We have a 140Kw Formentor in Graphene Gray. In September we travelled nearly 3000kms around NZ's South Island and managed a best economy of 6.3L/100km and a worst of 7.2L/100km. Travelling into town, about 18km, we consistently get mid - high 6L/100km and the motor is still freeing up. It seems easier to get the lower 6's now. If we hoof it a bit, then the figure drops markedly, like pretty much every other marque. Travelling into work for little cost appeals with a PHEV, but we use the boot a lot and 345L isn't great. However, because it has such good rear footwell, we could fit a lot of stuff there when we don't have back seat passenger. Theses cars are brilliant - whichever version. Great reviews.
I'am lucky enough to have the European vz1 hybrid which delivers 245 bhp. Keeping it charged will definitely help your pocket especially in Scotland as i can charged it for free 200 metres away from my house i went a full month charging it every second day and literally used around £20 on fuel. The car itself to drive is absolutely amazing on the country roads in Scotland the handling is amazing.
The fact it has a proper transmission instead of that CVT rubbish is a major plus with this car. Ripper car, though, and fantastic review, Tom. Well done.
You heard it. Tom likes it. Seems most Aussies will, including Butchers, Tom Baker and Candlestick makers. At last a competitor ( in my view) to the Rav 4. Well done Cupra.
Great review ! You’re definitely the best in the car review business. Love the car, going to read your written review and find a showroom to look at in the metal. Cheers
Vzx for me. Considering same price and does need to option power pack. At best running pure elec you may save around 1500 a year in fuel but thats only ever driving 50km max. Also I believe you can't get your hands on one of these till 2023, so for now go a vzx get the performance and if you really want elec wait till the fully elec born
Time will tell how successful Cupra is in Australia. This market is very conservative and wary of new brands, including when the dealer / service support is very limited. I mean how many years did it take Skoda to get somewhat established in Australia? It still has a high depreciation factor to consider, compared to established brands like Toyota. Skoda is very niche here, and I would expect Cupra to be even more so.
I enjoy your reviews along with watching a fee other car reviewers. One aspect that no car reviewer seems to cover is interior illumination,dials,buttons..etc This has become even more relevanr with many models now 9 interior ambient lighting. Which Australian reviewer will be first to add this,if only just 1 minute
I just watched a Euro review of the Formentor VZe and they get the start and mode buttons on the steering wheel like the VZx, but the Aussie variant gets ripped off.
I've been thinking about hybrids for my next car but my biggest issue is that I can't charge it overnight, though I might at work depending on availability. This unpredictability makes me think it won't be fun to drive due to the irregularity of its performance. I'll never know exactly how fast will it accelerate getting into the highway or overtaking because it will depend on the electrical charge. Is this a problem for people that own one?
Ooh semi premium. PHEV/Hybrid reviews should include a return on investment calculation. Basically how many years/km’s until the fuel savings repay the extra upfront costs. Charging at night defeats the purpose of a low emissions vehicle by shifting the burning of fossil fuels from the ICE to the coal/gas fired power plant. A wall box charger gives control over your charging say to only charge while your rooftop solar is generating excess electrons. Which might work for folks who are home during the day, but if this is your daily drive and the only choice is to recharge overnight maybe it’s not the best option if CO2 emissions reduction is important.
Even charged from the NSW grid at night, I understand that the emissions generated per km are still significantly lower than extracting and burning petrol, so there’s that. Additionally, some people do have batteries with excess capacity they could store solar energy in and utilise to charge their PHEV/EV overnight. In either case, a declining problem as the grid mix becomes greener. In Tasmania it wouldn’t be an issue at all.
@@chasingcars That’s a good idea for a video; exactly what are the lifetime emission reductions of the various low emissions V ICE vehicles in Australia in 2022. People predominately buy batteries to power their homes at night to reduce their electricity bills/CO2 emissions and mitigate against blackouts. At this point in time and for the foreseeable future the cost of home batteries is just to high to justify a nightly PHEV charging use case, so there’s that. But hey we can all just move to Tassie, problem solved.
Have you been made aware of the CUPRA Authorised Service Partners in Australia? Assuming they will be using Volkswagen for service? Or will AUDI / ŠKODA be used also perhaps? Any insight Tom / Chasing Cars?
Nice honest review, Tom as always. The price for this vehicle is a bit steep and hence will be competing with the likes of Tesla, Mazda Cx 60, Mitsubishi outlander Exceed and other hybrid, Ev vehicles. It will be interesting to see how this car stacks up against the new Mazda CX 60 when its launched in Australia in November 2022, I believe. The car might be good but European dealerships lack good customer service. I hope I am wrong just this once. Tbh, I felt the interior was a bit dark for my liking and the symbol reminds me of star trek.. Perhaps, it may be a sign with a hidden meaning "to boldly go (to australia) where no Cupra has gone before".
@@mixalis6168 Cx-60 will be priced from $58k -$62k for the base model going upto $88k for the top takumi model. Mazda will make a value added proposition to remain competitive.
I would like to see road tests of the 140kw AWD V model as well as the 180kw VZ FWD. To me, they make more sense than the VZe and even the VZx. They are priced reasonably as well. Poor quality video here?
Question: Why do manufacturers NEVER match the kW power output on their Hybrid variants to be as powerful as the 'trophy' Petrol models? It just seems like Hybrid models are always a bit compromised when it comes to power....
Did you test the 0-100km/hr in electric only mode? Heard from the EU models that it's 12ish seconds? Is electric only mode speed limited? How long does it take to charge and what charging speeds are supported?
Could I trouble someone to explain how the Cupra hybrid system would operate on a freeway drive if approximately 150km....between cities like Melbourne to Bendigo, Victoria. I imagine the electric motor might be utilised to vacate the city, Im curious to know what happens then, does the ICE kick in and the electric motor hibernates until city driving occurs again or does the electric motor take some of the work and load off the ICE while charge still exists? I'm looking to maximise fuel efficiency, the claimed 1.9l/100km would be incredible...I suspect on my freeway drive it might be more like 5l/100km. If anyone can shed some light I would be very grateful. Love the reviews Chasing Cars, keep them coming.
How'd you know it was me 😊, well bit of an update....12 months earlier than expected (unfortunately my Subaru was destroyed by someone running a red light) I'm going to give the VZE a try....due for delivery shortly. I'll be intrigued to see if it does 1.9l/100km and 2000 km on a tank of fuel...lol, will let you know.
Yep, exactly the same running gear as the Golf GTE. Real-world consumption in hybrid mode is a really hard question to answer. If the battery is charged the first 100km will be very low consumption (but it does use up the battery, to be clear). If the battery is 'dead' the consumption in hybrid mode is 6.5-7.5L/100km.
so much competition yet all of them are still expensive i miss the old days where prices were different but nowadays all the cars look same and they cost same.
While I like the look of it, its not going to me smile while driving it. The more EV's I drive regardless of its type this future of electrification is a boring one, these cars just have no soul. My WRX makes me smile everyday regardless of how heavy on fuel it is. I must be one of an ever shrinking group of people that thinks this way. Great review as always though
Not really, this for the daily commute, R32 GTR for the weekends ;) I want something quite, refined and new for the daily grind...I dont need to be shifting gears, spending more $$ on fuel and worrying about a breakdown during the daily city grind.
I reckon 50km is the start of the useful window. Below that is hard to justify. But for me, with a 12km commute, I could do it for 2 days without needing to charge - I see the utility. Charge Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights for instance.
The whole concept of a plug in hybrid is a strange one. Electric sure, if you can charge it, have the time to charge it, and range is no issue. Hybrid sure, they can be a bit under-powered but you just fill them up and drive them. But plug ins require you to both fill it up and charge it and then the performance varies according to which mode you select. This is too much to think about, too much of your car dominating your life. Bring on hydrogen.
My daily commute is 45kms return, which means at minimum, 5 days of the week (225kms) driving will be basically done with electric. Thats over 10,000 kms at year minimum. Then If I need to do a longer day trip, I can do that easily without any real range anxiety. This would be a massive saving over 5 years over the pertrol variant. Full EV is much too expensive to make it worthwhile as I dont do enough Kms...this is perfect.
Yes, the PHEV model is not the ideal one as promoted by some people. It takes on average 6 to 7 years to break even just on the extra cost of the car. For the PHEV to work efficiently, the battery needs to be kept to maximum charge on a daily basis and if it is charged every night on peak electricity tariffs when any solar assistance is not available, it starts to look even less attractive. Add to that the problem of carrying that extra weight around and when a bit of acceleration to pass another vehicle or go up a hill is required, the petrol motor cuts in reducing any economy gain. Now different states are charging 2c per kilometre to offset the loss of petrol excise, that's another $300 a year on top of registration costs. So I think the whole purpose of a PHEV is largely negated. They are too complicated and have too many things to go wrong.
