Tucson Plug in Company Car

[Nashy]

Hi everyone

Have to say i have found this site great in making my decision, the Lead time reviews in particular have been awesome

I thought long an hard on my next company car, lots of U-tube reviews, Feedback on this site convinced me and also based on the exceptionally low C02 on the Plug-in

I am full BIK (car & fuel) intentions to charge at work on a 3 pin (8 hours) I do roughly 700 miles a week with at least 500 miles of that being motorway driving

I wondered if anyone else has any tips from there experiences or similar circumstances ?

Also if any clarification on regeneration of the battery, i.e.: I've read about the 15% being retained, however does the battery regenerate like a normal Hybrid ?

From my personal point of view the only negative i can see is a smaller fuel tank than my current car

Ordered 21st February 2022 expected arrival July/August 2022
1.6 TGDi Plug-in Hybrid Ultimate 5dr 4WD Auto
Pearl - Phantom black

[roadster]

In answer to the regeneration behaviour the car will charge the battery both from deceleration and from braking and does behave like a normal hybrid but with a much larger ( about 10X) capacity of battery. You can choose to run in hybrid mode or in electric mode, but you can also select automatic and let the car decide when to go EV without any preference from the driver. I haven't quite worked out what the algorithm for this is but speed is definitely one factor. Of course once the extra battery capacity has been used up ( as you say this is somewhere between ten and fifteen percent ) the car is effectively in hybrid mode irrespective of the setting. As far as I am aware there is no way to force the engine to recharge the traction battery so once its hit the 15% level it stays roughly there with the ebb and flow of power just like any hybrid. I suppose using the engine to charge the battery to its capacity would be very inefficient in any case.

If you have a regular pattern of commuting you will be able to select electric mode so that the entire capacity will be used up on suitable parts of your journey and this will minimise petrol consumption.

Because the entire battery capacity is never drained the charge time when plugged in never requires more than about 12 Kw.hours but you do have the choice of charge rate and eight hours will be ample time for a full recharge.

[madowl]

I find the whole area of PHEV vs HEV is a lot more complicated than it first appears.
I have gone from a RAV HEV to MG HS PHEV then back to Tucson HEV and observe the following.

Obviously if you can keep trips below around 30 miles the PHEV is at it's most efficient, however there is an inconvenience factor in charging every day. The costs to do this also are nearing the cost of the equivalent petrol.
If you do use a PHEV in self charging mode it is not the same as an HEV as fuel efficiency is impared by the heavier batteries being carried. Also the engines are tuned differently. For example in the RAV HEV the Atkinson cycle/Otto type engine is tuned purely for low consumption knowing it can call on the electric motor to boost performance.
An HEV always has maximum power available whereas a PHEV only has this in self charge mode.
Of course your company car as a PHEV will have other financial benefits.

[Nashy]

Thanks, some really useful information, really appreciate your time responding

Will be interesting to evaluate once I get the car, hopefully sooner than later

All my mileage is classed as personal so as I am full BIK there is no cash Benefit to charge at home so will only charge when “free to do so” eg work or at a place my Shell card offers

Although I intend to drive the car economically to get the best mpg

The tax break on a plug in is just to good to turn down and for the first time in 17 years I will actually get some tax free benefit