Hybrid SUV Recommendations

In2thewild on 16/09/2025 - 12:08
Last edited 16/09/2025 - 15:02

Hi, in the market for a new car, as family is growing out of our current CX5.

Anyone able to offer experience/recommendations for mid-range SUV Hybrid that is good value for money and reliable? and also ones to avoid? Used or ex demo is likely option, but within last 5 years. Budget of 45-55k. Looking on the internet, not too many Hybrid larger vehicle options around.

Other features which would be nice; AWD, 7 seater or larger boot space, leather seats or similar.

This will be my partners car for daycare/school drop offs, town for work, and the odd longer trips around the country.

Would also look to take advantage of the 1% green loans that are currently been offered by banks.

Sorry if this has been posted about before.

Cheers

General Discussion Car SUV

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  • Bill on 16/09/2025 - 21:28
    +4

    Are you sure you need an SUV?

    "daycare/school drop offs, town for work, and the odd longer trips around the country" doesn't sound like necessitating a sports utility vehicle.

    An SUV is also not aligned with "7 seater or larger boot space". If you are looking for those things and needing more space then the obvious answer would be a minivan/MPV.

    I would recommend you do some reading on SUVs Vs minivans and see which suits your needs best.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/whatcarshouldIbuy/comments/1jbxjjl/…
    https://www.reddit.com/r/whatcarshouldIbuy/comments/pkrp30/m…

    For the most amount of space you would be looking at something like a Toyota Alphard/vellfire/voxy/noah

    • In2thewild on 17/09/2025 - 16:20

      Cheers, Not necessarily looking for looking for a SUV, but our road trips are often on gravel roads (visiting family, outdoor adventures), so ground clearance and AWD are favorable which lead me to SUV's.

      The size thing is hard, as most of the time it will be used around town so shorter wheel base preferred, however when we do go away as a family it would be nice to fit everything in. (incl the dog)

  • FiveFeetUnder on 16/09/2025 - 14:20
    +1

    You haven't mentioned budget?

    2025 Outlander PHEV XLS is $59k on runout. Has 7 seats, synthetic leather and AWD
    https://www.andrewsimmsmitsubishi.co.nz/2025-mitsubishi-outl…

    • Centaurus on 17/09/2025 - 07:50

      This is also a great option besides the ones I've provided if you want a plug-in. We use these for work, and they take a thrashing.

  • Moodkiller on 16/09/2025 - 16:07

    This topic had some good suggestions (below your budget but some honourable mentions in there)

    https://www.cheapies.nz/node/51242

  • ace310 on 16/09/2025 - 22:45

    I am bit out of touch but isn't green loan only for plug in hybrid or EVs.

    • FiveFeetUnder on 17/09/2025 - 07:29

      Most of them include standard hybrids

      i.e. ANZ: Hybrid and electric vehicles - New or used electric, hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles purchased from a registered motor vehicle trader (this will exclude vehicles purchased from a private seller).

      • ace310 on 17/09/2025 - 07:39

        Thanks. I was surely out of touch.

  • AleBeerenhoff on 17/09/2025 - 08:31

    fwiw we moved from a CX5 to a Tesla Model Y - and would do it again in a heart beat. They have far more room than the CX5 (esp useful for the road trips), many more features, performance, benefits, etc. Our car was very similar (ie school runs, local city work and occasional road trips with small family).
    I don't know if you have excluded BEV due to charging limitations at your place of residence/etc or some other reasons, but we have a normal ICE and a BEV and the ICE car just never gets used any more, and cannot imagine purchasing another non BEV car. Anyhow don't want to go on and on about it, so will leave it there as it sounds as though you may already have excluded BEV for some reason.

    • In2thewild on 17/09/2025 - 16:08

      Hi thanks, Looking at non plug-in Hybrid's as it was my understanding that overall they are a better value mor money option when you factor in for plug in cars the new RUC, and charging station, electricity prices etc. I may be wrong though.

      • AleBeerenhoff on 17/09/2025 - 16:28
        +1

        I think you would need to factor in how you use the vehicle as it would depend is the answer there. There is probably a cross over point where it is more financially beneficial to drive different vehicles depending on their RUC charge rate; so ymmv type thing.
        In our experience the benefits of the BEV far outweigh the marginal cost difference - (essentially) maintenance free, charging from home and the ease of driving/performance (seriously this blew me away how great they are on the open road). If you are not directly apposed for whatever reason, I would encourage you to at least go and try one - as size wise the Model Y is very comparable to your out going CX5.

        • AleBeerenhoff on 18/09/2025 - 07:30
          +1

          Just thinking about this - and just to be clear, I am not saying the Model Y is the only thing. It was what we ended up with, after trying a few BEV's when replacing our CX5. My wife hates Elon Musk so was really apprehensive about driving around in something he was associated with, but it just felt like the best option for us at the time (we also did the 1% eco loan thing) and in comparison even she had to put aside her hatred for the muppet. There are many options out there now (many more than when we got ours), so certainly worth a wider look.

        • Naimady on 19/09/2025 - 07:45

          I did some math on this.
          And if you can get a hybrid to be something around 4.5l/100km efficiency it's cheaper than a bev/phEv to run after rucs.

          But if you run a phev on 100% electric it's cheaper than a hybrid and EV including rucs.

          How often would you drive more than 60km in a day, and how often are you really going on road trips?

          Bearing that mind if you want to maintain the warranty on battery vehicles you still need to get them serviced yearly at an authorised servicer

          • AleBeerenhoff on 19/09/2025 - 08:44
            +1

            @Naimady: Yeah it largely depends on use and then the question also probably should factor in how much is the difference, and is that efficiency actually achievable in the real world (I know the difference between the claims on our CX5 and reality was laughable) and is the difference negated by the benefits the other vehicles may offer? More "it depends" based on the individual and their circumstances.

            Also note that the "to maintain the warranty on battery vehicles you still need to get them serviced" - this too is a "it depends" situation. I know for Tesla this is not the case; they don't want you back in the service department unless you need to be there. This infers another benefit of the BEV in comparison to the Hybrids/ICE which is the reduction in parts requiring servicing; imo even worse with a hybrid as they have both the complexity of a BEV and ICE in one package.

            So much of it comes down to individual use case which is why I was trying to highlight that there may be value to be had by looking at all the options, not just hybrid ones.

            • Marcus1 on 19/09/2025 - 09:02

              @AleBeerenhoff: What sort of warranty does the model Y offer - Is it transferable if you decide to sell it?
              Also, many years ago I was looking at a model 3 and towing anything was a grey area at the time.
              I imagins the Y is OK for towing now - what's the maximum weight it can tow (braked)?
              Thanks

              • AleBeerenhoff on 19/09/2025 - 09:10
                +1

                @Marcus1: Warranty is pretty standard tbh "4-year or 80,000 km Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty and an 8-year or 160,000 km Battery and Drive Unit Limited Warranty". It is not locked to the original purchaser so second hand still retains the benefits.
                Towing is all good - not sure about the 3, but the Y is - limits will depend on the towbar installed. The one we have has braked weight of 1600KG and unbraked of 750KG. Have used it for towing aggregate (ie heavy), and a little sailing dinghy when we went up north last summer, but mostly its for towing our rubbish bins or the bike rack. Much like driving on the open road, the characteristics of an electric motor makes towing so effortless.

                And probably people are going to go, yeah but what about the pain of stopping and charging every 5 minutes - the availability of charging locations around the country is so good, we have never been inconvenienced by it at all. Recently went from Akld to Ohakune (and back), stopped each way once and by the time we had grabbed something to eat and stretched our legs the car was finished topping up and we were on our way.

  • Naimady on 17/09/2025 - 08:36

    Second the phev outlander or model y

  • Centaurus on 16/09/2025 - 13:19
    -1

    Have you got a budget? You might need to pay the Toyota tax and grab a Highlander or Prado.

    • In2thewild on 16/09/2025 - 15:04

      Thanks, Highlander looks like an option. Budget around 45-55k.

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