Top 6 Hybrid SUVs
The best big cars with electricity running through their veins...
6. Mitsubishi Outlander
The Outlander is one of the best selling hybrid cars in Europe thanks to just how much it can offer SUV drivers. Firstly, the Mitsubishi is now a delightful car to look at thanks to revisions to the front end. The Outlander has also been vastly improved inside the cabin where you’ll now find loads of leather, a high tech centre console and an awful lot of space. The Outlander PHEV looks like a pretty big car from the outside but it feels like a mansion once you’re inside. This car has sold so well since its inception because it just makes sense. On a full charge you can achieve up to 28 miles of electric-only driving at speeds up to 30 mph, and when driven correctly you can see efficiency figures around the 139 mpg mark. The Outlander is actually really affordable too. You can pick up a brand new model for as little as £35,815 which is great value for a car this size.
5. Range Rover Sport PHEV
It doesn’t seem even remotely possible that you can get a whole 86.8 mpg out of a big Range Rover Sport, does it? Well, now you can. The 4x4 of choice for footballers, WAGs and business owners has been hybridised now and it appears to offer everything you’d want from a luxury SUV. The electric motor provides up to 26 miles of EV driving on a single charge and when working in tandem with the petrol engine it will only emit 69 g/km of CO2. The Sport PHEV still packs one hell of a punch though. The engine and motor combine to produce a total of 404 horsepower which is enough to hurl the car from 0-60 mph in just 6.3 seconds - faster than most hot-hatches on the market. Naturally, this doesn’t come cheap though, and the Range Rover Sport has a starting price of £72,785 before you’ve added any extras.
4. BMW X5 xDrive45e Plug-in Hybrid
BMW is no stranger to electrified vehicles. The i3 and i8 still remain two of the most respected electric and hybrid models on the market and they’ve been selling well for a good few years now. BMW are branching out though and they’re introducing their hybrid technology into the already existing best sellers. Few cars are more impressive in the premium hybrid SUV than the X5 hosting the xDrive45e powertrain. This is a plug-in hybrid which starts from the relatively reasonable price of £63,175 and it is capable of returning up to 54 miles of electric-only range when driven correctly. Not bad at all if your commute is under 20 miles each way. On longer journeys, BMW reckons the hybrid X5 will be able to return up 235.4 mpg when driven to WLTP testing standards, which is outrageous considering this all comes from a wonderfully powerful engine which has a combined output just shy of 400 horsepower.
3. Audi Q5 TFSI e
Audi will be releasing four new hybrid models to the world in 2020, the A6, A7 Sportback, A8 and Q5, with the latter coming first under the name ‘Q5 50 TFSI e Quattro’ which is a bit of a mouthful, but luckily the figures are quite easy to digest. The car will use a 4-cylinder 2.0-litre TFSI turbo engine and a 14.1 kWh lithium-ion battery which sits beneath the floor of the boot. The Q5 can be driven in EV mode, hybrid mode, or battery hold mode. In EV mode the car can do 26 miles without using anything but electricity, in hybrid mode the Q5 can return up to 113 mpg, and in battery hold mode you can run on just your petrol engine and save your EV mode for when you get off the motorway or enter the city centre at the end of your journey. Its all rather simple and easy. The Q5 TFSI e is on sale now and prices start from £49,735.
2. Volvo XC60 Plug-in hybrid
The XC60 T8 Hybrid is probably one of the most exciting hybrid SUVs on the market because it harnesses the energy from its electric motor and adds it to the already powerful petrol engine. In total, the Volvo XC60 T8 Hybrid has a total power output of 390 horsepower. That’s enough power to take the car from 0-60 mph in an astonishing 5.5 seconds while emitting just 47g/km of CO2. The numbers just don’t seem to add up. If driven correctly under strict testing conditions, the XC60 T8 hybrid will return 122 mpg. It really does seem too good to be true. Naturally, this is a high-end car and you can expect the price to reflect that. The T8 hybrid version of the XC60 starts from £55,005 but we reckon it is worth every penny.
1. Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid
Porsche’s larger than life Cayenne has quickly become one of the most desirable cars on the market thanks to Porsche's latest developments in terms of luxury and refinement, but their technological advances have proven to be incredibly impressive too. The new Cayenne Hybrid features a 95 horsepower electric motor which generates a staggering 310 Nm of torque. When combined with the 3.0 litre 6 cylinder engine the power output shoots up to a massive 462 horsepower which sounds like gas-guzzler territory in a car of this size, doesn’t it? Happily, the new Porsche Cayenne Hybrid is actually one of the most economical cars in the premium SUV segment. When driven correctly, the Cayenne can return an astonishing 72 mpg while floating around emitting just 74 g/km of CO2… All of this from a massive 4x4 which can hit a top speed of 150 mph!
The Cayenne Hybrid is on sale now and prices start from £68,358