Toyota RAV4, Toyota Camry, MG ZS - which is the best car for Uber drivers? Top 5 ride share cars

What is the best car to drive for a ride hailing service like Uber, Ola and Didi? Well, we thought we’d give you our two cents. Not only are we car experts and have driven thousands of new vehicles but we also spend a surprising amount of time sitting in the back of ride share cars talking to drivers. 

It made us think? Has anybody done a top 5 cars for ride share drivers? Probably, but we’ve put together our top 5 anyway.

Before we start, let's outline the criteria. We’ve identified four areas where the vehicle must excel. They are: fuel efficiency; price and maintenance costs; practicality and space; drive and ride comfort.  

As for the car criteria of the ride hailing services, generally the vehicle must be less than 15 years old and have a five-star crash test ANCAP rating, although there are exceptions to this and our cars below all met the requirements.  

You’ll notice that all our chosen cars are petrol-electric hybrids and none are fully electric vehicles. Currently the ranges of EVs are still low and the availability of charging is still scarce and slow relative to the ranges and refuelling convenience of hybrids, so on this occasion we have excluded them.

That doesn’t mean EVs aren’t a good choice, and many operators happily use them, but none have made it into our current top 5 best.

Let’s go.

5. Kia Carnival GT-Line Hybrid

The Kia Carnival Hybrid mightn't be at the top of your ride hail car list, but not many vehicles can carry seven people and all their luggage in this much comfort.

Sure the Carnival is about 5.2 meters long, but even with all seven seats in use the cargo capacity of the boot is an enormous 627 litres.

Powering the Carnival GT-Line Hybrid is a 1.6-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder combined with an electric motor. Kia says the combined fuel consumption is 5.8 L/100km.

A long wheel base and excellent suspension set up makes the Carnival comfortable for you and the passengers.

The price of the Carnival GT-Line Hybrid is fairly expensive at $76,630  but the seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty is good and there's also seven years of capped price servicing and seven years of roadside assistance. 

4. Nissan X-Trail  ST-L E-Power

Nissan’s X-Trail makes our list not just due to its outstanding hybrid system, which uses a petrol engine only as a generator to maintain the battery’s charge, but because of its excellent practicality and driveability.

Nissan claims the X-Trail E-Power’s fuel consumption is 6.1L/100km, which doesn’t make it the most efficient here but performance and ride comfort of this mid-sized SUV is superb.

Rear doors which open at almost 90 degrees, excellent rear legroom and headroom and the large 575-litre boot make the Nissan X-Trail one of the most practical cars in our list.

The price is starting to get up there, however, with the ST-L E-Power listing for $50,765. Letting the equation down along with the price is the service costs which can be up to about $500 per year.   

3. MG ZS Hybrid +

The MG ZS Hybrid + is a five-seater small SUV with good rear legroom and headroom and a boot with a very decent 443 litres of cargo capacity.

Powering the MG ZS Hybrid + is a 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and MG said you should expect a fuel consumption of 4.3L/100km.

With a drive-away price of $37,091 the MG ZS Hybrid +is our value-for-money winner here and the ownership costs are also outstanding with a 10-year unlimited kilometre warranty.

2. Toyota Camry Hybrid

Before there was even such a thing as an Uber, Toyota Camry hybrids were operating as taxis throughout Australia. 

Almost a perfect choice for a ride hailing driver and for their passengers. The Camry is spacious, comfortable and has a large boot with a capacity of 524 litres.

Powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine combined with electric motor power, which Toyota said drinks just 4.0L/100km.

The $39,990 list price of the Camry, and servicing that is kept at $255 per visit over five years, makes this sedan one of the best choices you can make for a ride share vehicle. 

The only reason why we haven't given the Camry the number one spot is due to its low ride height making entry and exit difficult for some passengers. 

1.  Toyota RAV 4 Hybrid

Our winner in our top 5 cars for ride hail drivers is the super practical, affordable, cheap-to-run, fuel efficient and great-to-drive Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.  

A 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine combined with electric motor powers the front wheels and Toyota says the fuel consumption after a combination of open and urban roads is 4.8L/100km.

Super practical with good rear leg- and headroom, an elevated ride height for easy entrance and exit and a big 580-litre boot make the RAV4 compelling.

Sealing the deal for us is the affordable price and low running costs. The entry grade RAV4 GX lists for $42,260 and servicing is capped at $270 per service over five years.