What are the ten best hybrid cars in Australia based on sales?
The best hybrid car (either conventional or plug-in) for you will depend on your personal preferences, needs and budget. To give you some food for thought, here is Canstar’s list of the 10 best hybrid cars in Australia.
1. Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
- Price: From $50,723.
- What’s to love: Currently Australia’s best-selling hybrid car, its standout feature is its ability to drive up to 40 km/h on the electric motor alone. It’s useful for city and suburban driving, while also providing impressive power and performance when using the petrol and electric motors simultaneously.
2. Toyota Corolla Hybrid
- Price: From $37,194.
- What’s to love: Another trusted and reliable Toyota hybrid comes in the form of the Corolla. Connecting a 1.8-litre engine to an electric motor provides an efficient drivetrain (a group of components that deliver mechanical power), coupled with a solid build and responsiveness, the Corolla won’t leave you feeling short-changed.
3. BYD Shark PHEV
- Price: From $55,900.
- What’s to love: BYD’s ‘Super Hybrid Ute’ can reach speeds of 100 km/h in less than 6 seconds and offers 3,500 kilograms of towing capacity. The Shark series suits both off-road adventurers and buyers looking for an advanced utility vehicle for daily driving.
4. Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid
- Price: From $41,653.
- What’s to love: Delivering a combined fuel consumption of as low as 4.2L/100km in the GX 2WD variant, the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid offers practical cargo space, a comfortable interior and a host of safety features such as multiple airbags, lane-keeping assistance and blind-spot monitoring.
5. Hyundai Tucson Hybrid
- Price: From $44,990.
- What’s to love: This popular mid-sized SUV is available in both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, the Tucson Hybrid is marketed as a family hybrid, offering smart features like Baby Mode and a smooth e-Motion Drive system.
6. Hyundai Kona Hybrid
- Price: From $39,990.
- What’s to love: Delivering a compact SUV that makes manoeuvring and parking in tight city spaces easier, the Hyundai Kona Hybrid provides a smooth and quiet driving experience alongside an effective drivetrain.
7. Toyota Camry Hybrid
- Price: From $44,483.
- What’s to love: Like the models before it, the Toyota Camry Hybrid brings the benefits of electric and petrol together in a hybrid alternative that leverages the Camry’s position as one of Australia’s favourite medium-sized sedans.
8. Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid
- Price: From $35,832.
- What’s to love: The Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid is one of two hybrids in the light car category for the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), but it’s the only one to have been awarded the coveted five-star safety rating. It also benefits from 10 years of hybrid battery cover. With a tight turning circle, it’s perfect for navigating narrow inner-city parking.
9. BYD Sealion 6 PHEV
- Price: From $42,990.
- What’s to love: The BYD Sealion 6 offers up to 92km worth of driving using the electric battery alone. The Sealion 6 is also one of the more affordable plug-in hybrid options available on the Australian market.
10. Toyota Kluger Hybrid
- Price: From $67,968.
- What’s to love: A spacious seven-seater, the Toyota Kluger Hybrid combines impressive fuel efficiency for its vehicle class (5.6L/100km) with a 2.5L petrol engine and electric motors for smooth acceleration. The Kluger also comes equipped with pre-collision warning systems and adaptive cruise control.
Pricing for Canstar’s top 10 best hybrid cars in Australia list is based on driveaway prices at the time of writing for the 2000 (Sydney) post code. Unless otherwise stated, the prices are for the base hybrid model of each car. The total price you pay will likely be somewhat higher and may vary depending on where in Australia you live, as well as the variant and specifications you choose. Keep in mind Canstar has brought this list together based on sales data alone. There may be another hybrid electric car, or a different car altogether, that’s better suited for you and your needs.
What is a hybrid car?
A hybrid car combines at least one electric motor with an engine that’s usually petrol, to deliver a vehicle that’s more environmentally sustainable than a car that only has a conventional internal combustion engine.
The majority of ‘green’ vehicles sold in Australia aren’t fully electric cars. Instead, they’re hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), which offer many of the eco-benefits and fuel savings as their fully electric counterparts, combined with the power that comes with a petrol-powered Internal Combustion Engine (ICE).
How do hybrid cars work?
In a conventional hybrid car, the system recaptures kinetic energy caused by the slowing of the vehicle, often referred to as regenerative braking. This charges the vehicle’s electric battery. The battery can also be charged via the internal combustion (petrol) engine. This battery can then be used to power one or more electric motors.
When driving, the petrol engine or the electric motor does most of the work, but sometimes they work together. The electric battery can also power on-board electrical components like heating, ventilation and lights, as well as reduce engine idling when stopped. Together, this can lead to less petrol consumption, without needing to sacrifice power and performance.
What is a plug-in hybrid car?
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is a car that is run primarily using a large, battery-powered electric motor that can be charged by plugging it into an electrical source. PHEVs do have a petrol or other internal combustion engine, but it’s only used when the battery power in the electric motor is depleted.
The larger battery and plug-in feature of a PHEV means that, unlike a HEV, it can operate solely on the power of the electric engine for around 40 to 60 kilometres (depending on the model). With less dependence on the petrol engine, a PHEV does not consume as much petrol or emit as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as a HEV. However, due to its larger and more expensive battery and potential need for charging accessories, a PHEV will typically cost more to purchase than a HEV.
Hybrid vs electric vehicles: what’s the difference?
Unlike a hybrid or plug-in hybrid electric car, a pure electric vehicle has no petrol engine and is powered solely by a battery engine that can be charged by plugging into an electrical source. An electric car emits no CO2 from the vehicle and can help a driver save even more on fuel costs.
However, with no petrol engine to fall back on, an electric car may be more limited in how far it can be driven before needing to be recharged. It’s also typically more expensive to purchase than a hybrid or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
What are the benefits of a hybrid car?
Hybrid car benefits can include:
- reduced running costs
- lower tailpipe emissions
- a quieter and smoother driving experience
- stronger performance.
What to look for when choosing a hybrid car
If you are looking to make a switch from a pure petrol or diesel model to a low-emission hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicle, five factors to consider include:
Cost
Although there are some relatively cheap hybrid vehicles available in Australia, most are generally more expensive than their ICE counterparts. This is due to the added cost and complexity of the battery pack, electric motor, unique transmission and generator technology. However, pricing for these cars has come down significantly in recent years, with hybrids now becoming a viable alternative for consumers.
It’s important to consider whether you can make up for a hybrid's higher upfront price through your potential savings on petrol.
Maintenance costs could also be worth considering. Since there are two propulsion systems in HEVs and PHEVs (petrol and electric), this could potentially increase the cost and complexity of servicing and repairing these cars.
When it comes to plug-in hybrids, the upfront cost of one of these types of cars is often substantially more than its petrol and HEV counterparts. In some states there are registration and stamp duty incentives available for low-emission vehicles such as HEVs and PHEVs, which may help the drivers of these cars save money.
If you’re looking for a loan to buy your new hybrid car, some lenders offer specialised green car loans for eco-friendly vehicles, often with a better interest rate. You can compare green car loans with Canstar.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Hybrids and plug-in hybrids generally produce lower CO2 and nitrogen oxide emissions than petrol or diesel cars, resulting in more economical and overall cleaner vehicles. This can be especially true when driving in city areas where heavy traffic means more braking, so the electric motor is more likely to be the main force driving the wheels.
However, for a vehicle like an HEV or PHEV to be considered ‘green’, the Australian Government says it needs to have an emissions intensity that does not exceed 120 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometre (g/km).
If you are looking to be more environmentally friendly by switching to a low-emissions hybrid vehicle, it may be worth checking whether your hybrid of choice falls within the government’s emissions guidelines. You can often find the CO2 emissions per kilometre online when researching a vehicle’s specs.
Another option could be to consider purchasing a fully electric vehicle (EV). According to the Electric Vehicle Council, EVs emit zero exhaust emissions. Even when charged by coal-fired electricity, EVs generate lower emissions than a HEV.
Battery range and warranty
How long a plug-in hybrid vehicle can travel on its battery power alone (its ‘range’) could be important to consider, particularly in a large country like Australia. When a PHEV is plugged in and recharged appropriately, it often allows anywhere between 20km and 100km of range on battery only. This means that for many people, their daily commute can be completed using electric battery power only.
In addition to checking your PHEV’s range, it’s also important to check whether its battery has some kind of heat management system, since batteries last longer if they are kept cool. Most batteries in a PHEV and HEV carry around an eight to 10-year warranty, but because the electric engine isn’t always working full-tilt in a HEV (only used for short distances or when the car is idling), they are proven to generally last longer than a battery in a PHEV.
PHEV charging options
In Australia, you can charge your PHEV at home or at a public charging station. If you choose to charge up at home, you can often use either a standard existing wall socket or a dedicated PHEV charging station. Before purchasing a PHEV, it may be worth checking what charging options are available with the manufacturer, to help decide if these options will suit your needs and budget.
Insurance
Based on Canstar research, most car insurance providers in Australia offer insurance for hybrid vehicles. While insurance premiums for purely electric cars will typically be more expensive than cover for petrol or diesel cars, this is not always the case when it comes to hybrid vehicles.
Premiums for hybrid vehicles can vary depending on the provider. You can compare car insurance options with Canstar to help you find a policy that suits your needs and budget. Keep in mind that it can be worthwhile to read the relevant policy documentation, like the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD), before you agree to a policy.
