Hybrid cars

If bigger really is better, then Leapmotor might be onto something with the D19. Because the Chinese brand’s newest flagship SUV is a monster.Just launched in China, the D19 is a three-row, six- or seven-seat large SUV offered in either full BEV (with two or three electric motors) guise, or as a plug-in hybrid REEV, or range extender electric vehicle, which is the one we’ve tested.At more than 5.2m long and almost two metres wide, we’re talking bigger than a LandCruiser 300 Series here, but while the hulking Toyota is designed to reduce mountains to mere molehills, the D19 fulfills another brief entirely.This one is about space, and lots of it. Which is fitting really, given our brief test in China revealed a drive experience that felt a bit like being in zero gravity, only with fewer George Clooneys and Sandra Bullocks. But more on that in a moment. Before we get into the details, can I just put my cards on the table. I reckon that, in the three-row-SUV world, six seats are infinitely better than seven. I love the two-seat second-row layout in everything from this to the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Tesla Model Y L. Unless you absolutely need every seat you can get your hands on, then six seats is the way to go.  Now, to the D19. In typical Chinese fashion there’s a lot of stuff. The standard features list includes 20-inch alloys, air suspension, a massive 15.6-inch central screen up front and two 9.0-inch touchscreens in the back. The first and second row seats are heated, ventilated and offer a massage function, too. For the record, this thing costs the equivalent of around $A45k in China, and it’s stacked. There’s even an 8.1-litre fridge, and a 21.4-inch rear screen that folds down from the roof, meaning you can kick back with a cold drink and a movie while someone else drives.The REEV philosophy, as opposed to traditional plug-in hybrids, relies only on the electric motors to drive the wheels, using a smaller ICE engine (in this case a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol) to recharge the battery or provide power to the motors. In short, it drives like an EV, but for longer.In the case of the D19, a lot longer. While something like a Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid is fitted with a 34kWh battery — meaning an all-electric driving range of around 170kms — the Leapmotor is fitted with a choice or 63.7kWh or 80.3kWh LFP batteries, with the latter delivering an all-electric driving range of up to 500kms under CLTC testing.We’ll lose some of that range by the time we convert the promise to WLTP in Australia, but that should still be in the region of 400kms before you need to plug it in.All up, the petrol engine and twin electric motors produce 300kW and 520Nm, enough for a claimed sprint to 100km/h in six seconds, though we managed closer to 10 seconds, admittedly with four adults on board.Built on Leapmotor’s 4.0 platform, the D19 REEV runs an 800v architecture (the BEV version is 1000v), which means fast charging. The brand hasn’t gone too deep into specifics, but promises 30 per cent to 80 per cent in around 20 minutes if plugged into a high-speed DC charger. Leapmotor also hasn’t confirmed the D19's arrival in Australia, but it’s no doubt coming, and could be here in as little as nine months.“In Australia, it could work,” the brand tells me. ”Definitely it's a flagship right now. And wherever there is appetite, we will try to be there. The localisation for overseas is nine-to-12 months after what has happened in China. If tomorrow morning we say, ‘you know what, we want D19’, that is nine months.”So, to the drive. Our wheel time was limited to a rented track near Leapmotor’s Chinese headquarters, and challenging it was not. Corners are an endangered species here, and the only time we got the D19 shifting its weight was through a slalom course the brand set up for us. And let's be honest, at more than 2.5 tonnes, there is a lot of D19 weight to shift, and it feels it. Like a lot of Chinese products, it feels soft in its suspension, giving occupants that sort of weightless bouncing feeling as though walking on the moon.The steering does have a little bit of nice weight to it, though, and the power delivery is nice and smooth. It doesn’t leap off the line, the D19, but rolling acceleration is ample, and it will keep pushing well north of 100km/h.But the short version is this is not set up to feel anything like a performance car. Comfort is the order of the day in this, and that can mean something entirely different in China to the rest of the world.Stellantis (of Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Peugeot fame, among many others) owns 51 per cent of Leapmotor International, and the brand says the cars launched outside of China are tuned in Europe, and drive very, very differently to the butter-soft ride quality demanded in Leapmotor’s home market.A Euro-style drive with China-style pricing and equipment could make the D19 a player if (though we think it’s ‘when’) the big bruiser arrives in our market.

Holidays at home have never looked better from a global crisis point of view. But increasing fuel prices threaten to put the brakes on that, as well, especially when diesel is up to a dollar a litre more than petrol. Enter the GWM Tank 300 plug-in hybrid. It promises a performance-to-running costs ratio that will really take some beating. And the sticker price is pretty sharp, too.

The 2026 Toyota RAV4 Cruiser is the top-spec model in the new RAV4 line-up priced from $56,990 in front-wheel drive or $60,340 as an AWD before on-road costs.It features high-end inclusions like high-grade LED headlamps, leather-accented seat trim, head-up display, digital rearview mirror, four heated seats, two wireless phone chargers, plus a sunroof, a premium nine-speaker JBL audio system and 20-inch alloy wheels.It also comes with plenty of the RAV4’s standard features like LED headlights, privacy tinting, eight-way powered driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control, a 10.5-inch touchscreen display for multimedia, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, five USB-C ports plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also has a full-size spare wheel.Powering either the front or all four wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a 143kW/221Nm series-parallel hybrid 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine, which Toyota claims uses 4.5 (2WD) or 4.6L (AWD) of petrol per 100km of driving. It also now needs 95RON instead of the previous minimum 91RON.Toyota expects a five-star ANCAP rating, though will not find out until later in 2026.Eight airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) pre-collision, emergency steering assist, full-speed active cruise control, front and rear cross-traffic alert, lane trace, automatic high beam, parking support brake and blind spot monitor are all standard across the range.The brand’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty can be extended to seven years if you maintain your logbook servicing with Toyota. Capped-price servicing ($325 per service) comes every 12 months or 15,000km - this lasts five years or 75,000km. 

Chery has just dropped a huge hint on what the name for its incoming plug-in hybrid diesel ute might be.Currently codenamed ‘KP31’, the brand has whittled down 20,000 submissions to a shortlist of nine potential names for the ute. This list includes Bushwalker, Ironbark, Longreach, Mate, Orca, Outrider, Ridgeback, Stockman and Terra.It has trademarked all nine of the names in line with Australian regulations, but none of them have been officially registered yet. Orca stands out of from the rest because it was filed for trademark back in June 2025, while the rest of the names were filed over the past few weeks of 2026. This was part of the brand’s standard process of reserving potential names for future vehicles, according to Chery Australia. Orca has been filed for trademark by Chery under the SUV and pick-up truck category, showing the brand's desire to use the name for a ute for about a year.An orca is another name for a killer whale and the brand said it is one of the most powerful predators in the ocean, mightier even than the shark - a reference perhaps to the BYD Shark 6.Could a filing of a name nearly a year ago and its subsequent appearance on the shortlist be more than a coincidence?Voting on the name of the Chery ute will close on the 19th of May.The KP31’s official launch remains on track for the fourth quarter of this year, with the petrol plug-in hybrid variant expected to join the lineup later on next year. A name for the petrol PHEV ute has not been confirmed yet, meaning it could get an entirely different name to its diesel sibling. Chery’s diesel PHEV was revealed earlier this year, featuring a segment-changing 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and electric motor duo.Chery claims it will have a 1000kg payload as well as a 3500kg braked towing capacity, which matches many of its diesel-only competitors. These figures also trump the base variants of the BYD Shark 6, although there is a new Performance variant of BYD’s ute capable of towing 3500kg. It will join an increasingly busy Chinese electrified ute segment. This includes petrol PHEV rivals such as the GWM Cannon and Cannon Alpha, as well as the recently-announced JAC Hunter.

Geely Australia CEO Alex Gu confirmed the brand is working on bringing a three-row SUV to our market in 2027.“This model, we’ll bring next year,” said Gu, when asked if something like the brand's M9 six-seat hybrid SUV was on the cards.“We’re already in the process, it will be a little bit different from M9. The M9 is a six-seater, but we’ll have a more traditional seven-seater.”Gu hinted the M9 (or something like it) will maintain its plug-in hybrid set-up, which it is sold with in China.“I have noticed other Chinese brands right now rely on ICE [internal combustion engine] but we know that the Australian market is an emissions-sensitive market, so Geely doesn’t have any plans to do ICE, but I’m sure you’ve also heard about our plans to do i-HEV," said Gu.“So actually, we benchmarked Toyota for this,” he said. “It’s very friendly for emissions. It around 2.22L/100km, so this is very good.”Gu was confident this incoming plugless hybrid system, which Geely debuted at the Beijing Motor Show, had low enough emissions that it could be kept for the long-term, even as Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) begin to make it difficult for existing plugless systems by 2028.The M9 could form part of a slowly-but-surely new model roll-out for Geely in Australia, as it takes its time observing the strategy of rivals, according to Gu.The three-row SUV, which is sold under Geely’s Galaxy marque in China and was displayed at this year’s Melbourne Motor Show, measures over five meters long with an enormous 3030mm wheelbase.It rides on Geely’s latest space-maximising GEA Evo platform, and pairs a 1.5-litre petrol turbo four-cylinder engine (163kW/255Nm) with an electric motor in the front transaxle for the FWD models (180kW/350Nm), adding dual electric motors on the rear axle in AWD models (170kW/280Nm x2).There is no mechanical connection between the engine and rear axle for the all-wheel drive system, with the maximum system output for FWD models being 300kW/605Nm and the maximum output of the AWD models being 640/1165Nm.The M9 for the Chinese market is offered with two battery packs, either an 18.4kWh or 41.46kWh pack, which are good for 85km and 185km electric only driving range respectively.Combined driving range, also to WLTC testing, is 1140km for the small battery or 1255km for the long range battery. All batteries are sourced from CATL and use an Lithium-Ferro-Phostphate (LFP) chemistry.DC charging speed allows a 30 - 80 per cent charge in 20 minutes for the standard range, or 15 minutes for the long range battery. Even when the battery is at the reserve level, the M9 consumes 5.7L/100km to WLTC testing, and all versions come equipped with 6kW vehicle-to-load.Expect high-end features like every Chinese car, with the M9 having a 15.4-inch multimedia screen, a 12.66-inch digital instrument cluster, with a 32-inch head-up display and 30-inch roof-mounted entertainment screen for rear passengers on high-grade cars.It even offers 328 litres of boot space, even with the third row up, or 1025 litres with the third row down.As for price, the base M9 for the Chinese market starts from around the equivalent of A$40,000, with the top-spec AWD car topping-out around $55,000. With Chinese cars usually attracting a 15 - 20 per cent premium by the time they land in Australia, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see pricing from $50,000 - $75,000, putting it in direct competition with the Hyundai Palisade (plugless hybrid-only - $76,500 - $89,900) and BYD Sealion 8 ($56,990 - $70,990).A plugless hybrid version, which is effectively a scaled-down version of the plug-in system on the Chinese-market car, would be even more affordable again, without the need for the large CATL-sourced battery. Watch this space.

Toyota has just released the pricing for its new 2027 hybrid LandCruiser four-wheel drive, and it will be the most powerful variant yet.It will start from $156,060 (before on-road costs) for the GR Sport grade and $156,810 (before on-road costs) for the Sahara ZX.This means a hybrid LandCruiser costs around $9000 more than the highest grade of the diesel-only model.It is a significant step up in price on the recently-announced Denza B8 plug-in hybrid off-roader, which starts from under $100K. Toyota's hybrid LandCruiser announcement is also an early warning shot to the returning Mitsubishi Pajero, which we will learn more about before the end of the year.The LandCruiser hybrid will be powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 engine along with a single electric motor.The hybrid system has been adapted from the Tundra full-size pick-up, which itself offered some serious power and torque.The addition of an electrified boost to the LandCruiser has seen substantial improvements in power, now producing 341kW and 790Nm, up from 227kW and 700Nm. These new figures boost the car’s power beyond that of the soon-to-be phased out V8-powered Nissan Patrol. Toyota said this hybrid transition for the LandCruiser was designed to improve performance as opposed to efficiency like on other models such as the Camry sedan and RAV4 SUV.On the inside, there are leather-accented seats, with the front and outward rear ones heated and ventilated. Elsewhere, the car gets a 12.3-inch central touchscreen and a 14-speaker premium JBL audio system.The GR Sport grade comes with front and rear lockable differentials as well as electronically-controlled suspension for increased rugged off-roading capabilities.Sahara ZX models have a rear limited-slip differential, for added poise on the road. The car’s new hybrid set-up allows for a rear auxiliary power socket, which is capable of powering small appliances.The new LandCruiser hybrid will arrive in showrooms in the middle of this year.2027 Toyota LandCruiser 300 hybrid pricing  

BYD’s big bet is about to pay off.The Chinese electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid maker has 30,000 vehicles on the way to Australia in the next two months, and it looks like it will arrive just in time to feed its booming demand.BYD sold 7702 vehicles in April, which was only beaten by the dominant Toyota (15,185).The Chinese brand leapfrogged Kia to improve on its third place finish in March. BYD sales are up more than 110 per cent compared to the first fourth months of 2026 and are up 140 per cent compared to April the past year.Its Sealion 7 electric mid-size family SUV was the best-selling EV in the nation, with 1780 sales beating the Tesla Model Y (1225). BYD experienced sales growth across all its models in April.Kia took third place in April with 6450 sales, followed by Hyundai (6002), Ford (5748) and Mazda (5636).These were followed by a trio of Chinese brands: GWM (4717), Chery (4322) and MG (3678).Toyota has finally knocked the Ford Ranger off its perch with the new RAV4 taking pole position in April.The hybrid RAV4 registered 3729 sales, followed by the Ford Ranger (3661) and Toyota HiLux (2835) utes.Chery’s cut-price Tiggo 4 small SUV continued its strong performance with 2379 registrations, which was good enough for fourth spot. Followed closely by the Isuzu D-Max (2195), Hyundai Kona (2158), Toyota Prado (1870) and the BYD Sealion 7.Long-time favourites such as the Toyota Corolla, Mazda CX-5 and Mitsubishi Outlander have fallen out of the top 10 sales list.The Federal Government just announced its Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for electric cars will be extended to March 2029, but will now mostly benefit vehicles under $75,000.This move will likely see BYD, Kia, Geely, Tesla and Zeekr continue to dominate electric car sales for years to come.The head of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Tony Weber said the increased supply of EVs since the introduction of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) has helped stimulate demand in tandem with the FBT exemption “There are around 110 EV models available to Australians, and the supply of EVs continues to increase. The Electric Car Discount has provided important stimulus to the market, and its continuation will support the growth of EVs,” said Weber.Australians bought 15,459 electric cars in April, beating the March result and accounting for more than 16 per cent of all the 94,049 vehicles sold in the past month.Sales of hybrids and plug-in hybrids were also significantly higher, with plug-in hybrids almost tripling registrations compared to April 2026.Top 10 vehicles April 2026 Top 10 car brands April 2026  

Zeekr is one of the most interesting brands in Australia right now.The Chinese premium arm of Geely, Zeekr skyrocketed from relative obscurity to mainstream acceptance with its sharply priced and nice-to-drive 7X mid-size electric SUV earlier in 2026.Now though, it’s set to make a bigger, bolder impression with a car that's getting an incredible amount of hype.This is the Zeekr 8X. Imagine a Range Rover Sport, but at likely half the price with more innovative features and a sought-after EV-first hybrid powertrain.Sounds like it’s too good to be true? We’ve sampled it briefly in China to find out, so please read on to see what we think. Oh and a side note: Updated timing suggests we won’t see it hit Australian shores until 2027.First up, let’s talk about positioning and price. The thing that surprised me the most about seeing the 8X in the metal is its sheer scale. This is a massive SUV at more than five meters long. It even eclipses the dimensions of fellow five-seat rivals like the Range Rover Sport, having the visage of something that should have three rows of seating.Instead, the 8X leans into gratuitous interior space and an imposing style which will really set it apart on the road.The asking price? Expect the 8X to start north of where the 7X currently tops out, at $72,900, before on-road costs. For reference, in China, the large hybrid SUV starts from the equivalent of $A77,420 to the equivalent of $A106,183, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see prices north of at least $85,000 locally, topping out well in excess of $100,000.Despite its comparatively enormous price, even for the Chinese market, the 8X has generated massive hype there, preselling more than 10,000 units in the first 30 minutes of going on sale in a result the brand will no doubt be hoping to replicate in Australia. The 7X, which also generated quite a bit of hype, managed to amass more than 2000 pre-sales in Australia.One thing's for sure, even at its relatively high price for a Chinese car, the 8X will make a mockery of the pricing of traditional premium rivals. The most affordable hybrid Range Rover Sport comes in at $181,018, while Audi’s plug-in hybrid Q8 is $154,284 and BMW’s X5 xDrive 50e PHEV is $154,900. Mercedes doesn’t even offer a plug-in hybrid GLE in Australia.If the absurdly plush front seats with dash-spanning multimedia screens and even a leather-clad interior console that seems to reference the Porsche Cayenne isn’t enough to convince you, the VIP-style rear seating with electrically adjustable outer seats complete with footrests should seal the deal.In the Chinese domestic market it even has the option of a slide-out drawer in the centre console that acts as a fridge or heater with a temperature range of -6 to +50 degrees celsius, and a drop-down entertainment screen in the roof mounted between two sunroof fittings, both with powered shades.It’s just a lot of car in every way, and will certainly go for shock factor on the showroom floor.Perhaps one of the most interesting things about it is how conventional it feels compared to some of its Chinese-market contemporaries. It gets traditional door handles, a traditional luxury SUV shape, and a relatively tame approach to its switchgear, even maintaining an array of physical controls to go with its very wow-factor software.If it weren’t for the over-the-top screen real estate, this interior could be in any Euro-market SUV.Okay, you’re wondering, but how does it drive?A fair question. After all, the 8X backs its gratuitous interior with a lot of hardware underneath. The Chinese market version of this car is available with either a 55kWh or 70kWh battery (which, if you keep track of this new era, are sizes normally reserved for fully electric vehicles).These offer either 320km or 410km of pure electric driving range, ignoring the fact that this car also packs a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine on top.Power is monstrous, starting from a total 660kW/935Nm and topping out at a terrifying 1030kW/1410Nm for the Performance grade. Even the turbo-petrol engine on its own produces an impressive 205kW/410Nm to back the electric motors.The 8X is primarily electrically powered, with either one or two electric motors on the rear axle depending on the grade, and an additional electric motor housed in a hybrid transaxle on the front, which also mates the engine to the front wheels.To drive, the 8X is an impressive machine. We had a brief test on a high-speed brake and acceleration course, which also featured a “moose-test” agility exercise.Despite its enormous kerb weight of at least 2660kg the 8X lurches forward with incredible, silent pace, living up to its claim of 3.7 seconds to 100km. As with previous Zeekr products, the steering is also a highlight, feeling every bit as European (if a little overly electrically assisted) as its Polestar and Volvo cousins.Its sheer heft seems to be its primary vice though. The frequency-responsive suspension took a moment to adjust to a speed bump test, while the test-drive staff stopped the car every lap to check its brakes weren’t overheating from the brake test, despite regen no doubt playing a significant role.At least it rode surprisingly flat and confident through the left-right-left agility test, if anything busting a cheeky touch of oversteer on the way out, putting to bed the idea it would feel front biased despite no mechanical connection from engine to rear wheels.

The 2026 BYD Sealion 5 is a mid-size SUV that just happens to be the most affordable plug-in hybrid available in Australia during a fuel crisis. That alone is enough to draw in plenty of potential buyers, but whether the Sealion 5 is actually good enough to convert that interest into sales is another story.

The 2026 Toyota RAV4 XSE is an all-wheel-drive, mid-size SUV priced from $58,340 before on-road costs.It features high-end inclusions like synthetic leather and suede sports front seats with contrast stitching and three-stage front seat heating and ventilation, plus a sunroof and 20-inch alloy wheels.It also comes with plenty of the RAV4’s standard features like LED headlights, privacy tinting, eight-way powered driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control, a 10.5-inch touchscreen display for multimedia, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless smartphone charger, a six-speaker audio system and five USB-C ports plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also has a full-size spare wheel.Powering all four wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a 143kW/221Nm series-parallel hybrid 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine.Toyota claims it uses 4.6L of petrol (now 95RON instead of 91RON minimum) per 100km of driving.Toyota anticipates the new RAV4 will score five stars thanks to extensive safety kit, but it is as yet unrated, that comes later in 2026.Eight airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) pre-collision, emergency steering assist, full-speed active cruise control, front and rear cross-traffic alert, lane trace, automatic high beam, parking support brake and blind spot monitor are all standard across the range.A five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty covers the RAV4 and can be extended to seven years if you maintain your logbook servicing with Toyota. Capped-price servicing comes every 12 months or 15,000km and costs just $325 per service - this lasts five years or 75,000km.