Road test
Go off-road with one of Australia’s newest hybrid utes, test out Honda’s latest Civic, take Volvo’s most powerful electric SUV for a spin and trial a Chinese-made plug-in hybrid in our latest car reviews.
Pricey Civic worth every cent
The biggest question with the new hybrid Honda Civic is a simple one: can you imagine spending more than $50,000 for this Japanese-made hatchback?
When the Honda Civic first arrived in Australia in 1973, prices started from $1899 – approximately $21,000 in today’s money. Since then, it’s graduated from a small, cheap city runabout to something that’s a bit more premium, high-tech and almost as big as a Commodore from yesteryear.
In 2025, two Civic models are available, the $49,900 eHEV L and the $55,900 eHEV LX. Both prices are drive-away, and the two models are hybrid and richly equipped.
Compared to a Toyota or Hyundai, Honda’s hybrid is unique in that it mostly uses a pair of electric motors to do the driving, with the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine acting as something of an onboard generator.
While a slightly different approach, it still yields the desired result – outstanding fuel efficiency of 4.2L/100km on the combined cycle. Running on the cheapest 91RON unleaded fuel, the Honda is as frugal as the best hybrids on the market. It’s also scandalously cheap to service, costing just $995 in the first five years.
While it’s not a polite hit to the hip pocket, the Honda Civic’s interior and how it drives on the road leave an impression.
There’s space like a medium sedan, and it feels more like a $100,000 car than $50,000. With beautiful build quality and lovely materials, it’s no stretch to call this Honda a Japanese BMW.
Mercifully, Honda has included a row of heating and cooling buttons and dials, so you don’t have to dig around a touchscreen to change the temperature. This is about safety as much as convenience in 2025.
And if you love driving, you’ll always look forward to getting into the hybrid Civic. The eHEV gives the driver all the benefits of an electric vehicle – instant torque, buttery smoothness and near-silent refinement – with none of the current EV drawbacks such as a heavy battery or range anxiety.
With 135kW and 315Nm to shift just 1497kg, the hybrid Civic has a surprising amount of power. The steering and handling are so good – in classic Honda form – that if you buy one, you’ll be inventing ever more eccentric errands to run in the Adelaide Hills.
As an overall package, the hybrid Civic is one of those cars you may have initially imagined keeping for five years, but after 10, you’ll probably still be happy to have it in the garage.
Reviewed by Dylan Campbell
2025 Honda Civic eHEV
Price
$49,900-$55,900
ANCAP safety rating
Not rated
Warranty
Five-year warranty with unlimited kilometres
Fuel consumption
4.2L/100km
Power and luxury wrapped in an EV
Volvo’s flagship EX90 is a milestone model for the car manufacturer. It’s the first ground-up electric vehicle that Volvo has made and uses brand new architecture. Volvo claims it’s the most powerful and luxurious fully electric SUV ever built and the safest it’s ever manufactured.
Priced well north of $100,000, the Volvo EX90 is beyond most budgets. But for those looking for a large all-electric SUV with the gold to afford it, the only other vehicle that’s better value is the KIA EV9. The EX90 is certainly streets ahead of any other European offerings.
Chinese-owned Volvo shares some of its tech with its sister brand Polestar. Volvo claims the four super computers make it a software-defined car, allowing very complex safety systems to protect the vehicle and its occupants. A combination of radar, lidar and cameras – some which are housed in the London taxi-like bump above the windscreen – detect and identify risks hundreds of metres away and then act to avoid a crash.
As a large SUV, the seven seats across three rows are functional, with the centre rear seat including a very useful integrated child seat.
The well-appointed, Scandinavian-designed interior features Nordico upholstered seats – a material that incorporates recycled polyester sourced from plastic bottles. The EX90 is spacious, and this feeling is enhanced by the panoramic glass roof that can block more than 95 per cent of UV.
The high-end Bowers and Wilkins audio system features 25 speakers, including a ‘3D surround sound’ experience that delivers a studio or concert-like atmosphere inside the cabin.
The Volvo EX90 includes phone key technology as standard. A smartphone serves as the car key and automatically unlocks the car and starts a personal welcoming sequence on approach.
Hop in and the car is ready to go, no buttons or keys to touch. The downside with a lot of modern cars is that nearly everything has to be adjusted via the centre touch screen and the EX90 is no exception.
On most road surfaces the EX90 is stealthily quiet. The EX90’s dual air-chamber suspension for all four wheels uses air rather than springs to keep the car level.
The EX90 was designed to be the most powerful fully electric SUV ever built by Volvo. One-pedal operation allows for almost brakeless driving and it’s easy for the driver to adapt.
Powered by a huge 111kWh battery pack, Volvo claims a range of up to 570km on a single charge for both variants.
During testing of the EX90, real-life energy consumption was very close to the stated consumption of 22kWh/100km, so it’s probably achievable.
The EX90 comes with an 11kW AC charger as standard, which can charge up to 250kWh using a DC fast charger. A 10 to 80 per cent top-up takes just 30 minutes.
For those with the desire and cash to purchase a large electric SUV, the Volvo EX90 delivers leading edge safety and heaps of power in a very refined package.
Reviewed by Mark Borlace
2025 Volvo EX90
Price
$124,990 to $134,990
ANCAP safety rating
Not rated
Warranty
Five years/unlimited kilometres; eight years or 160,000km (battery) and a five-year/75,000km service plan
Range
570km
A powerful hybrid ute
Chinese brands are on track to dominate the affordable end of the Australian new-car market, EVs and potentially even hybrids. Now, they’re coming for your ute.
For buyers of Australia’s most popular type of vehicle, it’s only good news, especially if the 2025 BYD Shark 6 is any indication. The current best of the Chinese breed, the BYD Shark 6, is just $57,900 drive-away and gets you a tonne (nearly three in fact) of surprisingly impressive plug-in hybrid ute.
Specified as richly as a Ford Ranger Platinum but for approximately $25,000 less, the Shark 6 uses two electric motors, front and rear, producing a combined 321kW and 650Nm. It also has a towing capacity of 2.5 tonnes (braked).
A plug-in hybrid, the BYD can cover up to 100km in EV mode, but it can also run on purely petrol if you never want to plug it in. A turbocharged 1.5-litre engine acts as something of an onboard generator, granting about 800km of petrol-electric range.
A slightly bigger vehicle than the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux, the Shark 6 has plenty of cabin space – front and rear – and feels very contemporary inside. The large, 15.6-inch central infotainment screen will no doubt appeal to young tradies, and the young-at-heart.
It’s also great to drive. Its dual electric motors give it terrific, instant acceleration while the engine and tyres are pleasingly quiet. The ride quality is SUV-like and not very ute at all. That’s partly down to the Shark 6’s independent, coil-sprung rear suspension, which differs from the tougher but more agricultural solid rear axles and leaf-springs of most other utes.
But for those boxy good looks, pleasing dynamics and incredible bang-for-buck, it’s not perfect. Getting the best from a plug-in hybrid can be fiddly, while the Shark 6’s thirst for energy, petrol or electric, can be very un-hybrid-like at highway speeds.
The jury is still out on its ultimate off-roading ability, and we wouldn’t as confidently bolt a caravan to the back of it for the big lap of Australia, as we would a Ranger or HiLux.
Ultimately however, the Shark 6’s biggest compliment is also its biggest criticism – it feels like an SUV. It’s more comfortable and nicer to drive than traditional dual-cab utes, but it can’t tow 3.5 tonnes. It might not get along the Gunbarrel Highway and back, and may not be able to take a back garden’s worth of gravel in the tray.
To dual-cab traditionalists, it’s a “lifestyle ute”. Whether they would ever do any of those things is not the point.
Reviewed by Dylan Campbell
2025 BYD Shark 6
Price
$60,841
ANCAP safety rating
5 stars
Warranty
Six years/150,000km (vehicle); eight years/160,000km (battery)
Range
800km petrol/electric
A plug-in hybrid Haval
The plug-in-hybrid (PHEV) version of the Haval H6GT is only available in the top of the range Ultra specification.
In the mid-$50,000 range, this family-orientated SUV is better priced and comes with more features than its rivals, including the base model Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
Standard kit in the Haval H6GT includes 19-inch alloy wheels, a powered tailgate, synthetic leather and suede upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, push-button start, eight-speaker audio system, keyless entry, a wireless smartphone charger, heated steering wheel and a head-up display.
The H6GT is a practical vehicle for camping because of its 35.4 kWh battery, which is three times the size of an average house battery. Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability allows you to travel with your own little power station to power lighting and appliances up to a maximum of 3.3kW. You don’t want to go too far off the beaten track though as it doesn’t have a spare wheel.
Generally, the H6GT is quite spacious, and despite its sloped coupe styling, there’s still reasonable rear occupant space.
It does however lessen the amount of rear cargo space, and the view out the small rear window is also compromised. Infotainment and other controls accessed via the centre touch screen are finicky and not very intuitive.
The combination of its 1.5-litre turbocharged engine, paired with dual electric motors, delivers impressive acceleration. The Haval even has a launch control system. GWM claims a 1000km range with an optimistic 180km EV-only range, which is nearly double its nearest PHEV rival. A fast charger will take the battery from 30 per cent to 80 per cent in 20 minutes.
The H6GT is quiet on the freeway but the very annoying nibbling at the steering wheel by the lane-keeping assist system – and under cruise control on descent downhill – made driving a little jerky at times. It would be better if the three levels of regeneration could be altered via paddles like other vehicles rather than through the touch screen.
Overall, the H6GT offers great value and tech in an expanding PHEV market and is streets ahead of its competitors on kit and price.
Reviewed by Mark Borlace
2025 GWM Haval H6GT ULTRA PHEV
Price
$53,990
ANCAP safety rating
Not rated
Warranty
Seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty for the vehicle; eight-year/unlimited kilometre warranty for the hybrid high-voltage battery packs
Range
1000km (180km EV only)
Do you need car advice?
RAA’s Car Advice team can help. Call 8202 4689 or email caradvice@raa.com.au
IMAGES: BYD, Honda, Newspress Australia, Volvo.
