Best driving mode advice for newbie please

[Tony THFC]

Hi all
Leasing a new HS PHEV Trophy end of March delivery. I have never owned a hybrid or elec car before and prior to hopefully moving house in the coming months will be relying on a granny charger cable initially, (I have a driveway).

I do no more than 150-200 miles a week (usually less). I do not have an EV tariff as yet because I am waiting for my house move where a 7kw home charger is already fitted.

Should I be driving in EV mode primarily and granny charge once or twice a week, or in HEV mode? My journeys are mainly in town.
Also does the car come with a granny charger or is it something I should be buying in advance? I've seen ones online for around £60 to get me by till I move (hopefully)!

Many thanks for any tips.

 

[HStrophyPHEV2025rc]

No it does not come with a Granny charger. Be careful what you purchase, and where you plug it in, otherwise it could be a fire risk. My advice:

• Only use a maximum of 10 amps
• Better to buy a more expensive one with a better/trusted brand, than save £30 and be worried
• Check that the actual socket you plug it into is of good quality (e.g. so that the pins make a secure connection)
• If you use an extension cable, buy a quality EV-rated one

More advice is here: Granny Charging

As for which mode, if you want to cut your costs then you should primarily use EV mode, and charge the car at home as often as possible. However, unless you have a cheap EV tariff electricity rate, the saving of electric vs petrol will not be huge.

• For more details on cost, see here: Fuel Consumption

 

[Tony THFC]

Many thanks for your reply.
Do you have any suggestions for a granny charge cable please. Hopefully will only need it for 3 months max. Have worked out that if I charge from 0-100% on normal tariff will be around £7.50 cost?

 

[HStrophyPHEV2025rc]

I purchased a "Masterplug EV Charging Cable, 5 Metres, Mode 2, 3 Pin UK Plug to Type 2 Car Charger, 2.4kW, EVCM221005". Very pleased with it. I bought the 5m version, but they do a 10m and 15m version too

• Here's a link, but I have a feeling there may be an updated version instead: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-Charging-Electric-Vehicles-EVCM221005/dp/B0DJ1K88GH

If you need an extension cable, then I purchased one from 'ToughLeads'. They are not cheap, but they seem to be built bullet-proof, and I have no regrets on purchasing a 10 metre "EV granny charger 13A weatherproof extension lead with In-line RCD"

• Here's a link: EV granny charger 13A weatherproof extension lead

As for the cost on a normal tariff, remember you have to fill up a 24.7 kWh battery, and (depending on your tariff) it'll therefore probably cost (£0.27 x 24.7 =) approx £6.70. You should get approx 60 miles (sometimes more) of real-world driving for that.

 

[Micropop]

I purchased a "Masterplug EV Charging Cable, 5 Metres, Mode 2, 3 Pin UK Plug to Type 2 Car Charger, 2.4kW, EVCM221005". Very pleased with it. I bought the 5m version, but they do a 10m and 15m version too

• Here's a link, but I have a feeling there may be an updated version instead: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-Charging-Electric-Vehicles-EVCM221005/dp/B0DJ1K88GH

If you need an extension cable, then I purchased one from 'ToughLeads'. They are not cheap, but they seem to be built bullet-proof, and I have no regrets on purchasing a 10 metre "EV granny charger 13A weatherproof extension lead with In-line RCD"

• Here's a link: EV granny charger 13A weatherproof extension lead

As for the cost on a normal tariff, remember you have to fill up a 24.7 kWh battery, and (depending on your tariff) it'll therefore probably cost (£0.27 x 24.7 =) approx £6.70. You should get approx 60 miles (sometimes more) of real-world driving for that.

And add 10% on top of that, as some of the energy will be heat.

 

[keith1966]

Been a very happy owner since September ‘25. I’ve only charged the car using a granny charger, had a dedicated Ev 3 pin plug fitted with its own breaker in the consumer unit. We are both retired so don’t usually need more than 10 to 20 miles a day max and find the granny charger is more than capable of giving us extremely cheap motoring. When needed, I charge between midnight and 5am and get around 35 miles of range at a cost of 86p, now with the warmer weather coming, the rate that it depletes is nearly on a par with miles driven, unlike the very cold months which I know is the same with all electric vehicles. For the first 1000 miles i left the car in hev so that the engine would get a change to be run in but now it spends most of its time in ev mode except when doing motorway driving where I select hev.