See all Motoring AdviceToyota was Ireland’s best-selling car brand in 2022 (yet again) and it achieved this accolade almost entirely on the back of its line-up of hybrids. With the Prius, the company was one of the pioneers in the modern wave of hybrids and until very recently it’s the basket into which the company has put all its eggs.
Things have moved on a lot though since the Prius and the first-gen Honda Insight were the only hybrids on the market and manufacturers have cottoned on to the fact that hybrids are a good way to meet ever-tightening emissions targets. Buyers seem to like them too with some hybrids returning fuel economy figures not far off diesel models - and Toyota’s Irish sales figures are a testament to that.
Hybrid Vehicles broadly fall into three categories. Mild-hybrids are functionally almost identical to petrol and diesel-powered cars and use a small motor-generator to assist the engine under acceleration and to help power accessories in the name of efficiency. We’re not talking about mild-hybrids here though in this article. Instead, we’re looking at hybrid-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, i.e., hybrids that can, over limited distances, run on electric power alone.
Hybrid-electric vehicles, also sometimes called self-charging or parallel hybrids, feature bigger batteries than mild-hybrids, using an electric motor to assist the engine and to provide short distances of electric-only running. They use their engines and regenerative braking to charge their batteries.
Plug-in hybrids, as their name suggests, can be charged at home and can in some exceptional cases can manage 100km or so of electric-only running (though 50-60km is more common). Plug-in hybrids can be seen as a sort of halfway house between a combustion-powered car and a full EV as that electric range is often enough for people to complete most of their daily journeys on battery power alone while still having the benefit of an engine for longer trips. Don’t be fooled by the headline figures showing fuel economy figures of hundreds of miles per gallon though: because plug-in hybrids have big heavy batteries to lug about, once the batteries run down, plug-in hybrids can get very thirsty.
Let’s take a look then at some of the best hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrids on the market in Ireland.
The current Yaris is the best-looking model to date but, while it might have gained a bit of style, it’s still as practical and sensible a proposition as it always was. The latest model is sharper to drive than before and is better-equipped too with keyless entry, parking cameras, climate control and loads of safety equipment as standard.
Powering the hybrid Yaris is a 116hp electrically-assisted 1.5-litre petrol engine officially returning fuel consumption of 3.4 litres/100km - 68mpg in old money. Expect characteristic reliability too: there’s a reason taxi drivers love the Prius.
The BMW 330e is a great all-rounder and in Touring estate form makes a compelling case for itself as a fine family car. While those covering big motorway miles would probably be better off with the diesel version, for those that aren’t, the official 66km range from the plug-in hybrid’s 12kWh battery (probably closer to 45km in real-world conditions) is plenty useful, with the 292hp powertrain returning a quick 0-100km/h time of 5.9 seconds.
The 330e’s interior feels well put together, nicely laid-out and adorned with as much gadgetry as most people will ever want. Driving dynamics are sharp, making the 330e good to drive, even if the suspension set-up is a little firmer than desirable for a family car.
Like its smaller Yaris stablemate, the Toyota Corolla has cast off its formerly staid image slightly and has evolved, in its latest guise, into a car that’s rather nice to look at and a genuine alternative for the likes of the Volkswagen Golf. While it isn’t a driver’s car per se, it’s much sharper than previous models and the interior feels of higher quality too.
The hatchback version feels a little cramped in the rear and, at 361 litres, the boot isn’t huge either. For buyers in need of more space though and for the Irish market that has traditionally favoured cars of the booted variety, there are estate and saloon versions of the Corolla too. Apart from the 2.0-litre example of the GR Sport model, power across the Corolla range comes courtesy of a 122hp hybrid-assisted 1.8-litre engine using a creditable 4.9 litres/100km in terms of fuel consumption.
The Hyundai Tucson was Ireland’s best-selling car in 2021 and 2022 and contributing to that was likely the fact that the Tucson comes with a wide range of powertrains including diesel-only, mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and regular hybrid. It’s the latter we’re looking at here.
Design-wise, the latest Tucson looks great and is a highly-polished car with high levels of spec and a premium interior. Comfort and ride-quality are good (especially if buyers steer away from the 19-inch alloy wheel and low-profile tyre combo) and there’s a hefty 616 litres of space in the boot making the Tucson very practical. Under the bonnet of the full-hybrid is a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine mated to a hybrid system to produce 230hp and strong-for-the-segment fuel consumption of 5.7 litres/100km.
In Ireland, the big seven-seat Kia Sorento SUV is available in diesel and plug-in hybrid forms and while those in need of torque, towing capacity and motorway fuel economy are probably best-served by the diesel, the plug-in hybrid will suit less-demanding family car duties.
Inside, the latest Sorento feels upmarket with loads of standard equipment on all models including leather upholstery, heated front seats, heated steering wheel and a 10.25-inch touchscreen system to name just a few things. A healthy 265hp from the plug-in hybrid system (the same as that found in the Hyundai Santa Fe) makes the Sorento feel quite brisk and the 13.8kWh battery is enough to provide a useful electric-only range of 57km on the WLTP testing cycle.