Buying Guides

The right drivetrain depends far less on which is best in the abstract and far more on how you actually use a car. Here is a practical look at the trade-offs.

Petrol

Still the default, and still a sensible choice for a lot of people. Petrol cars are cheaper to buy used, can be serviced anywhere, and refuelling is never a consideration.

Suits: lower annual kilometres, regional or long-distance driving, buyers who want the widest choice and the lowest purchase price.

Watch: running costs are the highest of the three if you drive a lot of city kilometres.

Hybrid

A hybrid pairs a petrol engine with an electric motor and recovers energy under braking. There is nothing to plug in. The gains are largest in exactly the conditions that hurt a petrol car most — stop-start traffic — where a hybrid can use dramatically less fuel.

Suits: suburban and city driving, school runs, anyone doing high kilometres who still wants long range and no charging routine.

Watch: the advantage narrows on long highway runs, where the petrol engine does most of the work. Hybrid batteries are long-lived but do have a service life, so on an older example it is worth asking about battery health.

Plug-in hybrid

A larger battery that you charge, giving genuine electric-only running for shorter trips, with a petrol engine for longer ones. Excellent if your daily driving fits inside the electric range and you can charge at home — you may rarely use petrol at all.

Watch: if you never plug it in you are carrying the weight of a battery for no benefit, and will do worse than a conventional hybrid.

Electric

Lowest running costs by a clear margin, very little routine servicing, and quiet, effortless around town.

Suits: households that can charge at home, predictable daily distances, mostly urban driving.

Watch: home charging changes the ownership experience completely — without it, an EV is much less convenient. Range drops in cold weather and at sustained highway speed. On a used EV, battery state of health matters more than kilometres, so ask for it.

A simple way to decide

  • Mostly city, cannot charge at home: hybrid
  • Mostly city, can charge at home: electric or plug-in hybrid
  • Long highway trips, towing, regional: petrol or diesel
  • Low annual kilometres, tight budget: petrol

The most expensive mistake is buying for the driving you imagine rather than the driving you do. Be honest about your weekly pattern and the answer usually becomes obvious.

Not sure which way to go?

Tell us how and where you drive and we will point you at the vehicles that genuinely fit — including when that is the cheaper option. See what we have in stock.