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Last updated November 28, 2024 by Tom Wiltshire

10 best hybrid cars: our favourite dual-fuel cars to cover every need

A hybrid car is one that combines an electric motor with a petrol or diesel engine, and you’re going to see more and more of them on the roads and in dealerships. It’s an increasingly popular section of the market, especially as buyers take steps towards electric cars.

The idea is that you get the convenience of a petrol or diesel engine - a long range and the ability to refuel in minutes - with the zero-emission nature and silent running of a motor and batteries.

Different manufacturers have their own ways in which they combine these two energy sources but it’s more important to know the two main types - self-charging hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

Self-charging hybrids, also called conventional hybrids or parallel hybrids, are the cheaper and simpler type. They use the car’s engine as well as regenerative braking to create electricity with which to power their electric motors. Self-charging hybrids operate like a more efficient petrol car, in a nutshell, and as a result they can only travel a short distance on electric power alone.

Plug-in hybrids, or PHEVs (for ‘plug-in hybrid electric vehicle') have a larger battery pack and can accept a charge from an external source. This means they can travel further on electric power alone, sometimes as much as 70 miles or more. The electric range can be saved for later in a journey or deployed gradually along a longer trip, and when the battery is flat they revert to acting like a self-charging hybrid.

Overall, hybrid cars tend to be more efficient than standard petrol models, with such impressive mpg that some car makers have phased out diesel engines in favour of hybrids. Plug-in hybrids in particular often have official mpg figures in the hundreds, based on regular charge cycles.

This article will highlight hybrids of both kinds. They're all brilliant cars in their own right, and we've rated them all at least 8 or 9 out of 10 in their full model range reviews. We also have dedicated rundowns of the best self-charging hybrids and the best PHEVs, if you'd like to check those out.

Toyota Yaris Cross
2025
Urban Living Award

1. Toyota Yaris Cross

9/10
Toyota Yaris Cross review

What's good

  • Hybrid engine is economical
  • Generous standard equipment
  • Raised ride height gives excellent visibility

What’s not so good

  • Engine can be noisy
  • Fidgety over bumps
  • Slightly dour interior
Best for: city dwellers

Hybrids are ideal for city-dwellers, so it’s no surprise that we took this into consideration and awarded the Toyota Yaris Cross the ‘Urban Living’ category in the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards. Electric cars are great, after all, but if you live on the tenth floor of an apartment block with no allocated parking space then charging can be a real pain - hybrids are just easier.

The Yaris Cross has no battery management to worry about - simply drive it like a normal automatic petrol car. Unlike most petrol cars, though, you can enjoy a real-world 60mpg, or up to 70mpg and beyond if you’re very careful.

It’s also surprisingly good fun to drive. The 1.5-litre petrol hybrid engine isn’t exactly rapid, but the electric motor means it’s nippy off the line and the steering is surprisingly satisfying and precise. It’s even comfortable on a longer motorway trip. And the hybrid system is so smooth and unobtrusive that you hardly notice it - unlike some alternatives such as the Peugeot 2008, where you’re very conscious of whether you’re driving on petrol or electric power.

The Yaris Cross should prove totally painless to own, too. Toyota’s reliability record is pretty much unparalleled, and if you service it at a main dealer you can unlock up to ten years of warranty cover - that’s industry leading. Buy a Yaris Cross now and you’ll be covered if something breaks well into the 2030s.

If the Yaris Cross has one downside, it’s the interior. While it’s spacious and very well-built, it’s not particularly exciting, using mainly plain black plastics and dull design details. But we’d trade its many, many positives in favour of a bit of shiny plastic any day.

What's good

  • Hybrid engine is economical
  • Generous standard equipment
  • Raised ride height gives excellent visibility

What’s not so good

  • Engine can be noisy
  • Fidgety over bumps
  • Slightly dour interior
Dacia Duster
2025
Smart Spender Award

2. Dacia Duster hybrid

9/10
Dacia Duster review

What's good

  • Great value
  • Four-wheel drive available
  • Keeps the Duster's character intact

What’s not so good

  • Cheap plastics inside
  • Seats don't fold totally flat
  • No more diesel option
Best for: adventurers on a budget

The Dacia Duster has always been a great-value small SUV but the third-generation model is genuinely desirable too. With its chunky styling and cheerfully rugged interior, it’s finally a car you could buy with your heart as well as your head.

The hybrid is the most expensive version of the Duster, but it still undercuts most small hatchbacks in price. It uses the same hybrid system as Renault’s latest Captur, too, which means while it’s not quite as smooth as a Toyota Yaris Cross it’s still very good to drive around town and extremely economical for such a boxy car - expect to see more than 50mpg if you’re driving carefully.

The Duster’s size is one of its biggest advantages it has over cars of a similar price. Whereas a comparable hatchback would struggle to fit child seats, pushchairs and other family detritus, the Duster handles it with aplomb thanks to its spacious back seats and huge boot.

And unlike previous Dusters, the interior doesn’t seem like it’s been crafted to punish you for buying a cheap car. The design is outright cool - blocky and rugged, with fun details like the rubber floor mats intended to evoke map contours. Yes, it’s built from cheap materials, but it is a cheap car - and it truly doesn’t feel much more bargain-basement than many other budget SUVs that cost several thousand pounds more.

It’s a shame that the hybrid Duster isn’t available with four-wheel drive - you have to opt for the regular petrol engine to get that. However, with its beefy body, high ground clearance and hardwearing wheelarch cladding, you’ll still be much more comfortable taking even a two-wheel drive Duster further off the beaten path than you would many other small SUVs.

Fitted with good tyres, we’d much rather be in a Duster than even a four-wheel drive Volkswagen T-Roc, for example.

With equipment levels much more impressive than you’d expect from something so cheap and even a range of cool accessories that fit onto integrated ‘YouClip’ attachment points, the hybrid Duster ticks just about every box, as long as you’re not expecting something posh. 

What's good

  • Great value
  • Four-wheel drive available
  • Keeps the Duster's character intact

What’s not so good

  • Cheap plastics inside
  • Seats don't fold totally flat
  • No more diesel option
Hyundai Santa Fe
2025
Car of the Year Award

3. Hyundai Santa Fe

10/10
Hyundai Santa Fe review

What's good

  • Vast, spacious interior
  • Looks ace
  • Surprisingly economical

What’s not so good

  • Alternatives have bigger boots
  • No diesel or full-electric versions
  • Not very exciting to drive
Best for: big families

The Hyundai Santa Fe is our reigning car of the year for 2025 - as well as winner of the Family Values award. Hyundai’s also our overall brand of the year, so it’s no surprise to find that the Santa Fe is an absolutely brilliant car, whichever of its two hybrid engines you opt for.

There’s a self-charging hybrid and a plug-in hybrid available - the latter makes much more sense as a company car thanks to its low CO2 emissions, but in this area it’s outclassed by the Skoda Kodiaq. It’s the regular hybrid we’d go for - it’s cheaper, slightly less powerful but still very good to drive with enough shove to get this massive seven-seater moving swiftly.

It’s even quite efficient, with 40mpg possible if you’re driving carefully - that’s about what you’d expect from many diesel-powered cars this size. The hybrid engine isn’t the highlight of the Santa Fe, but it’s a good match for this brilliant car.

The Santa Fe’s real strength is that it looks, feels and drives like a much more expensive car. No, it’s not exactly cheap, but it’s a good £20,000 less than a Land Rover Discovery - and we think it’s the better car. Part of that comes down to the interior, which is roomy, clever and built extremely well. It’s so smartly designed for family life, with cupholders for every occupant, USB-C charging in all three rows to help keep gadgets topped up and an array of thoughtful storage bins to help keep your smaller items well organised.

It’s also superbly easy to use. Hyundai has resisted the temptation to remove all physical buttons, like so many other SUVs. You get a big panel of climate controls as well as physical shortcut keys for the huge, easy-to-use infotainment screen, and they all combine to make the Santa Fe simple and intuitive even if you’ve only just got in.

It’s not sporty to drive but it doesn’t need to be. Instead it’s comfortable, relaxing and refined, great for soaking up long distances or nipping about town on errands. No wonder it’s won so many awards.

What's good

  • Vast, spacious interior
  • Looks ace
  • Surprisingly economical

What’s not so good

  • Alternatives have bigger boots
  • No diesel or full-electric versions
  • Not very exciting to drive
Honda Civic

4. Honda Civic

9/10
Honda Civic review

What's good

  • Great to drive
  • Impressive efficiency
  • Large boot

What’s not so good

  • Dull exterior styling…
  • …And a bland interior
  • Higher starting price than alternatives
Best for: serious mile-munching

The Honda Civic is a brilliant family hatchback that just so happens to be hybrid-powered. It doesn’t shout about its hybrid engine - it’s not a special-edition that you have to select, it’s the only option. It just quickly and quietly gets on with being fantastic to live with.

The Civic’s low, lean body translates into a car that feels great to drive. It’s a different kind of hybrid than most - round town, it’s purely an EV, with the engine disconnected from the wheels and acting solely as a generator. This means that you get the smooth, seamless acceleration of an EV, making stop-start traffic a breeze.

But on the motorway, the engine drives the wheels directly, making for a much more relaxing affair than with a pure generator like the Nissan Qashqai. It means the Civic’s great for long distance driving, where you get good fuel economy but without the compromises of most hybrids.

It’s also practical, with a big boot and plenty of rear-seat space, and its nicely-built dashboard is so simple that a child could operate it. It eschews the craze for larger and larger screens, opting instead for a sensibly-sized infotainment display and a plethora of great-feeling physical switchgear. The Civic proves that following the trend doesn’t always make the best cars.

What's good

  • Great to drive
  • Impressive efficiency
  • Large boot

What’s not so good

  • Dull exterior styling…
  • …And a bland interior
  • Higher starting price than alternatives

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Renault Clio
2025
Smart Spender Award
Highly Commended

5. Renault Clio

9/10
Renault Clio review

What's good

  • High quality interior
  • Massive boot
  • Stylish design

What’s not so good

  • Tight rear seats
  • High boot lip
  • Not as comfy as alternatives
Best for: small parking spaces

Genuinely small hybrid cars are few and far between, simply because it’s easier to make profit on a larger, more expensive vehicle. The Renault Clio E-Tech is one of the exceptions, because it gets a proper self-charging hybrid engine in a small hatchback package.

The result is brilliant - it’s a compact car with a generous 140hp, but one that can easily return more than 60mpg if driven carefully. That’s the sort of fuel economy you would have expected from the old Clio diesel, which practically invented the word ‘sluggish’.

The Clio has a great interior, which is well-built and easy to use - whether you go for a mid-spec model or the top-end with its sports seats, blue stitching and big, 9.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system. You get digital dials on the hybrid regardless, and Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to seamlessly connect your phone.

It’s practical for such a small car, too. The hybrid’s boot isn’t as big as the regular petrol Clio - 300 litres trails 391 - but it’s still bigger than you get on a Toyota Yaris, and nearly as big as the much larger Honda Jazz.

Stylish looks, a chassis that’s a lot of fun in the corners and cracking value are the final feathers in the Clio’s cap. No wonder it was Highly Commended in the Smart Spender category of the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards.

What's good

  • High quality interior
  • Massive boot
  • Stylish design

What’s not so good

  • Tight rear seats
  • High boot lip
  • Not as comfy as alternatives
BMW X5
2025
Adventurer's Choice Award

6. BMW X5

10/10
BMW X5 review
Battery range up to 45 miles

What's good

  • Powerful yet efficient engines
  • High quality interior
  • Fun to drive for an SUV

What’s not so good

  • Lumbar adjustment optional
  • M50d's fake engine noise
  • Firm on large alloy wheels
Best for: family adventures

The BMW X5 range won the Adventurer’s Choice category of the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards - and while the diesel models are a better bet for most people, the plug-in hybrid X5 45e is pretty fantastic too.

Unlike many PHEVs, which have a weedy little engine and rely on their electric motors to make up the deficit, the X5 has a fantastic straight-six petrol engine which would be well up to powering the car all by itself (and indeed is, in the pure-petrol 40i model). But when paired with a powerful electric motor and big battery pack, you get exceptional performance, the potential for brilliant fuel economy, and an all-electric range of more than 50 miles.

You’ll cover those miles in sumptuous comfort, too. The X5’s interior is huge, plush and feels like it’s hewn from rock. It’s packed with posh features - on top-end models you don’t just get heated and cooled seats, but heated and cooled cupholders.

Best of all, the X5 is fantastic to drive. It feels like a smaller car than it is, thanks to fantastic handling, accurate steering with tons of feedback and even rear-axle steering on some versions. It’s great at a cruise, but the electric motor also makes pootling round town a pleasure.

What's good

  • Powerful yet efficient engines
  • High quality interior
  • Fun to drive for an SUV

What’s not so good

  • Lumbar adjustment optional
  • M50d's fake engine noise
  • Firm on large alloy wheels
Toyota Corolla

7. Toyota Corolla

8/10
Toyota Corolla review

What's good

  • Cheap to run
  • Good quality inside
  • Enjoyable to drive

What’s not so good

  • Drony automatic gearbox
  • Rear space for adults
  • More expensive than alternatives
Best for: pinching the pennies

The Corolla is Toyota’s answer to the Volkswagen Golf, which means it’s perfectly sized for a small family - especially if you prefer hatchbacks to SUVs. All Corollas are hybrid, using Toyota’s excellent self-charging set-up which can deliver over 60mpg reliably.

You can choose a powerful 2.0-litre setup, but really the basic 1.8-litre hybrid is all you need - it’s powerful enough for every occasion with 140hp. A more powerful electric motor fitted since the 2023 facelift means the Corolla can spend the majority of its time, especially around town, with the engine off. It’s nippy away from the lights but relaxed on the motorway, and even quite good fun in the corners.

A well-built interior and up to 10 years of warranty cover, combined with a faultless reliability record and well-regarded dealers mean that ownership of a Corolla should be about as painless as it’s possible to be. The Corolla’s the sort of car you keep for a long time, because it simply does everything so well and without any fuss.

There’s even a Corolla Touring Sports - that’s an estate to you and me - which has a bigger boot and more headroom in the rear, so if the standard hatchback is a bit cramped for your needs this could be a great solution.

What's good

  • Cheap to run
  • Good quality inside
  • Enjoyable to drive

What’s not so good

  • Drony automatic gearbox
  • Rear space for adults
  • More expensive than alternatives
BMW 3 Series

8. BMW 330e

9/10
BMW 3 Series review
Battery range up to 34 miles

What's good

  • Still the best-in-class to drive
  • Excellent new screens in the cabin
  • Touring estate is very practical

What’s not so good

  • No more physical buttons for air-con
  • Plug-in hybrid models lose lots of boot space
  • Expensive options
Best for: looking the part

A popular choice with company car drivers - and that’s not really surprising. It’s a great-looking small saloon car, and when it’s fitted with the 30e plug-in hybrid engine it’s the consummate all-rounder.

More than 60 miles of all-electric range means low bills, especially for Benefit-in-Kind tax - and if you plug in regularly you’ll get amazing fuel economy, too.

But it’s when you drive the 330e that it’s best. You don’t feel the extra weight of the batteries, or notice that the power is shifting from petrol to electric and back again. All you notice is that there’s oodles of power for overtaking or monstering out of corners, that the rear-wheel drive chassis is perfectly balanced, and that the steering is communicative and precise.

Put simply, it’s a joy to drive - whether you opt for the 3 Series Saloon or the Touring Estate for a bit of extra room. A comfortable interior is another plus point - it’s packed with tech but surprisingly easy to use, with two massive screens running BMW’s latest software. Build quality is excellent, too.

A Mercedes C-Class PHEV can go further on a charge, but in all other respects the BMW 330e is the superior car and the one to go for.

What's good

  • Still the best-in-class to drive
  • Excellent new screens in the cabin
  • Touring estate is very practical

What’s not so good

  • No more physical buttons for air-con
  • Plug-in hybrid models lose lots of boot space
  • Expensive options
Skoda Kodiaq
2025
Adventurer's Choice Award
Highly Commended

9. Skoda Kodiaq PHEV

8/10
Skoda Kodiaq review

What's good

  • Clever, spacious interior
  • Huge boot
  • Still available as a diesel

What’s not so good

  • Plug-in hybrid not available with seven seats
  • Some expensive optional extras
  • Alternatives are more fun to drive
Best for: company car drivers

Skoda pulled a blinder with the Kodiaq PHEV by giving it a big enough battery to do 75 miles of electric range on a charge. That number is important for a couple of reasons. Of course, there are the practical ones - it’s enough to cover even the most gruelling commutes without bothering the petrol engine, and it means you won’t be scrambling to plug in every time you get home.

But more importantly, it kicks the Kodiaq into a lower band for company car tax, making it incredibly affordable. Company car tax for PHEVs is based on CO2 emissions but also electric range, and 75 miles is the cutoff - it puts the Kodiaq in a very small group of vehicles that pay this lower rate.

It’s not like you suffer any compromises by going for the big Skoda, either. While it’s a shame you only get five seats (the standard Kodiaq is a seven-seater) you do get a truly vast boot as recompense - and forward of that you get ample room for adults and a smart, well-built interior.

It’s also really comfortable to drive, easy to operate and packed with Skoda’s ‘Simply Clever’ touches, such as an umbrella hidden in the door shut, an ice scraper in the filler flap and a parking ticket holder on the windscreen.

What's good

  • Clever, spacious interior
  • Huge boot
  • Still available as a diesel

What’s not so good

  • Plug-in hybrid not available with seven seats
  • Some expensive optional extras
  • Alternatives are more fun to drive
Range Rover

10. Range Rover P460e

9/10
Range Rover review

What's good

  • Extremely manouvrable with four-wheel steering
  • Superbly refined and comfortable
  • Looks fantastic

What’s not so good

  • Some cheap plastics inside
  • Feels wide through town and tighter roads
  • A big step to get into the cabin
Best for: feeling like royalty

If your budget stretches to it there are very few more comfortable or imperious ways to travel than in a Range Rover. While early Range Rover hybrid engines didn’t really suit the cars they were in, the latest models are far better - with a creamy-smooth six-cylinder petrol engine and up to 75 miles of electric range.

The massive battery is small potatoes for such a big, powerful car to carry around, and so the Range Rover’s abilities are unimpaired - it’s still unbeatably comfortable, incredibly good off-road and gives you a sense of being unstoppable. There’s something special about sitting behind the wheel of a Range Rover, higher-up than the normal folk in their puny mid-sized SUVs - no wonder so many CEOs, business leaders and members of the royal family have a predilection towards them.

There’s an almost endless level of customisation you can option, too - from paint colours to trim packs to fully bespoke models fitted out by Land Rover’s in-house division, you can have a Range Rover that truly matches you.

Of course, it’s expensive, and don’t expect massive fuel savings - the P460e’s battery pack is bigger than you get on some small fully-electric cars, so charging it up every day will still add to your bills. But if you’re doing mostly short trips, it’s a much better option than the diesel Range Rover.

What's good

  • Extremely manouvrable with four-wheel steering
  • Superbly refined and comfortable
  • Looks fantastic

What’s not so good

  • Some cheap plastics inside
  • Feels wide through town and tighter roads
  • A big step to get into the cabin

Hybrid cars to avoid

Suzuki S-Cross full hybrid

Suzuki has a technology partnership with Toyota, so you’d hope that it would use Toyota hybrid systems. Not always the case. The S-Cross (and closely-related Vitara) use a truly terrible hybrid system based around a weedy engine, puny electric motor and an absolutely dire automated manual gearbox. It’s slow, clunky, and ruins the car - which is a shame, because the regular mild hybrid S-Cross is great fun to drive.

Nissan Juke Hybrid

The Juke is proof that using the same parts doesn’t guarantee success. The Juke’s hybrid system is the same as the one in the Renault Captur and Clio, as well as the Dacia Duster - but it feels clunkier, noisier and just all-round worse. It doesn’t help that the Juke itself is cramped, too firm over bumps and the styling is an acquired taste - so it’s a bad iteration of a powertrain in quite a mediocre car.

Have you considered getting GAP insurance for your new hybrid car?

Carwow has partnered with MotorEasy to provide GAP insurance. GAP insurance covers the difference between the amount you paid for your car, or owe on your car if you have finance, and the amount an insurance company would give you if your car is declared a total loss or write-off. This can protect you financially from a shortfall of potentially thousands of pounds. MotorEasy is offering a 15% discount to all Carwow customers who take out GAP insurance with them.

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How to choose the best hybrid car for you

Self-charging vs PHEV

Consider your needs carefully. First of all, can you charge a car at home? If the answer is no then you should instantly discount a PHEV, as it’ll just be a waste of money. Those doing regular long trips should also avoid PHEVs, as the benefits of that electric range are best felt on shorter trips. Consider a self-charging hybrid if you want to spend less in the first place and do more mixed journeys.

Size

Hybrid cars come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny hatchbacks right up to the biggest SUVs. So consider your requirements as you would with any type of car - how many seats you need, whether you need to carry adults or just children, and how much boot space you need. If you have a tight driveway or garage, parking should be a consideration too.

Cost

Hybrid cars are usually more expensive than pure petrol or diesel variants - look at the Renault Clio or Dacia Duster, where the hybrids are the range-topping models. You might break even with improved fuel economy, but if the price difference is too great then you’re much less likely to.

Hybrid cars FAQs

Put simply, a hybrid is a car that has more than one source of power. It combines a conventional diesel or petrol engine with an electric motor to power the car.

The benefits of a hybrid include high fuel economy and low CO2 emissions compared with standard petrol and diesel engines – if used in the right way. Some can run on electric power alone for short distances, improving economy and emissions even further.

If you’d like to cut the costs of running a car then a self-charging hybrid could be a good option, particularly if you drive a fair bit around town, where the low-speed electric-only mode will make for smooth, quiet progress in stop-start traffic.

Exactly how the two power sources work together depends on the individual car manufacturer, but the basic idea remains the same – when conditions allow, electric motors will replace or work with the engine to provide drive to the car. Hybrids will typically run on electric power for short distances and at low speeds (under a mile and 20mph, say); if you want to go further of faster in zero-emission mode, you'll need an electric car or a plug-in hybrid.

Well, your first stop should be to check out the reviews from the cars featured in our rundown, or head to the carwow YouTube channel for in-depth video reviews. In general, though, choosing a hybrid car follows the same path as choosing any car, so think about price, practicality, image, interior quality and features, the lot!

A hybrid car is not a pure electric car, so you don’t get completely emissions-free driving, while unless you opt for a plug-in hybrid you can only drive in electric mode for a short amount of time, and at low speeds. Hybrids also tend to be a little more expensive to buy than conventional petrol and diesel models.

Conventional/self-charging hybrid
This sees the the electric motor and batteries power the car at low speeds and for short distances only. The batteries are charged only by the engine and energy recovered from braking; the car can't be plugged in.

Plug-in hybrid
Also called PHEVs, these have a much larger battery which can be plugged into a charger. Expect an electric range of between 30 and 70 miles, and up to a top speed of circa 70mph.

Range-extenders
These are rare, and are electric cars that have a small petrol engine that acts as a generator, recharging the batteries when they're low. The generator can't power the car directly, though.

Mild hybrids

Conventional petrol and diesel cars with beefy stop-start systems that can shut down the engine when cruising down hills, for example.

They can be cheaper than conventional petrol and diesel cars, particularly if you do a lot of town driving, while efficiency can also be better on a longer run, too. If you have a plug-in hybrid, though, they will generally only be more economical if you keep the batteries topped up.

Hybrid technology has come a long way since the first Toyota Prius arrived in 2001, and the technology is now at a place of parity with conventional engines. Many cars with hybrid powertrains are also available as PHEVs, EVs or petrol and diesel models, too, so the discrete category of a 'hybrid car', and hybrids are available at almost every echelon of the market, so the best advice is to consult our reviews: they'll help you make the right choice.