EV Reviews

Proving the current popularity of plug-in hybrids (PHEV), one of Chery Group’s many brands, Omoda Jaecoo, is giving buyers another option. Following the launch of the petrol-powered J8 large SUV a year ago, Jaecoo has added the J8 SHS (Super Hybrid System). It’s a plug-in hybrid and, unlike the petrol J8, this one has seven seats. Jaecoo says it’s more of an occasional seven-seater, rather than a dedicated three-row family hauler. More on that later. It’s available in one highly specified Summit grade from $59,990, before on-road costs (BOC), which is the same price as the mechanically identical Chery Tiggo 9 Ultimate Super Hybrid. The Summit is a $5000 bump over the priciest petrol J8, but it is compelling when lined up against other three-row large PHEV SUVs like the BYD Sealion 8 ($56,990-$70,990 BOC), Kia Sorento ($71,175-$86,115 BOC) and Mazda CX-80 ($55,700-$93,419 BOC). Jaecoo has loaded the J8 Summit with standard gear including heated and ventilated front seats with a massage function, head-up display, 14-speaker Sony sound system (two speakers are housed in the driver’s headrest), a 50-watt wireless charger, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto via one of the two 12.3-inch displays, a panoramic sunroof with a sun shade, acoustic glass and luxuries like quilted leather seats, ambient lighting and a built-in fragrance system. Design wise, the Jaecoo J8 is not an unattractive car, it just lacks anything that helps it stand out or identify it as a Jaecoo. The brand is still finding its feet when it comes to design. Inside, the speakers, door-mounted seat controls, air vents, dash panels and even the quilting on the leather seats look to have been borrowed from Mercedes-Benz. It’s not an unpleasant space, it’s comfortable and looks good, but there are issues. The integrated dash element that flows into the door is misaligned. Not a great look. I couldn’t find my perfect driving position because the driver’s seat doesn’t lower far enough. The centre console is too wide and sits too high, meaning you feel a bit hemmed in. But the lovely looking steering wheel feels nice in hand and has clearly identifiable controls. Storage wise you get a huge central bin with a cooling function, under-console space, big door bins for bottles and more. It has dual 12.3-inch screens - exactly the same size as Hyundai/Kia’s setup - and the driver display is clear and well calibrated. The central display is not intuitive and you have to dig through menus or swipe down for high-use functions. Beyond the dial on the console, the drive mode set-up is confusing and takes some time to navigate, while my co-driver and I could not find the regen braking settings, despite deep dives into the menus. The system’s processing speed is excellent, so it responds quickly to inputs and the graphics are good. I don’t need an automated voice shouting when changing drive modes, however. The second row is well appointed, with air-con vents at knee and chest level, some climate controls, big door bins, central armrest and cupholders, USB ports and more. You also get sun shades for second-row windows and the panoramic sunroof has a solid blind. There’s no transmission tunnel so the middle seat is useful. The second-row seat base slides and the backrest reclines slightly which is a neat feature. However, the Jaecoo has a big flaw that impacts its status as a seven seater. The 60/40 split-fold second row is configured for left-hand drive markets - the J8 is built in China - so the single-seat entry point offering the best third-row entry is on the driver’s side of the car, which, in Australia, is the road side. This should have been changed to the kerb side so it’s safer for parents to get their kids in and out of that third row. You can climb over the seats on the kerb side, but it’s cumbersome. The J8’s Chery Tiggo 9 PHEV twin has the same issue. Boot size is a J8 strong point, swallowing 200 litres with all three rows in place, expanding to 738L with the third row folded. There are hooks, lights and power outlets in there, too. But there’s another packaging issue. There’s no spare wheel and because the PHEV mechanicals take up so much space, there’s no under-floor storage. So the tyre repair kit and charge cable sit in the boot with other luggage. Powering the J8 is a plug-in hybrid powertrain consisting of a 105kW/215Nm 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine combined with three electric motors - two at the front and one at the rear. The total system power and torque is hefty 315kW/580Nm, the same as the Tiggo 9. This set-up allows for all-wheel drive traction and it uses a three-ratio dedicated hybrid transmission. Maximum braked towing capacity for the PHEV is 1600kg, but, oddly, the petrol J8 is not rated for towing. Jaecoo has not tested for WLTP EV driving range so could only provide the NEDC figure which is more lenient. It is a healthy 169km, with 1000km possible factoring in the petrol engine’s 70-litre fuel tank. The 34kWh battery can be charged up to 70kW on a DC fast charger. Energy consumption is 19.3kWh/100km and Jaecoo says the official combined cycle fuel use figure is 1.2 litres. As with any PHEV, take that figure with a big grain of salt as it requires the battery to always be charged. The 6.6kW Type 2 charge port is on the rear passenger side of the car and charging from 10 to 100 per cent takes five-and-a-half hours. That powertrain is one of the Jaecoo’s most impressive features. It is technologically advanced, powerful, offers a useful driving range and is mostly smooth. However, on the road the J8 is a mixed bag. It is very quick off the mark, hitting 100km/h in just 5.8 seconds. So straight-line performance is solid. But when accelerating out of a tight corner or a roundabout there’s some hesitation from the powertrain. The J8 SHS has adaptive dampers as standard, which is usually a good thing, but combined with the size and heft of the car, it makes for a wallowy, floaty ride. Go over a speed bump and the front end will feel like it’s bouncing up and down. At urban speeds on completely flat roads, the Jaecoo is composed and lovely to drive. But at higher speeds on a highway or motorway with bends, that boat-like floatiness reappears. Of the three drive modes - Normal, Mid and Sport - the latter is best at keeping the big SUV more tied down, but it never loses the wallowy feeling entirely. It’s not a fan of corners, leaning heavily even on pretty average bends. This is one top-heavy vehicle, and you feel it in the cabin, moving around as it leans. On the flipside, it handles potholes and road imperfections well, mostly soaking up some sizeable holes. It rides on Michelin tyres hugging the 20-inch alloy wheels. Steering lacks any real engagement or connection to the road but it has a bit more feel in Sport mode. Chery Group Australia would benefit from a local ride, handling and steering tune similar to GWM and Kia’s programs. The Jaecoo standard safety list is impressive, and the advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) are not as intrusive as some rivals. The lane keeping aid can get a bit excited but you can adjust the level of some ADAS features via settings. There’s no ANCAP crash rating for the Jaecoo as yet. A big tick for the Jaecoo is its warranty and servicing offer. It comes with an eight-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, eight-year battery warranty, eight years of roadside assistance and eight years of capped-price servicing. The schedule is every 12 months of 15,000km, whichever occurs first. Service pricing ranges from about $300 to $670, depending on the year, but it will cost a total of $3881 all up. That’s pretty competitive pricing when lined up against the BYD Sealion 8 and Mazda CX-80.

I’ve been doing this for a while now, and I have had the opportunity to test and review all sorts of weird and wonderful metal. But this one might be a first for me. I can’t recall ever testing a vehicle that’s not actually intended to be bought by you, the CarsGuide reader. But so it is with the new Toyota HiLux BEV. You can have one if you really want one, but even Toyota concedes that its first all-electric ute isn’t really designed for the public buyer. Instead, it’s for mine sites, which Toyota has been studying for two years to deliver an electrified HiLux fit for a very particular purpose. Which is why, on paper, the numbers aren’t overly impressive. The Hilux is offered in two grades and three styles – the SR cab-chassis ($74,990), the SR double-cab pickup ($76,490) and the more luxurious SR5 double-cab pickup ($82,990), all prices before on-road costs – and all share the same powertrain componentry. That means dual-motor power, fed from a 59.2kWh lithium-ion battery. Range, then, is just 245km in the cab-chassis, and 315km in the pick-up. Critically, though, Toyota is quoting the more lenient NEDC figure there. In line with the more realistic WLTP protocol (which is the industry standard in Australia), those numbers would likely be less than 200km and around 270km, respectively. That is… not a lot of range for an EV. But remember that particular purpose I mentioned? Toyota tells me the average open-cut mine site is about 40 square kilometres, and workers there need an electric ute to only cover relatively short distances before it is docked to recharge (150kW DC, 10kW AC). They also, Toyota says, need their electric utes to do ute-like things, which is why this electric HiLux can still very much go off-road. There are two motors on board here, one front and one rear, delivering a total 144kW. Toyota doesn’t quote a combined torque figure, though each motor is capable of producing more than 200Nm. It’s fed to all four wheels through a single-speed transmission, and Toyota has debuted a six-mode multi-terrain select system, with Auto, Dirt, Sand, Mud, Mogul and Snow modes. We tested the electric HiLux off-road, on a not-overly-challenging course to be fair, and the plug-in Toyota handled it all with ease and felt like it had more to give. It will also tow a 2.0-tonne braked trailer and the payload figures are around 725kg for the pickup versions and 855kg for the cab chassis – though we tested neither, and suspect your battery charge will drop like a bowling ball off a balcony when you ask the HiLux to carry or tow. The electric HiLux also looks a lot like a diesel HiLux. It is, and feels like, a retrofit, rather than a bespoke EV model, which they tell me is kind of the point. The minesites want the HiLux, they just don’t want the emissions.  The big differences outside are, wait for it, the charging flap, the filled-in grille and aero-friendly wheel designs. Inside, there’s a new shift-by-wire gear selector, which has been moved closer to the driver. You still benefit from the tech overhaul given to the rest of the new HiLux range, which means twin 12.3 inch screens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.  There are some strange-feeling shortcuts at this price point, though. Your circa-$75K SR model gets fabric seats with manual adjustment, for example, and you’ll need to spend more like $83K to get a wireless phone charger included. Anyway, that visual familiarity extends to the drive experience as well. Yes, acceleration is smoother, quieter and more constant without stepping through gear shifts, and that all feels very EV. But the behavior of the HiLux feels very familiar, in that it still has that kind of jittery unladen ride that is pretty common in dual cab utes.  I thought the extra battery weight would settle the ride down a little bit, especially because it's down low and quite heavy, and should act a bit like having a load in the tray. But it still feels plenty bouncy on the road, and especially in the passenger seat, which somehow feels the ride more than the driver. That's not a big criticism. It's symptomatic of virtually all dual-cab utes. Electric or otherwise, as it turns out. On the road, the power on offer is ample. It feels quite punchy off the line, and while it's not one of those EVs that throws you back in your seat, the power is instantaneous and constant, and smooths-out the acceleration. We pushed towards and beyond 100km/h a couple of times and the power didn’t die off it just kept smoothly climbing to triple digits.  All of which I fear might end up being something of an irrelevant point, because as I've said, you are unlikely to buy this. Toyota says that private sales are going to make up about five per cent of the BEV's total haul. The rest are going to mine sites and the like, which is why so much of this vehicle has been tailored to work there, rather than in civilian life. But those who do opt for the electric version are going to find themselves with the smoothest and perkiest Hilux, possibly of all time and also the quietest. It bodes well for electrified utes of the future, if only they can extend their range out to something a bit more usable.

As Lord Acton told us way back in 1887, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But Lord Acton never drove the new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series Performance Hybrid.  Remarkably, despite the company’s litany of sports cars over the years - Supra, MR-2, Celica, etc - this new off-road SUV can lay claim to the title of ‘the most powerful Toyota production car’ ever offered in Australia. That’s thanks to its new powertrain, which is lifted from the US-built Tundra ‘pick-up’ (aka super-sized ute), combining a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine with an electric motor mounted between it and the 10-speed automatic transmission. But unlike the rest of Toyota’s hybrid range that focuses on efficiency, this 'i-Force Max' powertrain (as it is known in the Tundra) is biased towards performance - and a lot of it. The new LandCruiser makes 341kW of power and 790Nm of torque, which is an extra 114kW and 90Nm on top of the already very capable 3.3-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine in the LC300. It’s obviously a lot of performance, but the LandCruiser is a lot of SUV, so while Toyota calls it a ‘performance’ vehicle, don’t expect to be blowing the doors of a Porsche Cayenne or Ferrari Purosangue. Instead, it offers a punchy amount of torque that helps get the big beast moving with relative ease. But during on- and off-road drives there weren’t any moments where this new powertrain stood out as hugely different and better than the already impressive turbo-diesel option.  Officially, Toyota says this new engine helps to tow more easily but we weren’t able to test that, so we’ll reserve judgement. They also said the addition of the electric motor improved low-speed behaviour off-road - and this we did get to test. In news that will shock nobody, the Toyota LandCruiser performed well off-road, with the addition of a new, more powerful engine not suddenly turning it into a tarmac-only soft-roader. But to say the electric motor makes it dramatically different, and indeed superior, off-road is a hard call to make without back-to-back testing on more challenging off-road terrain. The catch with this potential improved off-road and towing performance is the performance hybrid powertrain comes with a not-insignificantly smaller fuel tank than its diesel sibling - a 98-litre tank, instead of the 110L one in the diesel. Combined with higher fuel economy - 10.0L/100km vs 8.9L/100km - it means the theoretical range of the performance hybrid is 980km compared to over 1235km from the diesel. For those looking at an LC300 for a long-distance adventure vehicle, losing a potential 255km of range on each tank is not a small matter and swings the needle in favour of the diesel. You’re also paying upfront for the extra performance, with this new model more expensive than its diesel alternatives. For starters, the performance hybrid powertrain is only available with the high-spec Sahara ZX and GR Sport variants, which start at $156,740 and $155,990 (before on-road costs) respectively, a more than $8000 premium over the diesel. Obviously both are well equipped with alloy wheels (18-inch on the GR Sport and 20s on the Sahara ZX), leather-accented seats, heated and ventilated front seats, a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen paired with a 14-speaker JBL sound system. The only major specification difference for the Sahara ZX (aside from wheels and some styling) is the inclusion of a dual rear-seat entertainment system.  For comparison, Denza B8 plug-in hybrid starts at $91,000, and offers 425kW and 760Nm from its plug-in hybrid powertrain. Like the LC300 it can tow up to 3500kg but unlike the Toyota, the Denza’s bigger battery allows for up to 115km of electric-only driving and has better on-paper fuel economy. It’s certainly a vehicle worth cross-shopping if you’re looking at an LC300, but ultimately there are some major differences between the pair. In terms of design and practicality there isn’t a lot to say about the new performance hybrid variants compared to the rest of the LC300 line-up, as it’s still a relatively new vehicle by Toyota standards, having only launched in 2021. The only design difference between the petrol and diesel models is the lower bumper treatments (front and rear) on the Sahara ZX, but the GR Sport is visually identical regardless of which engine you choose. Inside the new options look the same, with a fantastic array of physical buttons, dials and knobs (as well as the 12.3-inch touchscreen) to easily adjust things even on bumpy, tricky roads - and very much in keeping with the practical ethos of the LandCruiser. However, the biggest difference between the diesel and petrol is the boot. Thankfully there is no repeat of the hybrid Prado’s high boot floor and plastic riser solution to housing the hybrid’s battery under the rear floor. Neither of the petrol models are available with a seven-seat option and the floor is slightly higher than the diesel model, but not dramatically so. But despite Toyota’s best efforts to package the battery up tightly space is still lost, 216 litres to be precise, with the hybrid boot measuring 910L compared to 1126L in the diesel.

After some heavy delays and legal action, the updated 2026 XPeng G6 has finally arrived in Australia through a factory-backed operation that has no ties to the previous distributor, TrueEV. There are now more variants on offer and on test here is the new flagship trim level, the G6 AWD Performance Black Edition. Only rear-wheel drive versions were offered previously. This flagship is priced from $66,800, before on-road costs, which sees it rival the BYD Sealion 7 Performance ($63,990 BOC), Tesla Model Y Premium Long Range AWD ($68,900 BOC) and Zeekr 7X Performance ($72,900 BOC). One of the biggest changes is under the surface. Every G6 trim now receives a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery compared to the previous nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) unit. These batteries have better thermal safety and can charge to 100 per cent more often without the risk of degradation. While the slightly smaller 80.8kWh LFP battery means claimed range is down incrementally compared to the pre-update car (this new version offers up to 510km of WLTP-claimed range), peak DC fast-charging has been boosted from 280kW to 451kW. This is equivalent to the Zeekr 7X which also offers LFP batteries. No DC fast-charger in Australia can currently charge at that higher rate and we didn’t get to properly test out the car’s charging performance due to the short loan length. However, XPeng claims the battery can charge from 10 to 80 per cent in 12 minutes. Another big change that has already been alluded to is the availability of a dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain. It offers a total system output of 358kW, which is 140kW more than the RWD Long Range and 173kW more than the RWD Standard Range. Power delivery is immediate and there’s just the right amount without being excessive. You’re able to accelerate up to speed in traffic with ease and there’s plenty of oomph left for higher-speed overtakes. If you want to experience the proper 4.1-second 0-100km/h sprint, you can use launch control and the Sport drive mode. Surprisingly, it doesn’t snap your neck like some electric vehicles (EVs), instead the power is delivered progressively. Things largely stay together once you start turning the wheel in the twisties, but you can tell this car leans a touch more towards the comfort side than the dynamic, which is the case for many Chinese EVs. This continues on to the suspension as it’s largely compliant around town, though there’s some roll and sway as the car settles itself. It also gets a touch bouncy if you hit a series of undulations at higher speeds. Something XPeng deserves credit for is its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) calibrations. The systems do everything they should and only interact when required. You’re able to customise the sensitivity of all the safety systems which is a lovely surprise. This means fewer bings and bongs. Hallelujah! You can also customise the steering weight, brake pedal feel and there’s even an ‘Individual’ drive mode. It’s great to see. It’s a little disappointing XPeng hasn’t been able to roll out its more advanced semi-autonomous driving system in Australia yet, but what is already present does a good job. The lane-centring is rock-solid, the automatic lane changes feel natural, plus the parking assist is great as it reads the parking lines, rather than the space between parked cars. Once the more advanced tech arrives it’ll finally give Tesla some competition. Speaking of which, a lot of the G6 feels inspired by Tesla. It feels uncanny inside with the minimal design putting the 15.6-inch touchscreen multimedia system in centre stage. There are barely any physical buttons around the cabin, forcing you to use the touchscreen for many functions. Thankfully the touchscreen’s user interface is easy to navigate. Unlike Tesla it also boasts wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a proper digital instrument cluster. However, beyond this it feels like the G6 lacks any character or defining feature that marks it specifically as an XPeng. Even the exterior design feels like a generic amalgamation of many models. On the safety front, the pre-update model received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted by Euro NCAP in 2024. It’s unclear if this will be renewed for the updated model. As standard there is autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition as well as a surround-view camera system. New G6 owners are covered by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, whereas the high-voltage battery is covered for eight years or 160,000km, whichever comes first. Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 20,000km, however XPeng hasn’t confirmed pricing yet. One critical point is XPeng’s new factory-backed operation in Australia is still scaling and as it stands there is no open dealer or service centre. A number are coming soon in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It’s unclear whether XPeng has plans to open a dealer in New South Wales, or any other state yet.

The 2026 GWM Ora 5 Ultra, starting from $36,990 drive-away, is a small electric SUV from China as part of the relaunch of the Ora brand in Australia after the mildly received Ora hatchback a few years ago. It boasts Australian ride and handling tuning, plus a decent list of standard features including 18-inch wheels, auto LED headlights and LED tail-lights, rain-sensing wipers and tinted privacy glass, a large 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen, wireless phone mirroring, a 10.25-inch driver display, synthetic leather upholstery and electric driver’s seat adjustment. The extra $3000 the Ultra costs over the base Lux grade adds an electrically adjustable front passenger seat, seat ventilation and heating for both up front, wireless phone charging, ambient lighting, a panoramic sunroof and three extra speakers for nine in total. It has a single 150kW/260Nm electric motor at the front axle drawing from a 58.3kWh battery. Its claimed consumption figure of 15.5kWh/100km results in a 435km range under WLTC testing according to GWM. DC fast-charging is maxed at 120kW, for a 30-minute charge from 10 to 80 per cent. The Ora 5 remains unrated by ANCAP for now, but it has seven airbags and a pretty comprehensive list of features including door-open warning and rear cross-traffic alert. GWM’s seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty also includes eight years (unlimited km) for the battery, plus there’s seven years of roadside assistance and seven years capped-price servicing at $195 per service (every 12 months or 15,000km).

Toyota has adopted a slow and steady approach to electric vehicles, with the new bZ4X Touring only its second battery-powered model. The new, more spacious SUV goes head-to-head with the likes of the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7 and Subaru Trailseeker. We put the bZ4X Touring to the test to see how it rates for value, practicality, performance, safety and more.

Starting at $33,990 drive-away, the 2026 GWM Ora 5 Lux is a competitively priced small electric SUV from China that marks the relaunch of the Ora brand in Australia after the Ora hatchback faced an arguably unenthusiastic reception on launch a few years ago. With Australian ride and handling tuning and some updated ergonomics and tech, the Ora 5 SUV comes with a decent list of standard features including 18-inch wheels, auto LED headlights and LED tail-lights, rain-sensing wipers and tinted privacy glass, a large 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen, wireless phone mirroring, a 10.25-inch driver display, synthetic leather upholstery and electric driver’s seat adjustment. A single motor mounted at the front axle provides drive, with 150kW/260Nm outputs. It draws from a 58.3kWh battery and has a claimed consumption figure of 15.5kWh/100km, which GWM says results in a 435km range under WLTC testing. DC fast-charging is maxed at 120kW, and takes about 30 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent. ANCAP hasn’t completed an assessment of the Ora 5 SUV yet so, for now, the model remains unrated. It does however have seven airbags and a pretty comprehensive list of features including door-open warning and rear cross-traffic alert. GWM’s seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty (with eight years for the battery), plus seven years of roadside assist and seven years capped-price servicing at $195 per service (every 12 months or 15,000km) is a strong ownership proposition.

This is a big moment for Toyota in Australia. The biggest in recent memory, even. Because it’s not just when, at last, its best-selling model, the RAV4, scores one of the fastest-growing powertrain choices in Australia, the plug-in hybrid. It’s also the brand tip-toeing into the powertrain solution that will no doubt eventually end up driving all of its icons, from HiLux to LandCruiser and everything in between.  And there's another way to look at it, too, and that is that many of the rush of new brands in Australia – BYD, Geely etc – have arrived with a mid-size plug-in in their arsenal. This is Toyota returning serve. Well, kind of. If you're expecting Chinese pricing, think again. The RAV4 PHEV is currently offered in three guises across two grades, with the XSE 2WD ($58,840), the XSE AWD ($63,340) and the new big dog of the range, the GR Sport AWD ($66,340). The RAV4’s biggest competitor these days is probably the BYD Sealion 6, which tops out below where the plug-in Toyota starts, with the Premium listed at $52,990 before on-road costs. Something like a Geely Starray EM-i is even cheaper, starting at less than $38,000. The Toyota does start below something like a VW Tayron eHybrid, in which the Elegance starts from $62,390. In terms of bang for bucks, the XSE trims mirror their non-plugged sibling – and we have a story detailing all the equipment here – while the GR Sport adds a unique exterior package, including a new grille, bumpers and a rear spoiler. There’s also a whole bunch of mechanical stuff you can’t see, too, like a 20mm wider track, sportier front damping, extra rear bracing for better lateral stiffness and a shift-by-wire continuously variable transmission (CVT). The big difference between the two grades, at least in terms of look, is the front-end treatment, with the XSE cars getting the perforated-style grille that reminds me a little of a chain-link fence, and the GR Sport scoring the deeper mesh grille with far more gloss black. Now I would never be so bold as to tell you which one you should like better, beauty being in the eye of the beholder and all that, but I will say this; if it’s not the GR Sport, then you’re wrong. The plug-in power here comes from the combination of a 2.5-litre petrol engine, a 22.7kWh battery, and a front electric motor in 2WD spec, and a second rear electric motor in the AWD trims. Toyota doesn’t quote a combined torque figure, but power is at 201kW for the single motor, and 227kW for the AWD, officially making this the most potent RAV4 we’ve ever seen in Australia. The GR Sport, for example, will clip 100km/h in a brisk 5.8secs – provided the battery is topped up. Like most makers of plug-in hybrids, Toyota's claim of 0.7L/100km on the combined cycle are fanciful, you will never get close to that. We were averaging around 3.0L with the battery topped up, which is good. But if you want to use no fuel, Toyota says the 2WD version will travel 121kms on electric power alone, while the AWDs will take you 113kms. The rest is fairly RAV4, so we’ll summarise before we get to the good stuff. The PHEV models benefit from the tech upgrade delivered on the rest of the new RAV4 range, and it makes the interior a far nicer, more modern-feeling space. The backseat is sparse but spacious, though the tunnel does cut into the middle-seat leg room, and I had no problems getting my 175cm frame comfy in the window seats. And the boot is slightly smaller, now at 655L VDA rather than the regular hybrid’s 705 litres. Kudos to Toyota, though, for fitting a space-saving spare wheel. OK, caught up? Let’s drive this thing.  Climb behind the wheel of the RAV4 PHEV and – and I know this is going to sound a little bit boring – you’ll find it drives a lot like a RAV4 Hybrid, only with a plug. That is not a criticism of this car, it’s consistently among our best-selling vehicles for a reason. The GR Sport is the grade we spent the most time in, and it gets the wider track, the sportier ride and handling and, of course, all the power, at 227kW with the battery fully charged. And the end result is an SUV that is actually really fun to take around corners. There is a balance and a composure to this car that is simply not present on some plug-in hybrid products. Now there is a catch, of course, that’s 227kW with everything topped up. I spent a fair chunk of the test in a vehicle with its battery depleted, which meant I was relying on ICE power above all else, and it felt slower (particularly under rolling acceleration) and you could certainly hear the engine and the gearbox working away under heavy revs. The other catch is that once the battery is depleted, there's no coming back. Some plug-in hybrids have a charge function, where you can use the petrol engine to recharge the battery on the fly. That's not the case here. It will recoup some charge from the regenerative braking, but nowhere near enough to fully charge the battery. You need to plug it back to meaningfully top it up.  The only minor downside to the drive experience, or the thing that differs a little bit from the regular RAV4 Hybrid, is the weight of this vehicle. Using round numbers, there appears to be around 250kg in extra weight on board the plug-in hybrid version – pushing the kerb weight to around two tonnes – and you can feel it around you at times. They have upgraded the brakes on the PHEV vehicles to deal with the extra weight, but it doesn't disguise it completely. It can feel heavy under braking when you're on a slippery downhill into a corner, which takes a little bit of getting used to. The other quirk is that, in some of vehicles we tested, when you put your foot down you could hear the faintest whine of what seemed to be the electric motor spinning, which, if you're a bit like me and a tiny bit OCD about these things, might eventually drive you crazy. Final quirk – and it’s a complicated one, but I’ll try and sum it up quickly – is that the RAV4 PHEV was developed for 2025 ANCAP protocols, not 2026, but a launch delay saw it miss that testing window. Updates are being made, and the brand is confident it will be issued a five-star rating later this year, but that won’t be retroactive. The cars now are unrated, and will remain so, even after a new ANCAP result is issued this year. Whether that's a problem is a decision for you.  

GWM is relaunching its Ora brand with another go at creating a hero model, this time a small SUV called the Ora 5. There are supposedly some big improvements compared to the electric hatchback that arrived a few years ago, so we headed to the Australian launch of the new model in Victoria to find out if that’s true.

One of the most influential small SUVs of recent times is also one of the most underrated in Australia – the Nissan Qashqai e-Power. A plugless range-extender EV, this British designed, engineered and built crossover melds premium quality and practical sophistication with slick performance and low fuel consumption. Massive in Europe, the Qashqai deserves a much stronger following here.