Our testing considers practicality, safety and how easy a car is to live with, not entirely on performance and handling (though we still look at that too).
With a focus on hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs), it’s not a comprehensive index of our entire market, but it does cover a whole bunch of commonly seen new and used vehicles that you’ll find in New Zealand showrooms.
Motor types explained
Hybrids
Hybrids have a small electric motor and battery that is recharged by the petrol engine, and when slowing down by regenerative braking. The electric motor is powerful enough to drive the car at low speeds, but generally it’ll run out of juice when you approach 30-50km/h. You don’t need to plug them in, and they work just like any other car you’ve driven, it’s just more fuel efficient.
PHEVs
The PHEV is the next step up. The electric motor and batteries are bigger; we’ve seen vehicles that claimed an all-electric range of 93km on the dashboard. The batteries can be recharged on the fly by the petrol motor and regenerative braking, but the bulk of charging is done by plugging it into the electricity network at home each day. If you can get most of your travel done on the electric motors, you will have some cheap motoring. Just remember that they still have the same servicing requirements as a petrol car.
EVs
An EV is stuffed full of batteries and a large electric motor, or motors, to drive the wheels. Mechanically speaking, they are nowhere near as complex as the other types as they have fewer moving parts. That reduces the servicing requirements for the vehicle. The main trade-offs are lack of range when compared to petrol- or diesel-powered vehicles, and a longer waiting time when charging as opposed to a quick fill of fuel at a petrol station.
What size do you need?
Getting the size right is important as going too big or small can prove to be costly, especially when dealing with new car depreciation. Buying the biggest car you can afford can seem like a good idea at the time, but you’ll have to contend with less manoeuvrability and parking restrictions when you may not even make use of the extra space.
The most popular size of vehicle at the moment is the baby SUV. They’re relatively compact to make parking easier, but they sit higher off the ground for better visibility and ease of getting in and out – on top of that, they seem to be holding their value. They do come at a premium though and a hatchback with the equivalent amount of interior space will be much cheaper.
If you’re regularly carting around passengers, you’ll need something large enough to fit everyone comfortably.
Safety
Any safety feature that will enhance the protection of the car occupants and those outside of your vehicle are what you should be looking at first. In lieu of going into the individual features, you can instead look at the vehicle’s safety rating found at rightcar.co.nz.
The more stars a vehicle has, the safer it is. Features like airbags, traction control and electronic stability control have been around for a long time and are mandatory for all vehicles coming into the country. Newer features to covet that don’t feature on all new and used vehicles include:
Autonomous emergency braking
These systems monitor what’s going on in front of you, constantly monitoring the distance to the vehicle in front. If that distance rapidly shrinks (because the car in front stops) it will apply the brakes if don’t do it first. It can be a lifesaver in cases where you might be momentarily distracted.
Front and rear cross traffic alert
This feature looks out to the sides when you’re reversing out or driving forwards out of a park, and warns you if someone’s coming. It comes in very handy, especially when you are surrounded by taller vehicles. Rear cross alerts are reasonably common while front cross alerts are a newer feature that you don’t see on all models.
Lane keep assist
These systems keep you in your lane and the best ones give gentle nudges on the steering wheel to keep you in the right place when you’re on the highway. Not all lane keep assist systems are built the same. Some do a really good job of keeping things straight and level – others are an intrusive pain. Be sure to take a car for a test drive to make sure you can work with it.
