Product review

June 2025

How to choose the best electric or hybrid car

From motor types to features and safety, here's what you need to know before buying an electric or hybrid car.

Our testing considers practicality, safety and how easy a car is to live with, not entirely on performance and handling (though we still look at that too).

With a focus on hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs), it’s not a comprehensive index of our entire market, but it does cover a whole bunch of commonly seen new and used vehicles that you’ll find in New Zealand showrooms.

Motor types explained

Hybrids

Hybrids have a small electric motor and battery that is recharged by the petrol engine, and when slowing down by regenerative braking. The electric motor is powerful enough to drive the car at low speeds, but generally it’ll run out of juice when you approach 30-50km/h. You don’t need to plug them in, and they work just like any other car you’ve driven, it’s just more fuel efficient.

PHEVs

The PHEV is the next step up. The electric motor and batteries are bigger; we’ve seen vehicles that claimed an all-electric range of 93km on the dashboard. The batteries can be recharged on the fly by the petrol motor and regenerative braking, but the bulk of charging is done by plugging it into the electricity network at home each day. If you can get most of your travel done on the electric motors, you will have some cheap motoring. Just remember that they still have the same servicing requirements as a petrol car.

EVs

An EV is stuffed full of batteries and a large electric motor, or motors, to drive the wheels. Mechanically speaking, they are nowhere near as complex as the other types as they have fewer moving parts. That reduces the servicing requirements for the vehicle. The main trade-offs are lack of range when compared to petrol- or diesel-powered vehicles, and a longer waiting time when charging as opposed to a quick fill of fuel at a petrol station.

What size do you need?

Getting the size right is important as going too big or small can prove to be costly, especially when dealing with new car depreciation. Buying the biggest car you can afford can seem like a good idea at the time, but you’ll have to contend with less manoeuvrability and parking restrictions when you may not even make use of the extra space.

The most popular size of vehicle at the moment is the baby SUV. They’re relatively compact to make parking easier, but they sit higher off the ground for better visibility and ease of getting in and out – on top of that, they seem to be holding their value. They do come at a premium though and a hatchback with the equivalent amount of interior space will be much cheaper.

If you’re regularly carting around passengers, you’ll need something large enough to fit everyone comfortably.

Safety

Any safety feature that will enhance the protection of the car occupants and those outside of your vehicle are what you should be looking at first. In lieu of going into the individual features, you can instead look at the vehicle’s safety rating found at rightcar.co.nz.

The more stars a vehicle has, the safer it is. Features like airbags, traction control and electronic stability control have been around for a long time and are mandatory for all vehicles coming into the country. Newer features to covet that don’t feature on all new and used vehicles include:

Autonomous emergency braking

These systems monitor what’s going on in front of you, constantly monitoring the distance to the vehicle in front. If that distance rapidly shrinks (because the car in front stops) it will apply the brakes if don’t do it first. It can be a lifesaver in cases where you might be momentarily distracted.

Front and rear cross traffic alert

This feature looks out to the sides when you’re reversing out or driving forwards out of a park, and warns you if someone’s coming. It comes in very handy, especially when you are surrounded by taller vehicles. Rear cross alerts are reasonably common while front cross alerts are a newer feature that you don’t see on all models.

Lane keep assist

These systems keep you in your lane and the best ones give gentle nudges on the steering wheel to keep you in the right place when you’re on the highway. Not all lane keep assist systems are built the same. Some do a really good job of keeping things straight and level – others are an intrusive pain. Be sure to take a car for a test drive to make sure you can work with it.

Other features to look for in a hybrid car or EV

There are a few things to keep an eye on that add to your experience of driving a hybrid or EV and make it easy to live with.

Adaptive cruise control

Adaptive cruise control is one of the most useful car options available. It senses the speed of the vehicles in front and slows or speeds up your car to keep up with the flow of traffic. While you still need to pay attention, this system really reduces the driver’s workload.

Older systems won’t stop vehicles completely and will cut out at a certain threshold, usually around 30km/h. Newer systems can take your hybrid car or EV all the way down to a stop.

360° camera

Front and rear parking sensors are great at giving you some situational awareness, but the 360° camera is the best. This gives you a top-down view of your vehicle and makes parking easy, even into the tightest parks.

The top-down view usually gets collated from four cameras around the car – in the front, rear and each side mirror. Having cameras in the side mirrors makes it costly to replace the mirrors – be sure to fold the mirrors away when you park.

Head-up display (HUD)

The HUD projects important information onto the car’s windscreen (or a dedicated screen) in the driver’s eyeline. The information can include current speed, speed limit, road signs and navigation instructions. That means you spend less time checking the dials or infotainment screen in your hybrid car or EV and more time looking at the road.

The quality of these systems varies by brand. Just about all of them are hard to see in bright sun when you’re wearing sunglasses.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto bypass the usual set-up of your hybrid car or EV’s infotainment screen and projects a version of your phone onto the screen instead. You can use these systems to make calls or send messages. However, they really come into their own when you use them for navigation or to stream music. They’re much faster and easier to use than the vehicle’s system. Your phone’s voice assistant will work with them, too – just be sure your mobile plan has enough data to do it!

The latest versions are wireless. This means you can leave your phone in your bag or pocket and still project onto your car’s infotainment screen.

Unnecessary features in a hybrid car or EV

Manufacturers will always pack more features and accessories into vehicles to try and entice you to buy a particular model. Just be sure to think it through. If you will never use the features, they’re a waste of money.

Seven seats

Great if you’ll use all the extra seats, but if they spend all their time folded away, you’re paying more for nothing.

Off-road capability in the city

A high SUV can be nice to drive in town, but all-wheel drive vehicles tend to cost more than a standard hybrid car or EV. If you don’t ever drive offroad, you don’t need that capability. You can still find that high driving position in a two-wheel drive version – you’ll just pay less for it.

Luxury items and brands

Do you really need walnut trim or carbon fibre detailing? No, but it is nice though. Just go in knowing that luxury brands and accessories get smashed with depreciation.

Rear seat entertainment

You’ll pay a lot for this feature. However, a tablet or device like a Nintendo Switch will provide everything the screen promises and more.

Gesture control

Gesture control has been introduced to some luxury brands, like BMW. It controls certain settings in the vehicle, like adjusting the volume. This tech is in its infancy and is hard to use at present.

Other considerations when buying a hybrid car or EV

Insurance costs

Before making your final decision to buy a hybrid car or EV, be sure to get a quote from an insurance company. You may be surprised at the extra premium you’ll need to pay, especially when upgrading to a more expensive vehicle. Do your sums and make sure you can afford it.

Choose the right car insurer with our buying guide.