Five electric SUVs you will be able to buy very soon

Tuesday, 4 June 2019

If you were to cast a weary eye over the car industry at the moment you could be forgiven for thinking that pretty much everyone is SUVs these days (they're not, but it sure does seem like it). And if you were keep one eye on the news you might believe that a tsunami of electric vehicles is about to hit us too (again, it's not; it's more like a slow trickle than a Tsunami).

But with both being the hot topic of the day, it makes sense that we are going to see a whole bunch of electric SUVs hitting our shores very soon. Here are five that are here now, or will be within the next 12 months (or so).

Kia Niro EV

This one's here, right now and while it might be a bit unfair to describe the Niro as a Hyundai Kona EV, but duller and cheaper, this is essentially what it is.

Pure-EVs are a small part of NZ's electrified vehicle fleet - but there's still a lot of choice.

* Why SUVs that aren't really SUVs make perfect sense

* Lowest price to highest: every Electric Vehicle you can buy in NZ in 2019**

But it is also an EV for people who don't want to drive around in something that looks like a Hollywood director's ill-informed idea of what a car from the future might look like when done at the last minute on a tight budget.

Okay, so the Kia Niro is more of a hatch, but it is still all EV.

And with the 39.2kWh version starting at $67,990, it is also the cheapest electric SUV in the new Zealand market. For now, at least.

Audi e-tron

Audi's first electric SUV - and first ever EV, in fact - is imminent, with a local launch within the next few weeks (although it is still somewhat fluid…).

Starting at $148,500, the e-tron is hardly going to bring electrified motoring to the common man, but the seriously cutting-edge tech it brings will accelerate the process as it drives down through the Audi range. Which it will. And rather quickly too - Audi is planning 20 more electric models in the next few years.

Expect superb build quality and a proper luxury experience, with the added advantage of fast 150kW charging.

Mercedes EQC

But when it comes to 'proper' luxury, it will be hard to surpass the Mercedes-Benz EQC, something we know first-hand because we have been inside one.

Recently launched internationally, the EQC should land here late this year or, more likely early next, with pricing to be announced closer to the launch date.

Don't expect it to be cheap though - locally Mercedes-Benz will be pitching it more towards S-class buyers, so expect a very high level of standard equipment and pricing probably at or around the $180,000 mark.

Don't bother crying that the Tesla Model X is cheaper though - the EQC is several notches above what Tesla can manage in terms of build quality and luxury.

MG's ZS will not only almost certainly bet the cheapest electric SUV in NZ, it could also be the cheapest EV.

MG ZS EV

Rivian's R1S may not come with a slide out portable kitchen like the pick up, but it gets all the serious performance.

What will almost certainly be New Zealand's cheapest electric SUV (and quite likely our cheapest EV full stop) will be here 'sometime' in 2020, with a 335km range and an iconic badge on its nose.

Chinese-owned MG recently released an electric version of the small ZS SUV in China (called the eZS, although ours will be called the ZS EV) at a price premium over the standard car that - if applied directly here - would see it sitting in the $40k bracket for NZ.

It most likely won't, of course, because car pricing is never that simple, but MG (recently relaunched here under direct factory control) is very keen to make headway in the NZ market and selling the cheapest new EV would certainly raise awareness and sales.

Rivian R1S

Okay, let's not get too excited, but Rivian has said it was exceptionally keen to sell its vehicles down in our part of the world (specifically Australia) sometime after production is slated to start in 2020.

Of course that is LHD production (although engineering for RHD is being done at the same time) and it still isn't set in stone, but the R1S (and the associated R1T ute) is so damn cool that we really want to believe it will happen…

The R1S packs four electric motors, one for each wheel, that make a claimed 560kW of power and 1120Nm of torque, can tow 4500kg and can accelerate from zero to 60mph (98km/h) in 3.0 seconds.