The 2026 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV gets a refresh and new pricing.
Mitsubishi
A plug-in hybrid has long been considered a stopgap to going all electric, but for many car buyers it’s the best of both battery- and gas-powered worlds. Known as a PHEV, it has a larger battery alongside a gas engine that is recharged through plugging into a power source like a pure EV (hence the name). A traditional hybrid, like the Toyota Prius, has a smaller battery that charges on its own through driving the gas engine or through regenerative braking.
Sean Tucker, managing editor at Autotrader, during a recent interview called PHEVs a “bridge technology” that is booming as we wait for EV infrastructure to improve and upfront EV costs to drop. Record gas prices are also luring drivers to PHEVs to help alleviate the pain at the pump.
U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Hybrid and Electric Cars awards were announced last week and included four separate categories for plug-ins alone. The uptick in PHEV interest hasn’t surpassed traditional hybrids like the “best” Honda Civic Hybrid, but the allure of electric benefits (fewer gas station visits and charging at home) is pushing drivers to the plugged-in lifestyle.
Across the PHEV winners, the battery range was 35 miles for the Volvo XC60 PHEV, 38 for the Lexus RX PHEV, 34 for the Kia Sportage PHEV and 27 for the Mazda CX-90 PHEV. This is far from the average 300-mile range of an all-electric option, but gives enough of a cushion to rely on battery for short trips.
The new 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLE 500e 4MATIC plug-in hybrid.
Mercedes-Benz
For 2026, it can feel like PHEVs are all over. Mitsubishi unveiled a refreshed Outlander PHEV with 45-mile pure battery range and $43,245 starting price arriving at dealerships next month, while Mercedes-Benz introduced last month a new GLE 500e 4MATIC plug-in hybrid with a new inline six-cylinder engine with a 74 horsepower increase from the previous four-cylinder. The battery provides up to 65 miles of electric range.
For 2026, Toyota somehow managed to make the RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid cheaper than its 2025 model. It starts around $41,500 while the 2025 started just over $44,000. The PHEV has 52-miles of battery range.
Nissan is also getting into the PHEV hype with a new three-row 2026 Rogue Plug-in Hybrid with 38-mile range that starts just under $46,000. In a press release for the new PHEV, the headline captured the appeal of this combined powertrain: “The convenience of electric, the confidence of gas.”
Counteracting the PHEV boom is Kia. The 2026 Kia Niro lineup is skipping the PHEV option, leaving only the Niro Hybrid and Electric.
“Due to changing market conditions, the 2026 Niro PHEV will no longer be available in the U.S. market,” a spokesperson wrote in an email statement. But the company pointed to “Kia’s broad lineup of electrified vehicles, which also includes the 2026 Sportage PHEV and the 2026 three-row Sorento PHEV.”
So PHEVs are sticking around, but for models that dominate the sales chart compared to Niro’s total 31,182 units sold in 2025 (the Sportage lineup totaled 182,823 units sold in the U.S.).
The all-new 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid e‑POWER is a new kind of powertrain.
Nissan
While it appeared that Ford was eliminating its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup last year, the truck maker announced the bestselling truck was coming back as an EREV—that’s an Extended-Range Electric Vehicle. It has a gas engine that acts as a generator, giving the future Lightning as many as 700 miles of total range. The electric-only Lightning had up to 320 miles of battery range.
With a new type of powertrain, the 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid e‑POWER offers an alternative to pure electric. Not a traditional EREV or hybrid, the gas engine generates electricity to power two electric motors.
At a Volvo event in the beginning of the year, Volvo CEO and president Håkan Samuelsson commented on American resistance to pure EVs."You have your commutes and three-car garages," ideal for typical car battery range and at-home charging, respectively, he said. But he acknowledges that a long-range PHEV would alleviate typical EV worries.
The Volvo CEO envisions something of a next-generation extended range EV. He said this future PHEV “should behave as an electric car” but when the battery dies there’s a backup engine that never really has to kick in other than in extreme driving scenarios.
Until then, there are PHEVs to plug in.
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