[GeorgeStark]

I've had the 48v 'mild hybrid' Tucson since the end of November and am interested in hearing from other owners about what fuel economy they're getting, and what they think of the engine overall. I'm talking specifically about the "1.6 T-GDi 150ps 48 Volt MHEV 7DCT DCT " version.

I hate mine. I find the engine massively underpowered for the size of the car, the automatic gearbox albeit very smooth is erratic and often doesn't seem to know what gear it should be in. I did a 400 mile journey last weekend in near optimal conditions for fuel economy (all ECO mode, and driving as smoothly as I could) and it returned 36mpg which isn't terrible, but for the conditions and the fact that this is supposed to be a practical family car, is still poor (at best, it's nothing to write home about). Since coming back home 2 days ago I've done 4 school runs (5.2 miles each way, a mixture of motorway/dual carriageway, and empty back roads) and the overall economy is already down to 30.4mpg. This morning's return journey from school (so, the car wasn't cold and had been at operating temp for a while) got me 26mpg. I've seen it as low as 22mpg and if I drive 'normally' (i.e. don't be paranoid about the fuel consumption and don't drive like an old lady), it'll go down to 19mpg.

It's already been back to the dealer to see if they can find any reason for this and, unsurprisingly, they couldn't. This thing is currently costing me an extra £29pm in fuel more than my previous car, which was an Audi Q5 diesel (yes, I know that diesel is more economical than petrol, but I could get 35-40mpg out of my Q5 just doing the same short journeys, and I could get 54mpg from the same 200 mile trip I did in the Tucson that got me 36mpg...diesel versus petrol alone doesn't account for those huge differences).

I look forward to hearing your experiences. Thanks!

 

[Joolstdi]

Hi there are a lot of people like yourself going from a 2 tdi going down to 1.6 petrol hybrid say how bad and shocking the mpg is. I like yourself have a tdi a vw Tiguan and I have just ordered a plug in hybrid and I'm thinking have I done the right thing.
When I test drove the car which was a NLine hybrid and I took it for a 15 mile down the motorway and city driving test drive the most I could get out of it was 40mpg.
I know that the battery on the car that I have order will do 30ish miles on pure battery but I have found out that when its winter the car has to heat up first in petrol motor for 3-4 miles before it switches over to EV.

Will the car get better mpg in summer and will it get better mpg using E5 fuel super unleaded in the uk.
Jools

 

[Paul Harris]

I've had the 48v 'mild hybrid' Tucson since the end of November and am interested in hearing from other owners about what fuel economy they're getting, and what they think of the engine overall. I'm talking specifically about the "1.6 T-GDi 150ps 48 Volt MHEV 7DCT DCT " version.

I hate mine. I find the engine massively underpowered for the size of the car, the automatic gearbox albeit very smooth is erratic and often doesn't seem to know what gear it should be in. I did a 400 mile journey last weekend in near optimal conditions for fuel economy (all ECO mode, and driving as smoothly as I could) and it returned 36mpg which isn't terrible, but for the conditions and the fact that this is supposed to be a practical family car, is still poor (at best, it's nothing to write home about). Since coming back home 2 days ago I've done 4 school runs (5.2 miles each way, a mixture of motorway/dual carriageway, and empty back roads) and the overall economy is already down to 30.4mpg. This morning's return journey from school (so, the car wasn't cold and had been at operating temp for a while) got me 26mpg. I've seen it as low as 22mpg and if I drive 'normally' (i.e. don't be paranoid about the fuel consumption and don't drive like an old lady), it'll go down to 19mpg.

It's already been back to the dealer to see if they can find any reason for this and, unsurprisingly, they couldn't. This thing is currently costing me an extra £29pm in fuel more than my previous car, which was an Audi Q5 diesel (yes, I know that diesel is more economical than petrol, but I could get 35-40mpg out of my Q5 just doing the same short journeys, and I could get 54mpg from the same 200 mile trip I did in the Tucson that got me 36mpg...diesel versus petrol alone doesn't account for those huge differences).

I look forward to hearing your experiences. Thanks!

I have a 2021 mild hybrid 4x4 Tucson since December 180 bhp it averages 34 mpg and 43 on a good run and I find it very lively, and love it but have not tried the caravan on it yet!

 

[Paul Harris]

We have a Tucson 2021 mild hybrid 180 bhp 1600cc petrol 34mpg average 43 on longer journeys, love it, and we find it very lively.

 

[TucsonUser]

Seeing some MHEV users here I would like to repost my question:

Based on the Energy Flow screen in the instrument cluster, it seems that in:

• Eco mode Mild Hybrid electric motor is NOT engaged at all
• Normal mode it is engaged for a very brief moment only when there is a rapid acceleration
• Sport mode is the only mode where Mild Hybrid works as I would expect it to. At various speeds it is engaged even when the acceleration is subtle

It seems that as a consequence I can get a better fuel economy in Sport mode rather than in Eco or Normal for the same calm driving style which makes absolutely no sense. Also I don't want to ride Sport mode all the time due less comfortable ride and not relaxed acceleration
The fuel consumption is city is not great - in Eco/Normal mode it is around 10-12 l/100km

Can anyone else confirm this? Is this a know issue and is there a fix for this?

Additional Info:

• 2021 Tucson 1.6 150hp MHEV 48v 7DCT Premium (EU)
• Few days ago I got an Infotainment and allegedly car FW upgrade at the dealer service
• charging in all modes happen in similar situations/manner so the problem is only with electric motor mode.

 

[mungo544]

I don't have one , but this video explains how the electric motor works. It is mainly the ICE starter motor and the generator for both the starter/ generator motor battery and the 12 volt system battery (through a dc to dc converter that charges the 12 volt system. There is no separate 12 volt alternator. I believe the a/c and the power steering are also powered by the 48 volt system. Because the starter/ generator is much more powerful than a 12 volt starter, and the fact that it is belt driven, the starts are much smoother than a regular car and the starter/ generator also assists to get the car rolling. It is similar to starting a standard shift car with the clutch engaged. The starter generator actually moves the car along. It doesn't provide much assist, as it is only 48 volts and not very powerful. The main fuel savings come from the starter / generator regenerative braking function, which captures braking energy as electricity, and the start/ stop feature of the system. which saves fuel whenever the engine is powered down. I don't think the eco/ sport mode has much to do with the hybrid system in the mild hybrid, since it doesn't have much power to give in the first place.

 

[TucsonUser]

I don't have one , but this video explains how the electric motor works. It is mainly the ICE starter motor and the generator for both the starter/ generator motor battery and the 12 volt system battery (through a dc to dc converter that charges the 12 volt system. There is no separate 12 volt alternator. I believe the a/c and the power steering are also powered by the 48 volt system. Because the starter/ generator is much more powerful than a 12 volt starter, and the fact that it is belt driven, the starts are much smoother than a regular car and the starter/ generator also assists to get the car rolling. It is similar to starting a standard shift car with the clutch engaged. The starter generator actually moves the car along. It doesn't provide much assist, as it is only 48 volts and not very powerful. The main fuel savings come from the starter / generator regenerative braking function, which captures braking energy as electricity, and the start/ stop feature of the system. which saves fuel whenever the engine is powered down. I don't think the eco/ sport mode has much to do with the hybrid system in the mild hybrid, since it doesn't have much power to give in the first place.

Thanks for the detailed answer.
I've been looking into MHEV quite a lot and I think I do understand the limitations and the purpose.
My main issue is that in Sport mode electric motor(20hp) assists the engine all the time while in Eco and Normal it doesn't. This software limitation absolutely doesn't make any sense. Electric motor is meant to smooth out the initial acceleration, to negate the engines/turbines lag,etc. Eco and Normal modes are the ones which have the most lag so it would greatly improve the experience(and it technically could) and notably reduce the fuel consumptions. This is also exactly what is shown in the video, but in my experience doesn't happen in real life.
It is insane that Eco/Normal mode can be less fuel efficient than Sport mode.

So just wanted to find out if other MHEV users see the same pattern?

 

[Paul Harris]

I have a Tucson mild hybrid 180bhp 4x4 2021, should I use sport mode when towing my 1400kgs caravan??

 

[Paul Harris]

Sorry I am pretty sure mine is following the same pattern but would love a simple explanation to the mode set up!

 

[mungo544]

In U.S. versions (no mild hybrid), the trans shifts at higher rpm's in sport mode, so if your trans. does the same, it may make sense to use sport mode when towing. Suspension and steering changes also happen in sport mode in U.S. models. IMHO, the amount of extra power the 48 volt starter motor adds to the equation would be minimal, except at startup.