Tag: pHEV

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NEW PAL PLUGS INTO HIGH-BORN HYBRID SUV

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Twenty years ago, Lexus lit up the luxury vehicle segment in Australia with battery- assisted hybrid performance powertrains across a range of vehicles to take the lead in pioneering battery-electric hybrid technology, which carries on to this day. With the present surge in EV sales the company is in good shape to add to its petrol/electric luxury SUV line-up with a new plug-in hybrid offering, the RX 450h+ AWD. The SUV comes only in Sports Luxury grade, tucking in just under the RX500h Sport Performance in price, $123,500, as opposed… Read more

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BYD SEALION 5 IS AUSTRALIA’S BEST VALUE PLUG-IN ELECTRIC HYBRID

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In what is a major milestone, monthly sales figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries have shown that, in February, China became Australia’s largest source of new vehicles overtaking Japan for the first time since 1998. The data also showed four Chinese brands now sit in the top ten positions led by BYD, now the sixth biggest seller, ahead of GWM (7th), Chery (9th) and MG (10th). Almost half of BYD sales are of its four-model Sealion SUV range, with either fully electric or plug-in hybrid drivetrains. The… Read more

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MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER EXCEED TOURER

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You can understand why Japanese and Korean car makers continue to rollout petrol- only models. Not all buyers want or can afford the cost of an electric vehicle, although that is the way the market is ultimately heading. With a barrage of competition from cheaper Chinese rivals, anything they can do to pick up a few extra sales is fast becoming essential. And so, we have the top of the range Outlander Exceed Tourer, powered by a 2.5- litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, with all the bells and whistles to… Read more

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TANK – BIG NEWS IN THE BIG SUV DEPARTMENT

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. It’s not so long ago that the first Hyundai topped the $70,000 mark. The 2015 Genesis was good, but would buyers be prepared to pay that much for a Korean car, everyone wondered? Fast forward and we now have GWM’s first vehicle to pass this milestone — its flagship Tank 500 Ultra PHEV seven-seat off-roader. And once again we find ourselves pondering whether buyers will stump up this sort of money to buy a Chinese vehicle this time. In its defence, the large SUV is a substantial offering with… Read more

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OMODA 9 – IT’S A LOT OF CAR FOR THE MONEY.

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  Another week, another Super Hybrid to drive — this time the Omoda 9 plug-in hybrid. Omoda, which is now a separate brand, is part of the Chinese Chery group which includes Jaecoo. In fact, Omoda and Jaecoo share the same dealerships. Some dealers also offer Chery-branded vehicles. The Omoda name represents sporty crossovers while Jaecoo is associated with more rugged SUVs. The Omoda 9 is also sold as the Exeed Yaoguang (or RX for export markets). It’s all a bit confusing. STYLING The five-seat SUV is offered in one… Read more

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GWM HAVAL H6 ULTRA PHEV – THE STARS ARE STARTING TO ALIGN

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Great Wall’s Haval H6 PHEV is the third plug-in hybrid that we have driven in as many weeks. Dating back to 2011, the third generation H6 made its debut at the 2020 Chengdu Motor Show. And, all jokes aside, it’s the first Haval to sit on the ‘Lemon’ platform – we kid you not. H6 is GWM’s all-time, best-selling model, with more than 4 million sales globally. The plug-in version was added in 2021, with a new-look front and available in petrol, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid form. “Every inch of… Read more

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GEELY STARRAY EM-I INSPIRE PHEV

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The Geely Starray EM-i sounds like something out of an old sci-fi movie. But it’s not and if you think that name is quirky, what if it had been the Geely Galaxy Starship 7 as it is sold in other markets. Beam me up, Scotty. The medium-sized five-seat Starray is the plug-in, petrol-electric counterpart of the fully-electric EX5 that we tested earlier this year with which it shares a platform. In fact, it’s the first vehicle in Geely’s “Starship” series and the first to get the second generation NordThor EM-i… Read more

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BYD SEALION 6 ESSENTIAL PHEV … IMPRESSIVE

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BYD’s Sealion 6 is one of the new breed of super hybrids. So called because they are plug-in hybrids with larger batteries that deliver greater electric only range. These PHEVs are starting to gain traction in the market, with a 136 per cent increase in sales in recent months. Fully charged, with a range that exceeds 100km in some cases, they can be used in electric-only mode for the weekday commute. For longer trips, their combined petrol and electric range exceeds 1000km, removing any lingering fear of being stranded with… Read more

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CHERY PLAYS MUSICAL CHAIRS WITH ITS NEW OMODA BRAND

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It’s getting quite difficult to keep track of the constantly evolving brands and sub- brands within the giant Chinese Chery group. The most recent development is the establishment of what is effectively a new sister brand to Chery called Omoda Jaecoo, a premium brand that operates independently of their shared parent company. We recently reported on the two Jaecoo models (J7 and J8) that are currently on sale in Australia. This time we’re reviewing the first of the dedicated Omoda vehicles the Omoda 9 that went on sale here in… Read more

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HAVAL H6GT PLUGS IN TO A NEW WORLD

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With more than 32,000 sales in Australia, the Haval H6 has never been backward at coming forward. And that’s not about to change anytime soon if the brand’s first plug-in electric vehicle is anything to go by. PHEVs have been slow to take off, but with ballooning fuel prices, climate change through fossil-fuel pollution and the ever-present driver albatross of ‘range anxiety’, things are changing. And the new H6GT, with its bumper 35.4kWh battery, has gone straight to the top of the segment with an electricity-only range, with zero emissions,… Read more