The Best Family Plug-In Hybrid Car award represents the very best of family-friendly plug-in hybrid models launched in the past 12 months.
Offering the best of both worlds, plug-in hybrids essentially serve as a halfway house between traditional petrol power and all-electric motoring. Powered by both a combustion engine and electric motors, plug-in hybrids are more fuel efficient than your average petrol car, and can drive on electric power alone for extended periods, provided that you top up the car’s battery regularly.
Plug-in hybrids have been growing in popularity in the UK in recent years, and every year there is usually a healthy selection of brand new plug-in hybrid arrivals worthy of your attention. The eligible cars this year were:
Best new family plug-in hybrid car: Omoda 9
The Omoda 9 is here to ride the wave of a resurgence in plug-in hybrid car sales, and it very much looks like the right car at the right time.
If you’re looking for a plug-in hybrid that majors on electric driving, the Omoda 9 offers up to 90 miles of EV range. Plus it can rapid charge at a public charging point, while most plug-in hybrids can only slow charge.
On top of that, you get a luxurious SUV that’s loaded with tech and spacious enough for a family road trip. It’s quiet and smooth in either EV or petrol mode, and has a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.
The Chancellor’s proposed new tax on electric car mileage makes plug-in hybrids suddenly look like a smart choice, and the Omoda 9 has an enormous electric driving range that means you can do most of your driving on electric power while paying half the mileage tax of a pure EV. Plus, for those longer journeys, you have the reassurance of a petrol engine to keep you motoring for hundreds of miles.
- Omoda 9 (2025 onwards) – Expert Rating
- More Omoda Expert Ratings, new car reviews, news and features
