If you’re not ready to move to a fully electric battery-powered car, plug-in hybrid cars are one of the best ways to dip your toe into the world of electrification.
They split the best of both worlds, powered primarily by an internal combustion engine but supported by a sizable battery and an electric motor.
Plug-in hybrid cars can drive solely on electric power for extended periods, unlike regular hybrids or mild hybrids.
While their electric ranges were previously quite short, they’re now growing to impressive levels.
Some can even drive over 60 miles on electric only, which means many drivers might never need to fuel their car with petrol if they keep their cars charged.
Plug-in hybrid cars come in all shapes and sizes. SUVs, saloons, estates and even hatchbacks are now available as plug-in hybrids, so there’s no shortage of choice.
But which are the best you can buy today? We’ve dived into a handful of segments and listed the best so you don’t have to.
Our top pick is the Volkswagen Golf eHybrid, which offers a sublime electric range and excellent comfort for a good price. Read on to see the rest of the list…
Best for: Electric range
Good things come in small packages, and that's certainly the case with the new Volkswagen Golf eHybrid.
A 2024 update fixed many of the usability issues reported by drivers including the interior, bringing back steering wheel buttons and implementing a much-improved infotainment system.
Outside of the sportier Golf GTI and R variants, the eHybrid is the peak of the model range. Its 19.7kWh battery offers a staggering 88 miles of range, which is one of the highest figures on the market. Our own tests showed that around 70 miles is achievable in the real world, which is still mightily impressive.
Because of this, the Golf eHybrid feels like an EV to drive a great deal of the time, but its price tag of just over £37,000 makes it an even more appealing proposition. It's a great plug-in hybrid that could genuinely change your motoring habits.
Read our Volkswagen Golf eHybrid review
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Lots of un-reliable motors on here including the Golf & all of the BMWs (always do bad in the customer satisfaction surveys son't they?) & well, erm... the Land Rover / Range Rover - I see one broken down every 2nd week. Hybrid plug-in will just add to this concern, surely?
A lot of luxury barges there. Lexus but not the highly popular RAV4 PHEV? one of the few PHEV's that even when the battery is gone it can still return very respectful MPG's indefinately due to the underlying proper hybrid system.
I think the Mazda RX-30 should be included here. To me the idea of an EV with a light and compact range extender engine is a better compromise than other plug-ins which effectively use two very heavy and expensive power sources. Well done Mazda for offering a novel and interesting alternative to the mainstream.