seen the difference in price is not that big.
300 kg more weight, kuga phev is 1700kg. I've got one 2021charge mainly at home with mostly sun power.
Das Lenkrad ist ja auf der falschen Seite!
lol, Linksfahren mit Rechtslenkung ist nicht sehr schön
what a bullshit
Happy for constructive feedback on videos, what did you find was the issue with the video and what would you do differently
@rufdymond I really like the Kia and certainly the styling is better and the cabin does feel a bit more up to date