NZ Hybrids 2024

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gzt

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#311927 27-Feb-2024 18:22

MG3 Hybrid Hatch is coming circa NZ$20K+.

Driven: The new system includes a 75kW 1.5-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder petrol engine and a 100kW electric motor, complemented by a separate generator motor and 1.83kWh battery pack. This combination delivers a combined output of 143kW.

Around that price It will provide stiff competition for the secondhand import Toyota Aqua. It claims a similar 4.4L/100km fuel economy. It has a surprising number of modes to select from. Hybrid battery is twice the size of the Aqua which has both plus and minus I imagine.

alasta

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#3200612 27-Feb-2024 20:45

It looks good, but at that price you'd need to wait for it to be ANCAP tested. The MG5 recently received an appalling result, which presumably reflects the price point of that vehicle.

mattwnz

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#3200632 27-Feb-2024 21:36

I would hope that NZ standards would eventually require certain standards of new vehicles if they are to join the NZ fleet. It is interesting how popular hybrids are becoming over EVs at the moment

gzt

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#3200674 28-Feb-2024 07:37

The petrol base model has 6 airbags so hopefully not that bad.

jonathan18

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#3200678 28-Feb-2024 08:15

gzt: The petrol base model has 6 airbags so hopefully not that bad.

That may have cut it a decade or more ago, but I understand it takes a lot more than that to perform at the top of ANCAP or Euro NCAP tests these days. These higher standards are partly behind the low rating of the MG5, but that was an astoundingly poor showing!

It’s also thanks to these changes that many recent cars have intrusive settings that automatically default to ‘on’ upon restarting the car, despite being switched off by the user.

xpd

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#3200682 28-Feb-2024 08:29

mattwnz: It is interesting how popular hybrids are becoming over EVs at the moment

Mainly down to price. We just bought a Haval Jolion Hybrid for good price, and can see the savings benefits - long as we keep it long term to offset the purchase price etc.

Also a lot of people I talk to, still have the fear that if they go full electric, and go for a long drive, that they'll run out of power and be stuck in middle of nowhere.

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#3200699 28-Feb-2024 09:18

It’s also thanks to these changes that many recent cars have intrusive settings that automatically default to ‘on’ upon restarting the car, despite being switched off by the user.

Yep - I have a new Kia Sorrento PHEV work car. The beeping it does is very annoying. The adaptive cruise control is unusable around the city as it brakes to avoid every parked car that I'm not even aimed at.

On the bright side of it, I'm only paying $10k per year for it, including the fuel I use.

Dingbatt

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#3200706 28-Feb-2024 09:35

jonathan18:

That may have cut it a decade or more ago, but I understand it takes a lot more than that to perform at the top of ANCAP or Euro NCAP tests these days. These higher standards are partly behind the low rating of the MG5, but that was an astoundingly poor showing!

It’s also thanks to these changes that many recent cars have intrusive settings that automatically default to ‘on’ upon restarting the car, despite being switched off by the user.

Hence the need to separate crash-worthiness from ADAS in the ANCAP and Euro NCAP ratings. People are just too lazy to read the actual reports to ascertain what stopped a vehicle scoring 5 stars. So a vehicle that scores perfectly on crash-worthiness but has no ADAS features would be a 5.1, whereas one that is fully crash-worthy but has every annoying feature the bureaucrats can think up to protect us from ourselves would be a 5.5.

I do wonder about Chinese testing regimes though, and whether there is a different standard domestically to internationally.

Anyhow, back to the topic of the thread. It’s great to see other manufacturers get serious about the hybrid market here, even if it just keeps the traditional companies a bit more competitive when it comes to pricing. There is a certain amount of laziness in terms of engineering when the electric motor is added (imo). Toyota and Mitsubishi being the best, while others effectively just slap a motor between the engine and gearbox (which, at its worst, is a DCT).

What I would really like to see in 2024, is a hybrid Ute.

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alasta

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#3200750 28-Feb-2024 10:46

Dingbatt:

Hence the need to separate crash-worthiness from ADAS in the ANCAP and Euro NCAP ratings. People are just too lazy to read the actual reports to ascertain what stopped a vehicle scoring 5 stars. So a vehicle that scores perfectly on crash-worthiness but has no ADAS features would be a 5.1, whereas one that is fully crash-worthy but has every annoying feature the bureaucrats can think up to protect us from ourselves would be a 5.5.

When you search for a vehicle on the ANCAP web site it will present the adult occupant, child occupant, vulnerable road user, and ADAS ratings on the main page in % terms. No need to download the technical report.

Anyhow, back to the topic of the thread. It’s great to see other manufacturers get serious about the hybrid market here, even if it just keeps the traditional companies a bit more competitive when it comes to pricing. There is a certain amount of laziness in terms of engineering when the electric motor is added (imo). Toyota and Mitsubishi being the best, while others effectively just slap a motor between the engine and gearbox (which, at its worst, is a DCT).

From all accounts the implementation in the Honda ZR-V is quite good.

Scott3

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#3200764 28-Feb-2024 11:30

On the MG3, Aussie reports are that the new model is going to be at least $5000 more expensive, so from that information, it is likely it will be NZD25,500+ here.

And frankly the price hike is fair enough. The current model is extremely dated (first produced in 2011, and has had two facelifts). Things like safety & fuel economy are lagging compared to modern expectations.

Very impressive they have been able to match the hybrid corolla on rated fuel consumption. Will be interesting to see if this is on 91 or 95RON (Current MG3 recommends 95RON).

mattwnz: I would hope that NZ standards would eventually require certain standards of new vehicles if they are to join the NZ fleet. It is interesting how popular hybrids are becoming over EVs at the moment

We have the Clean Car Standard in legislation (although there are rumors of the current government planning to remove it). In short, car importers get fined if their fleet average emissions is too high (and the cap gets lower every year).

This will be one reason car importers are so keen to push EV, PHEV and Hybrids. Likely part of the reason the likes of toyota has decided to offer some models as hybrid only, and no longer bring in lower margin, higher emitting cars (like the petrol engined hilux workmate).

As for hybrids being popular, good hybrids are a very easy sell. Take the Rav4 as an example, The additional purchase price is gets paid back in fuel savings in just a few years. And they are all AWD & have the same 1500kg tow rating as the non hybrid versions. Not really a surprise that they are so popular.

Also hybrids have been around enough that they have gained a reputation for reliability. People suggesting batteries die in 5 year's get cut down pretty quickly by people like me with an 18 year old, 225,000km hybrid in their driveway...

Hybrids got a big boost in the first year of the clean car discount, where many qualified for rebates. This has propelled them solidly into the mainstream.

The placement of full rate RUC's in EV's will further boost hybrids. Vast majority of hybrids will pay well less road tax than an EV, with the most efficient (like Yaris hybrid paying 2.4x less).

vs EV's, hybrids are a much easier sell for those who are not early adaptors, they are just a petrol car with a cleaver hack that makes them use 30-40% less fuel.... No need to set up a charger at home, no need to work out how public charging works for road trips...

With any new tech, there is a decent chunk of the population who wants to wait for it to mature before jumping in.

Should also note that the range of EV's available is still limited (and 12 months ago was much more limited). If one wants a AWD EV that can tow 1500kg like a $48,590 Rav4, one needs to spend $80k on a model Y long range. (and go back 4 months, and they would have need to spend $100k+ on an AWD EV6 / ioniq5.

gzt

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#3200797 28-Feb-2024 12:01

The MG5 is a different story entirely.

jonathan18

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#3201060 28-Feb-2024 21:06

gzt: The MG5 is a different story entirely.

Sure, but my point is that having six airbags does not mean a high safety rating in 2024… My wife’s 2013 Leaf had seven airbags - I’d be interested to see what that car would score today!

alasta

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#3201263 29-Feb-2024 08:48

About ten years ago I attended a car show at the TSB Arena in Wellington. Mazda had a stand where they featured a Mazda6 with the body removed, components in the frame colour coded to indicate their rigidity, and arrows indicating where impact energy was intended to be directed. The idea what that you could see how they had strategically placed steel of varying tensiles to direct impact energy around the outside of the passenger cell.

The average motorist has no idea of the engineering genius that has gone into keeping them safe.