Superficially, there’s very little difference between this PHEV and its petrol/diesel-powered equivalent. Essentially, it’s the same, classy vehicle, with a powerful-looking front-end featuring the classic ‘kidney’ grille, which is flanked by sleek headlights. The same goes for the car’s attractive profile, which is enhanced considerably by an elegant, swept-back roofline.
Due to its inclusion of a battery pack, this PHEV’s 375-litre boot doesn’t quite match up to that of its purely fuel-powered sibling. Nevertheless, the presence of 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats makes it easy to increase capacity further.
The car’s 2.0-litre turbo-boosted 249bhp petrol engine, in combination with a lithium-ion battery, is capable of delivering a 37-mile electric-only range, which is more than enough to cover an average commute. Providing there is sufficient charge, output can be increased to as much as 289bhp for a short period of time. More importantly, the vehicle’s PHEV set-up returns as much as 201mpg and produces CO2 emissionsas low as 37g/km, which makes it a fine cost-saving proposition for business users. The car’s battery can be charged using a standard mains supply, which takes approximately 5.5 hours. When charging via a 3.7 kW power source, the battery typically reaches 80 percent full in 2.5 hours.
Standard-issue infotainment features include an 8.8-inch touchscreen – and DAB radio, which provides access to more than 250 stations, each relayed in pin-sharp audio quality. As well as AUX and USB compatibility, you can enjoy the benefits of Bluetooth connectivity. This not only enables audio streaming from compatible devices, it makes hands-free telephone communication easy.
The vehicle comes with a maximum five-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating and a host of safety tech, such as a rear-mounted camera and Autonomous Emergency Braking. The latter uses sensors that keep tabs on the gap between the car and the vehicle in front, reacting instantly if that space is encroached upon.
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