First the good news for those of us dreading a complete switch from Ice (petrol and diesel) engines to fully electric. Last week we learned that the Irish Government has pushed the deadline for ice engines back from 2030 to 2035. So we now have at least 11 years to get ready for the big switch-over.
So if you don’t want to make the switch to electric immediately maybe you could start with a plug-in hybrid, but in truth they are not really a great example. You spend a lot of time charging the battery to get up to 60Km in full electric mode. But the beauty of a hybrid is that you do have the reassurance that if you don’t have enough charge in the battery, the car will automatically switch to petrol mode.
The revamped version of the Ford Kuga that I drove last week was a plug-in version, but I didn’t really need to sit around and wait while it charged. I knew that the most I could get in fully electric fully charged is around 60km. With a 14.4 kWh battery I knew that I could get up close to 60Km in pure electric mode by pressing the EV button in the dash and drive steadily.
Ford were a bit late to begin the move away from the traditional petrol and diesel engines They are expecting huge interest in their new Explorer EV, which should be available in Ireland early in 2024.
I’m a paid up member of the Ford fan club and I have never driven a Ford car that I didn’t like. The first item you will notice when you sit in is the ‘heads-up’ display which give you the speed you are driving at and the speed limit on the road you are travelling on. I find that service really useful and more and more car manufacturers are including it as a standard item in their new cars.
Ford, I do think, have the most idiot-proof controls on the dash and naturally the Kuga has the standard Ford lay-out, which is so easy to use.
The seats are really comfortable and no doubt there is plenty of head and leg room for five well-built adults. So overall no complaints from all family members.
Very few new cars now have a spare wheel as they trying to keep the weight of the car down. Some have a ‘mini’ spare wheel, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a full-size spare wheel in the Kuga.
So it looks like we have at least another 11 years before we will be compelled to buy a fully electric car. However, predicting the future is tricky although Old Moore’s Almanac tries it every year. For 2024 Old Moore is predicting a massive earthquake and really who knows what the future holds; maybe another Covid-type virus or more wars. The year 2035 is a long way off.
The Kuga was first introduced in 2008. A few years back it was priced at around €29k and some people thought that was a bit expensive. Amazing how prices have risen, especially since Covid. The Kuga is a fine car, but it has to compete in what is now a very competitive sector of the Irish motor industry.
Entry prices for new Ford Kuga (Titanium model) start at €46,340; the Kuga ST-Line X PHEV starts from €48,847
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