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Ford Kuga Plug-In Hybrid range, MPG, CO2 & charging

The Ford Kuga Plug-In Hybrid has a decent electric range, but there’s no fast charging, so you need to trickle-charge overnight

Overall rating

4.0 out of 5

Range, MPG, CO2 & charging rating

4.0 out of 5

Price
£40,555 - £42,455
Fuel Type:
Hybrid Petrol
Fuel economyCO2 emissionsElectric rangeWallbox charge time
202mpg32g/km35 miles3hrs 30mins (0-100%, 7.4kW)

Despite the fact that no Kuga Plug-In Hybrid comes with fast-charging capability, the top-up times aren’t as long as you might imagine. As long as you’ve got off-street parking and the ability to recharge overnight, it should be easy to start each day with a full battery. Do so and you’ll benefit from an official 35 miles (more realistically 28-30 miles) on electric power, before the car toggles into one of its other drive modes.

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You can charge the battery using the engine, but this isn’t a particularly efficient way of doing things – expect your average fuel economy to plummet if you use this feature on a regular basis. Unless you’re due to enter a specific low-emissions zone, we’d suggest leaving the car in hybrid mode and letting it figure things out.

Ford Kuga Plug-In Hybrid range, MPG & CO2 emissions

Ford claims the Kuga Plug-In Hybrid can return as much as 202mpg. You’ll need a short commute and the ability to charge regularly to realise this lofty figure, but low CO2 emissions give the car an appealing Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax banding; the diesel model’s percentage rating is almost double, so there are huge savings to be made if you’re a company-car driver. No matter which specification or wheel size you go for, every Kuga Plug-In Hybrid emits 32g/km of CO2.

Charge time

The Kuga's 14.4kWh battery is a good size for a plug-in hybrid like this. But a big battery doesn’t mean it takes an age to charge – Ford says a standard domestic socket will give you a full 35 miles of electric power in around six hours, while a 7.4kW wallbox or public charging point will reduce this to a little over three hours.

To charge at a public point, you’ll need to specify the relevant cable at a cost of £195 – the Kuga Plug-In Hybrid only comes with one lead for home-charging as standard. The charge flap is located on the front wing, but opening it reveals only an AC port – there's no option to top up the Kuga from a DC rapid charger.

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Richard is editor of DrivingElectric, as well as sister site Carbuyer.co.uk, and a regular contributor to Auto Express. An electric and hybrid car advocate, he spent more than five years working on the news and reviews desk at Auto Express and has driven almost every new car currently on sale.

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