Top five most powerful plug-in hybrids

BMW i8
Power: 266kW

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A 96kW electric motor adds to the feisty 170kW 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol to provide 0-100km/h performance claim of 4.4sec. 570Nm of torque ain’t bad, either. Looks meaner than it goes.

BMW X5 40e
Power: 230kW

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Electric-only range of 31km is nothing special, but the BMW X5 40e – with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and 83kW electric motor – makes up for it with decent power and 450Nm of torque.

BMW 330e
Power: 185kW

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Rounding out the BMW-e-thon is the new 330e, with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and 65kW electric motor. Closely matched to the 330i on outputs, the 330e can also drive 37km on its electric motor alone.

AUDI A3 e-tron
Power: 149kW

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Only the second plug-in hybrid to come to Australia (behind Holden’s now-gone Volt), the Outlander PHEV traded its third row of seats for battery space.

MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER PHEV
Power: 149kW

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Only the second plug-in hybrid to come to Australia (behind Holden’s now-gone Volt), the Outlander PHEV traded its third row of seats for battery space.

Can't get enough? Now read our article on top five fast SUVs.