Is buying a hybrid seven-seat SUV better than a combustion vehicle?
QUESTION
Hi John,
Good morning, can you perhaps help.
My brother, who lives about an hour south of Melbourne, is looking for a large 'soft' family SUV. Most likely option will be seven-seater, to be used as a five-seater.
Key criteria is safety, reliability, ride comfort, good fuel consumption, interior space and comfort and reasonable servicing costs.
The car will not be used for towing or going off-road. He drives 25k kilometres per annum and during hockey season (18 year old niece) drives into the city five times a week, a return trip of 150km. He is not a car guy and is a conservative driver. Typically he keeps his cars for 8 - 10 years.
Current shortlist is:
Toyota Kluger Grande hybrid AWD
Hyundai (2023) Palisade Highlander 2.2d
Kia Sorento Sport+ 2.2d
Kia Sorento HEV - AWD
Hope you can help, any thoughts or expert advice is welcome.
Kind regards,
Barry
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ANSWER
Barry,
Hybrids are complex. Complexity is the enemy of reliability. This is a factor if you keep a car for 10yrs.
Hybrids do their thing in stop-start traffic. On the highway the electric side tends to be just excess baggage. (Heavy excess baggage.)
The difference between the Kluger Hybrid and the Sorento PHEV is the Kluger can only regeneratively brake, but the Sorento can be plugged in. Therefore the Sorento has a much bigger electrical system (motor and battery capacity). This larger system is only a benefit if you bother plugging it in, and to do that effectively and quickly, you’d need to install a dedicated type 2 charger. (Typically runs off a single-phase 32-amp 240V AC supply - about $3-4k, fitted.) The Sorento PHEV comes with a charger you can plug into a standard 10-amp power point, but this is a long-winded pain in the arse way to recharge on a regular basis.
Palisade is not as slick as Santa Fe. Santa Fe and Sorento are essentially clones running on the same platform. Me? I’d buy the 2.2 diesel Santa Fe or Sorento. The only difference being aesthetics and Kia’s 7-year warranty versus Hyundai’s 5 years.
Hope this helps.
JC
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