Good news for big families who want to reduce their fuel bills: The choice of large seven-seat SUVs available with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain is growing, and so you have more options when it comes to shopping for a new car.
If you’ve decided the combination of driving using only electricity for your everyday commuting and parent-taxi duties while having the flexibility of fuel for longer journeys and holidays makes a PHEV the perfect choice for your family, then this is the list for you.
Some large SUVs sacrifice their third row of seats in plug-in hybrid form, which we’ve covered in a separate article here, but all of the PHEV SUVs listed below incorporate seven seats across three rows.
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Families come in all shapes and sizes, so if you’re looking for an everyday seven-seater with good third-row access, or want to install four or five child seats simultaneously, your options start to become limited.
All the cars in this list vary in terms of the number of child seats that can be installed, boot size and how well prams fit in, legroom and, importantly, battery range. But depending on your family’s needs you should be able to find what you’re looking for.
Here are my top five picks of the best large seven-seat plug-in-hybrid SUVs for families, having driven hundreds of cars with my family onboard over the last 10 years.
BYD Sealion 8
The seven-seat BYD Sealion 8 is understandably a very popular plug-in-hybrid SUV with families, providing top-tether anchors for all five rear seat positions and enough room to comfortably fit five child seats across the back seat at once.
The Sealion 8’s outboard second-row seat has a tilt function for third-row access. Several cars with similar systems enable you to access the third row without removing a child seat, but that didn’t work with the child seat I installed. For families that need daily access to the third row, the BYD is capable of being a full-time four-child seat car.
If you are putting your lanky teens in the back, rest assured the nine airbags include side curtain airbags that extend to third-row occupants, making the Sealion 8 the only large plug-in-hybrid SUV on this list that can fit five child seats AND has third-row airbags.
Interior space is excellent in the Sealion 8. With forward-facing child seats in the third row and rear-facing child seats in the second row, there is still room for a 182cm-tall driver up front. With forward-facing child seats in both rear rows, a 188cm-plus driver can sit up front.
The Sealion 8 Dynamic FWD’s 103km of electric range (152km for Dynamic AWD and Premium AWD variants) should be plenty for most families to cover a few days of driving between charges.
Boot space is excellent too, able to fit five bags of shopping when using all three rows of seats, or a single pram and two bags of shopping beside it.
MORE: Explore the BYD Sealion 8
Volvo XC90
The Volvo XC90 is a premium seven-seat plug-in-hybrid SUV with a beautiful interior that is well soundproofed (at least from outside noise!).
With side curtain airbags extending to the third row (as with the Sealion 8, but unlike the other SUVs on this list), you can confidently seat passengers back there. However, unlike the all-electric EX90, the XC90 has no third-row top-tether points, so you can’t install child seats back there.
The central second-row seat has a built-in booster seat that Volvo says is approved for children who weigh 15-36kg and measure at least 97cm tall. That’s fantastic for families as their child grows, or whose kids spring surprise play dates on them at the school gate.
All three second-row seats have top-tether anchors and there is room to install three child seats across the rear bench. The second-row seats also slide, enabling you to distribute legroom as you need it.
The Volvo’s third-row seats are comfortable for adults too, so you can use the XC90 as a proper seven-seater.
Having around 50km of battery range, the XC90 will likely need a daily recharge depending on how much driving your family does. With all seven seats in use, you’ll comfortably fit a single pram in the boot.
MORE: Explore the Volvo XC90 showroom
Kia Sorento
The seven-seat Kia Sorento has top-tether anchors for all five rear seats, and you can fit five child seats in the back at once. For third-row access, you do need to remove a child seat from the second row, making this an everyday four-child seat SUV.
With forward-facing child seats in the third row and rear-facing child seats in the second, a 180cm driver can sit up front. If you have forward-facing child seats in both rear rows of seats, there’s room for a 186cm driver.
The seats are spacious in the third row of the Sorento, but Kia does not provide third-row airbags, which is a consideration when putting anyone in those seats.
Around 60km of battery range may provide a day or perhaps two between charges.
The large boot holds 18 bags of shopping when you’re only using five seats, or five shopping bags with all seven seatbacks upright. Families with young infants can fit in a single pram when using all seven seats.
MORE: Explore the Kia Sorento showroom
Chery Tiggo 8
The Chery Tiggo 8 is an affordable seven-seat PHEV. However, it has no top-tether anchors in the third row of seats, so you can’t put any child seats back there. It has no third-row airbag coverage either, so you may want to consider putting passengers back there at all.
In the second row, things are looking up. Three slim child seats fit comfortably across the rear bench, and the seats are split 60:40. There’s also a sliding mechanism so you can distribute legroom as required.
Speaking of which, legroom is tight. With rear-facing child seats fitted, only a 162cm driver can fit in front, increasing to a 180cm driver in front of forward-facing child seats.
For third-row access you do need to remove a child seat in the second row, making the Tiggo 8 an everyday two-child seat SUV. Considering kids are in their child seats for seven or more years, that could matter to you.
With 90km of battery range, the Tiggo 8 will probably give your family a couple of days between charges.
The boot holds 15 bags of shopping when you’re only using five seats, or four shopping bags with all seven seats in place. Families with a young infant can fit a single pram in the boot while still using all seven seats.
MORE: Explore the Chery Tiggo 8 showroom
Chery Tiggo 9
Like the Tiggo 8, the Chery Tiggo 9 has no top-tether anchors and no airbags in the third row of seats, making it a five-seat SUV with an occasional-use third row.
Three child seats fit comfortably across the second-row bench seat, and the Tiggo 9 has slightly more legroom than the Tiggo 8. A 186cm driver can sit in front of a forward-facing child seat in the second row, but if you have rear-facing child seats in the back that reduces to about 182cm.
As in the Tiggo 8, third-row access requires removing a child seat in the second row, making the Tiggo 9 an everyday two-child seat SUV.
The third-row seats are pretty compact for adults. I was fine at 162cm tall, but many kids surpass that height before their teen years.
With up to 170km of electric range, the Tiggo 9 may well have a big enough battery for a whole week of school runs between recharges, depending on how much other driving your family does.
I found that 15 bags of groceries will fit in the boot of the Tiggo 9 when using two rows of seats, but if you’re using all seven seats that number reduces to five shopping bags or a single stroller.
MORE: Explore the Chery Tiggo 9 showroom
