The best Clean Cars of the year
COTY continues with the finalists in our three Clean Car categories
It’s AA DRIVEN Car Guide New Zealand Car of the Year time again! We’ll be awarding wins in 11 different categories, acknowledging the overwhelming preference for all things SUV but also with a focus on eco-cars and technology.
We continue the programme this week by announcing the finalists in all three Clean Car categories: Hybrid (or HEV as it’s also sometimes called), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV).
Hybrid (HEV)
While the Toyota Prius may be what most people think of when you say “hybrid”, the battery/ICE combo powertrain has spread far and wide across the car industry since Toyota launched the world’s first mass-produced hybrid in
1997.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Toyota continues to lead the hybrid powertrain race, but others are catching fast, as evidenced by our top three picks for this year: all SUVs and all from Japan or Korea.
Slipping into the range under CR-V, the Honda ZR-V is the same size the CR- V used to be (the justlaunched new CR-V is bigger again, however) and yet considerably more frugal (5.5l/100km) by virtue of its newer and thoroughly excellent hybrid powertrain.
Like the Jazz, the ZR-V e:HEV excels at just getting on with being frugal when you leave it to its own devices. But then it is also superbly comfortable, nicely made and impressively roomy.
Just a single hybrid model that pairs a 104kW/182Nm 2.0-litre petrol engine and a 135kW/
315Nm electric motor, the $55,000 ZR-V Sport is wonderfully driveable and beautifully put together, just like Hondas have traditionally been.
The Kia Niro is one of the more conservative looking cars in Kia’s range these days, yet it is still a stylish small SUV that stands out from the crowd.
It also stands out from the crowd in terms of its excellent hybrid powertrain that blends Toyotastyle frugality and ease of use with a slick dual-clutch transmission that eliminates the biggest sticking point with Toyota hybrids - intrusive engine flaring thanks to a continuously variable transmission (CVT).
Comfortable and packed with features, the Niro HEV may be overshadowed by its PHEV and BEV variants, but coming in at between $44,990-$59,990, it is significantly cheaper. And with claimed fuel consumption of just 4.4l/100km, it is also the most frugal of our three finalists.
Has there ever been a car as inevitable as the Toyota Corolla Cross? An SUV version of the world’s most popular car that sits between the C-HR and RAV4 in its lineup was a no-brainer for Toyota, as was powering it with the Corolla hatch’s excellent hybrid powertrain.
Available in FWD or AWD forms, all Corolla Cross models are powered by the same 135kW/ 190Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid engine and are as effortlessly frugal (4.7-4.9l/100km) as the hatch.
Starting with the GX FWD at $42,790 and topping out at the Limited AWD at $53,190, the Corolla Cross is every bit as functional, dependable and practical as a Corolla should be and more. More room, that is.
PHEV
Despite being arguably the ideal mix for the NZ market, PHEVs are still a relatively niche segment. But if you are the sort of person who wants daily commuting on pure electric power but with the ease of hybrid running for longer trips, then a PHEV is perfect.
It’s no coincidence that all of our
finalists in the PHEV category this year are SUVs, reflecting that lifestyle and practicality focus.
The Audi Q5 50 TFSI e may look like an ordinary Q5, but under that unassuming SUV skin beats a hightech heart that packs 220kW/ 450Nm and will sprint to 100km/ h in 6.1 seconds, while offering up an all-new version of Audi’s quattro AWD system that incorporates the electric motor.
Its electric-only range is 57km — which is down on its competitors — but the seamless transition between ICE and electric is something few of them can match, and the Q5 TFSI e is at its best when you leave its very, very clever electronic brain to decide which source of propulsion should be used at any given time anyway.
Of course, it is also a $114,900 Audi, so it has impressively high quality interior and a remarkable level of standard specification.
The all-new Mazda CX-60 really is ALL new, debuting the Japanese manufacturer’s Large Product Group RWD/AWD platform, with two equally new powertrains: the hybrid 3.3-litre six-cylinder and the
2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo plugin hybrid.
The PHEV offers up an allelectric range of 60km from its
17.8kWh battery and the 241kW/
500Nm on offer also makes it both more powerful and faster than the six-cylinder model.
The CX-60 is a true premium offering, with the Touring PHEV starting the range at $78,990 and the Takami PHEV topping it at $90,990, which may be a lot for a Mazda, but not for what you get.
Last year’s winner of this category, the Mitsubishi Outlander, remains a very strong choice in this segment.
Not quite as strong a seller following the launch of the allnew, much higher quality (and more expensive) model, the fact that it is no longer a cheaper entry model into Mitsubishi’s PHEV line up (a spot now occupied by the Eclipse Cross PHEV) actually means that it is a far more cohesive and convincing package.
With up to 84km of pure electric running on offer, the Outlander starts at $62,990 for the LS model and tops out at $79,990 for the fully loaded Exceed model.
BEV
While still representing a relatively small percentage of new car sales in New Zealand, the BEV market is growing at a rapid rate and prices continue to drop.
As BEVs quickly approach price parity with their ICE-powered equivalents, the sheer quality of the offerings are also increasing, with high levels of technology and standard equipment being offered on even entry-level models.
In a fun twist for traditionalists, the burgeoning BEV segment has also seen something of a resurgence of a body style that seemed to be on its way out in favour of the all-dominant SUV: the small hatch, with two of our three finalists representing the hatch segment this year!
The BYD Dolphin is the Chinese company’s second offering in the NZ market, following on from the big-selling Atto 3 of last year.
The Dolphin takes everything that saw the Atto 3 almost take the COTY title last year and makes it slightly smaller and less in-yourface, with more reserved styling and a far more traditional interior, while still retaining a high level of standard equipment and cuttingedge technology. And, yes, it does have the trick rotating centre screen.
Pricing starts at $49,990 for the standard range model with a
45kWh battery and a 340km range, but it’s the $55,990 60kWh extended range model with 427km of range that is the real sweet spot of the line up.
It may have upset a few Mustang purists when it launched, but the Ford Mustang Mach-E offers all the visceral thrills of the two-door model, just with four doors.
It may lack the roar of a V8, but the Mach-E is an absolute blast to throw down a winding road, particularly the rather angry topof-the-range GT model that does a damn fine impression of a RWD V8 Mustang and a FWD Focus ST at the same time.
But then it also offers something that the two door coupe can’t: lots of interior space, a big boot and rear seats that actual humans can sit in. The Mustang Mach-E range starts with the sensible $79,990 RWD model with 440km of range and tops out with the totally mad $124,990 AWD GT that offers
490km of range, as well as a 3.7 second 0-100km/h time . . . While the MG ZS EV was a big seller for the popular Chinese brand in New Zealand, the MG4 is a massive step up in every regard. And it’s cheaper as well.
The line-up is rather broad as well, starting with the $46,990 Excite 51 and stretching to the
320kW AWD XPower that offers a Mustang-matching 0- 100km/h time for just $69,990. Ranges stretch from 350km right up to
530km and all models (apart from the AWD XPower) are RWD, with a real focus on driver-pleasing dynamics.
Of course, like the BYD, the MG4 comes packed with standard equipment and technology, including the entry level car that drops under $40k after the Clean Car Discount is applied.