EV Reviews

The 2026 Subaru Trailseeker AWD Touring is the flagship version of this electric SUV line-up in Australia.It’s now priced from $69,990, before on-road costs, following a $4000 price cut it received before its arrival.This flagship version is priced identically to the related Toyota bZ4X Touring which is only offered in a single, range-topping trim.It’s still priced competitively against many rivals like the Skoda Enyaq, Tesla Model Y, Volkswagen ID.4 and Zeekr 7X. There are cheaper rivals out there but they typically don’t offer all-wheel drive.Power comes from a dual-motor all-wheel drive set-up with a healthy total system output of 280kW. This is enough to send it from 0-100km/h in just 4.5 seconds, making it the fastest production Subaru model ever offered in Australia.The electric motors are fed by a 74.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack sourced from CATL. Claimed range for this entry-level model is 488km, according to WLTP testing, which is notably less than the entry-level model due to its larger 20-inch alloy wheels.Standard equipment includes LED headlights, a hands-free power tailgate, 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, 14.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, dual wireless chargers, a digital rear-view mirror as well as blue and black leather-appointed upholstery.The Subaru Trailseeker received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted by Euro NCAP on the related, European-spec E-Outback and Toyota bZ4X in 2025.The entire line-up receives the full safety suite, which is great peace of mind. Highlights include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, driver attention monitoring, front and rear parking sensors as well as a surround-view camera.Like all Subarus, the Trailseeker is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is getting rather lacklustre for a mainstream brand now.The warranty coverage for the high-voltage battery is eight years or 160,000km, which is standard across many brands.Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. The first five services are capped and total $984.18, averaging out to around $197 per service.

Mitsubishi was a pioneer in the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) space, launching the first PHEV SUV back in 2013, the Outlander PHEV.Thirteen years on the Japanese carmaker still offers the Outlander PHEV. It’s a new-generation model, however the fundamentals are still there.For 2026, the Outlander PHEV received an update that brings a larger 22.7kWh (up from 20kWh) lithium-ion battery pack, increasing the NEDC claimed range to 103km (up from 84km). That translates to 86km on the more real-world WLTP protocol.Additionally there’s a higher total system output of 221kW (up from 185kW).Other changes include a new Australian-specific ride and handling tune, new power steering mapping, new steel bonnet fenders, as well as new Bridgestone Alenza 001 tyres. These mirror what the Outlander petrol line-up received last year.A lot of changes are well received and do improve the driving experience. Most notable is the new ride and handling tune and updated power steering mapping. The ride is much less bouncy and brittle, plus the steering doesn’t feel overly light anymore, especially at higher speeds.However, the ride still isn’t perfect and there’s a lot of head toss in the cabin when you go over pimply urban roads and big bumps. Part of this is likely due to the large 20-inch alloy wheels in this Exceed Tourer trim, though I’ve driven plenty of other similarly sized SUVs with wheels this big and generally they aren’t as crashy.Another change that isn’t the best is the price. The Outlander PHEV is now up to $2700 more expensive than it was, depending on the trim level.As a result this top-spec Outlander PHEV Exceed Tourer is now priced from a mind-blowing $74,490 before on-road costs. For context, this is around $10,000 more expensive than the top-spec Chery Tiggo 9 and Omoda 9 from China, and the forthcoming Toyota RAV4 PHEV.For this price you get adaptive LED headlights, a hands-free power tailgate, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, larger 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 12-speaker Yamaha sound system, two 240V powerpoints in the cabin and leather upholstery.Notably the Outlander PHEV Exceed and Exceed Tourer trims are exclusively offered with five seats now. If you want a seven-seat version you need to opt for the cheaper Aspire trim.The lack of third-row seats at this level isn't great, but they have always been crammed and basically for kids only.In the cabin it’s nice to have the larger 12.3-inch touchscreen which better suits the dashboard compared to the pre-update model. I also appreciate how many physical buttons there are for key functions, including the climate controls.In the Exceed Tourer there is brown leather upholstery as standard which is a little light and dull for my liking. I much prefer the black leather-appointed upholstery that comes in the Exceed.The extra electric range is welcome, but compared to rivals it’s still lacklustre. The Chery Tiggo 9 offers 170km of NEDC claimed range, the Omoda 9 offers 169km (NEDC), and the Toyota RAV4 PHEV offers up to 154km (NEDC).A full battery charge offers around 80km of real-world electric urban driving with an as-tested energy consumption of 20kWh/100km.Mitsubishi could likely eke more electric range by doing away with the dual-motor all-wheel drive. The amount of power the car currently produces is more than enough and for the most part it’s wasted in urban environments.When the battery runs out of charge, the Outlander PHEV does a good job of operating as a hybrid as it leaves a fair chunk of reserve charge for tootling around EV mode at low speeds, but when its 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine fires up it sounds like a buzzy vacuum cleaner from the cabin.Fuel consumption isn’t a strong suit. The engine frequently consumes around 10L/100km so it can charge up the battery pack, though it switches off again once there’s enough charge or if you're coming to a stop.AC charging is available with a Type 2 plug at rates only up to 3.6kW, meaning a full charge takes up to 6.5 hours. Not bad if you can plug it in overnight while you sleep but not great if you’re in a rush.For DC fast-charging there’s still a CHAdeMO plug. The Outlander PHEV is now the only new car sold in Australia with this plug standard. It has been phased out in favour of the more popular Type 2/CCS combination plug.It’s getting harder to find chargers that have CHAdeMO plugs at public stations, but if you do, a full charge will take 32 minutes.For safety, the Outlander PHEV has a five-star ANCAP rating based on testing conducted in 2025. It features all the expected safety features and picked up an emergency SOS calling function with this latest update.Like all Mitsubishis, there is a 10-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, but that's conditional provided you service within the dealer network. If you don’t this drops back to five years of coverage. There’s also 10 years of roadside assistance.Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km and the first 10 services are capped. They total $5498 which averages out to $549.80 per service. That’s a lot compared to its rivals.

The Honda ZR-V Hybrid was previously only offered in a single, range-topping grade, however the Japanese carmaker has introduced a number of cheaper hybrid trims. Check out how the most affordable hybrid fares on Australian soil.

The 2026 Subaru Trailseeker AWD is the entry-level version of this electric SUV line-up in Australia.It’s now priced from $63,990, before on-road costs, following a $4000 price cut it received before its arrival.This entry-level model sets the Trailseeker apart from the related Toyota bZ4X Touring which is only offered in a single, flagship trim level locally.The pricing is also competitive against many rivals including the Skoda Enyaq, Tesla Model Y, Volkswagen ID.4 and Zeekr 7X. There are cheaper rivals but they typically don’t offer all-wheel drive.Power comes from a dual-motor all-wheel drive set-up with a healthy total system output of 280kW. This is enough to send it from 0-100km/h in just 4.5 seconds, making it the fastest production Subaru model ever offered in Australia.The electric motors are fed by a 74.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack sourced from CATL. Claimed range for this entry-level model is 533km, according to WLTP testing.Standard equipment includes LED headlights, a hands-free power tailgate, 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, 14.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual wireless chargers, a digital rear-view mirror and synthetic leather upholstery.The Subaru Trailseeker received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted by Euro NCAP on the related, European-spec E-Outback and Toyota bZ4X in 2025.The entire line-up receives the full safety suite, which is great peace of mind. Highlights include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, driver attention monitoring, front and rear parking sensors as well as a surround-view camera.Like all Subarus, the Trailseeker is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is getting rather lacklustre for a mainstream brand now.The warranty coverage for the high-voltage battery is eight years or 160,000km, which is standard across many brands.Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. The first five services are capped and total $984.18, averaging out to around $197 per service.

The 2026 Kia PV5 Cargo is the first time Kia’s built an electric van, and it’s coming with a futuristic design, low price, and competitive electric driving range to take on rivals like the VW ID.Buzz Cargo, the Renault Kangoo E-Tech or Peugeot E-Partner. We took a test drive at the Australian launch in Sydney’s industrial inner-south to find out how the PV5 handles its intended environment.

Subaru's newest EV in Australia is its fastest production model yet locally and with more than a sprinkling of all-terrain wagon looks, it's essentially an electric Outback. But how does the Trailseeker fare in the real world?

I guess the big question is, do you believe in love at second sight?The first time I drove the Leapmotor B05 (the brand’s Golf-sized electric hatchback), it was on a rented test track near the brand’s headquarters in China, and I came away thinking it had plenty of promise, but not enough dynamic polish to ever be considered a sporty threat in Australia.It was about quick enough and looked pretty enough, but its soft, spongecake dynamics culled any hope of it delivering on the warm-hatch promises Leapmotor had made about its sportiest offering to date.This second time, though, was different. Because the B05 that will arrive in Australia towards the end of 2026 (wearing a circa-$35,000 price tag) is not the same car I drove in China. Well, it is. It just no longer feels like it.To Leapmotor's credit, it has recognised Chinese driving tastes differ wildly to those in Europe and Australia. And that making a car that's fast in a straight line but offers all the dynamism and body control of a pot of just-set jelly isn't going to cut it in the rest of the world.And so the brand handed the B05 over to its Stellantis co-owners in Italy, and set them to work readying the warm hatch for a global release. The result, the brand says, "is a different animal" to the car we got to know in China.It had its chassis and suspension reworked at Alfa Romeo's Balocco Proving Ground, roughly halfway between Milan and Turin. And not just tuning either, they've also changed the way the suspension connects to the vehicle, shifting the mounting points to give it a lower center of gravity and a sportier feel.We’ll see if the changes have worked in a moment, but first, I think this is one of the best-looking cars to have come out of China in some time, and the brand tells me it will form the beginnings of a blueprint for all future Leapmotor models.The cars they've already got in Australia, the C10 and B10 SUVs, have been criticised in some quarters for being a bit bland. I don't feel that way about this car at all. The B05 looks grown-up, premium and modern, and while much has been done in the pursuit of EV-friendly aerodynamics, it doesn't look like a science experiment. It rides on 19-inch alloys as standard, and only the subtle rear roof spoiler gives away its sportier intentions, though a (presumably much angrier-looking) Ultra version is on the way which will no doubt dial up the exterior aggression.Cleverness abounds in the cabin, too. There's no escaping the use of budget friendly plastics, but the way the dash is laid out, with a perforated inlay framed by two architectural-feeling ledges, helps make the no-frills feel funky. The big glass roof helps lift the mood, too.You get a 14.6-inch screen in the centre of the cabin and an 8.8-inch letterbox display in front of the driver. The main screen controls almost all of the car's functions, which can get fiddly and annoying, but the locked climate control bar at the bottom at least allows for quick access to heating and cooling. The brand has also added the ability to shortcut to the wing-mirror adjustment screen from a button on the steering wheel, which is a good idea, because digging through screens when you want to quickly change the mirrors can be rage-inducing.Another clever addition is the inclusion of driving profiles, in which you can save your ADAS preferences (things like the lane keep assist, over-speed warning and driver attention alarm) to on or off. When you get in, you simply choose your profile and away you go. It reduces lots of screen poking and scrolling to two quick taps before you're on the road.There's also plenty of room in the backseat of the B05. It's 4430mm in length, 1880mm in width and 1520mm in height and its full-flat electric platform is a boon for backseat riders. I had more than enough knee and headroom to get comfortable behind my own 175cm driving position, and there's pull-down cupholders, twin USB ports and air vents for the back, too. The boot promises 345 litres with the rear seat in place and 1400 litres with them folded flat. Now, Leapmotor describes the B05 as its sportiest vehicle to date, and on paper, the ingredients that have gone into this recipe sound good. It has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution, the electric motor is housed at the rear for rear-wheel drive and the battery is integrated into the chassis for extra stiffness.That rear-mounted motor makes 160kW and 240Nm, or enough for a launch-control-assisted sprint to 100km/h in 6.7 seconds.We should also get both battery sizes when the B05 arrives in Australia, with the smaller 56.2kWh version delivering 401km on the WLTP cycle, and the bigger 67.1kWh version upping that to 482km. AC charging is rated at 11kW, while DC fast charging is 168kW, or enough to go from 30-80 per cent charged in 17 minutes.So, the drive. I think it is important to wrap some context around the B05. All this talk of sporty this and launch control that had me anticipating some kind of bristling hot hatch. But it doesn't feel like that.I don't mean that in a negative way, just that there's nothing hard, harsh or particularly violent about the driving experience here, including a pretty leisurely feeling run to 100km/h.But Leapmotor has delivered a car that feels far more engaged and far more compelling for the driver. There's a connection now between car and driver, and car and road, which was missing from the Chinese version, and which vastly improves the drive experience.It never feels underpowered either, and the rolling acceleration is strong. Put your foot down at rolling speed and there’s plenty of punch there for overtaking.Forget the super sporty stuff, what Leapmotor in Europe has instead managed to deliver is a far more coherent package. I like the steering, I like the ride, it's pretty quiet in the cabin (save for a bit of wind noise at higher speeds) and it feels far more put together, enjoyable and engaging to drive. We tackled plenty of winding hill-climb roads, and there was none of that sea-sickness swaying or bouncing, with the B05 feeling stable and sorted through the bends, with most of its weight cleverly hidden away behind its compliant but very competent suspension tune.It also feels like a solid base for the faster version coming, the Ultra, which makes more power and delivers more torque.Now, there are still some quirks to the Leapmotor experience I can't quite wrap my head around, and the first is there's still no physical key or engine start/stop button for this car. You're either using the key card, your phone, or the passcode system, which is still annoying. A proper key is coming in 2027.The other issue is the active safety package, which can be ferociously annoying, with the B05 constantly binging and bonging at you or tugging at your wheel. That's not really a problem exclusive to Leapmotor, and to its credit it has introduced those driver profiles, which means you can switch them off with a touch or two, but I long for the days when they didn't exist.And finally there's still just a little bit of clunkiness to the way the car's tech operates. I noticed, for example, when I got in and put the car in reverse, I was waiting for five seconds or so for the screen to wake up and switch to the reverse cameras. Maybe I'm just really impatient, but I find those kinds of delays a bit annoying.All in all, though, I am impressed with the B05. Even if it's not a particularly sporty feeling, it feels far more cohesive than the other version I drove and the ride and handling changes have made a massive difference. It might be one of the best-riding cars I’ve driven from China (via Europe) yet, but I will have to see how it performs on Australian roads before permanently bestowing that honour.The signs are good for the B05.

Honda has launched the refreshed CR-V with more than half of its line-up sporting a hybrid powertrain. Is it a step in the right direction for Honda to keep up with its hybrid-focused competitors?

The MGS6 AWD Essence is the Chinese brand's new rival to the likes of the Tesla Model Y and BYD Sealion 7.Priced from $56,990, drive-away, this range-topping model comes with 20-inch alloy wheels, wireless smartphone charging, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an 11-speaker sound system, a combination of synthetic leather and synthetic suede trim plus a panoramic glass roof.The AWD Essence has two electric motors, one on each axle, which combine to make a healthy 266kW of power.The motors are powered by a 77kWh NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) battery, which MG claims is enough to provide 485km of driving range between charging.The MGS6 is well-equipped with all the usual passive and active safety features you’d expect in this day and age. These include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree parking camera view.MG offers a standard seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with the option to extend to 10 years/250,000km if you get all your servicing done at an MG dealer.Servicing intervals are every 12-months or 25,000km, whichever comes first. The five year service plan totals $1376 and the seven year plan $1987.

The MGS6 RWD Essence is the brand’s new mid-size electric SUV offering, sitting above the MGS5.Priced from $49,990, drive-away, it comes well-equipped with 20-inch alloy wheels, wireless smartphone charging, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an 11-speaker sound system and a combination of synthetic leather and synthetic suede trim.The MGS6 RWD has a single electric motor, mounted on the rear axle, which makes 180kW of power. With its 77kWh battery, MG claims it has a driving range of up to 530km.The MGS6 is fitted with all the usual passive and active safety features you’d expect in this day and age. These include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, blind-spot warning, adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree parking camera.MG offers a standard seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with the option to extend to 10 years/250,000km if you get all your servicing done at an MG dealer.Servicing intervals are every 12-months or 25,000km, whichever comes first. For the RWD model the five year service plan totals $1321 and $1877 for the seven year plan.