If you’re not quite ready to make the leap from a gas vehicle to electric, and you want something a bit more upscale in terms of styling, technology, and badge cred, then you’re in luck. Premium automakers might be paring back their electric ambitions, but they continue to provide top-tier hybrids and plug-ins that offer both beauty and efficiency.
Whether you desire to avoid the hassle of plugging in to charge (gas-electric hybrid) or you prefer to make your commute all-electric during the week and gas on the weekend (plug-in hybrid), there are plenty of enticing choices in the luxury market.
Photo by Lexus
2025 Lexus TX 500h
The combination of classy styling, a capacious cabin with room for up to seven adults, and 28 mpg highway make for a truly capable luxury family hauler. The Lexus TX 500h is a gas-electric hybrid, powered by a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and two electric motors, for a combined output of 366 horsepower and 406 lb-ft. of torque.
The clean exterior styling looks handsome from every angle, and it boasts one of Lexus’s best-executed interiors. The driver-focused cockpit boasts a 12.3-inch multi-information instrument cluster and a vivid 14.0-inch infotainment touchscreen. Every row has ample legroom for six-footers, and with nearly 97 cubic feet of cargo space, there’s almost no road trip you can’t take. Throw in great steering and good body control, and you have a hybrid SUV with virtually no compromises.
Photo by BMW of Reading, PA
2025 BMW M5 Touring
BMW has never sold an M5 wagon stateside, but it did a 180 and brought this super-performer to our shores backed by plug-in hybrid power. The 2025 M5 Touring is a family rocket sled powered by a monster 4.4-liter V8 twin-turbo engine combined with an electric motor to all four wheels. The numbers are impressive: 717 horsepower, 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, and a top speed of 190 mph. It’s the most powerful M5 ever built and the first time the M5 is a PHEV. You can even commute in Electric Mode with 25 miles of range and a top speed of 87 mph.
Add the M Driver’s Package to the already high price tag, and you get six drive modes and Boost Control for instant acceleration. You won’t have that much time to enjoy the huge 14.9-inch curved display touchscreen or the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster because you’ll be too busy hammering the apexes and straightaways.
Photo by Mercedes-Benz
2025 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450e
The GLE 450e easily outshines the more high-profile electric EQE line from the tri-star brand. Quietly inserting the capable and efficient GLE 450e into the 2024 lineup was a smart move, given the waning popularity of Mercedes’s EVs. The smooth and powerful GLE 450e gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and an electric synchronous motor that total 381 ponies and 479 lb-ft, more power than even the gas-powered GLE450. The SUV’s agility and drivability belie its size, too.
Even more impressive is the 48 miles of all-electric range that should have you to work and back without needing a mid-trip charge. Inside, the spacious cabin, high-end materials, and the expansive dash that incorporates twin 12.3-inch screens with reconfigurable displays make for comfy digs, indeed.
Photo via Volvo
2025 Volvo XC90 T8 Plug-In Hybrid
Volvo’s most stunning steed didn’t need the interior and exterior refresh it just received, but we’ll take it. The changes are small but mighty, including a fresh front end that’s more minimalist and modern. The XC90’s interior was already an industry standard-setter, and Volvo just notched it up with a bigger, better 11.2-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen. Premium and eco-friendly materials abound, and we love the aluminum brightwork, open-pore matte wood, and that Orrefors Crystal shift knob. Under the hood, the PHEV powertrain delivers 455 horsepower and can travel up to 33 all-electric miles. While it’s not the biggest three-row in the luxury hybrid segment, it is easily the beauty queen of the bunch.
Photo via Edmunds
2025 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid
The upgraded hybrid Cayenne might not be the most miserly in the segment, but it’s a freakin’ Porsche for goodness sake. The addition of the S moniker to the standard Cayenne E-Hybrid changes things even more, by swapping a 300-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 for a more powerful 348-hp unit. Add a 174-hp electric motor, and you get a whopping 512 horsepower. Porsche claims it will hurtle to 60 mph from a standstill in a mere 4.2 seconds and get more than 20 miles of all-electric range. The rich and sporty interior makes it one of the more driver-focused SUVs, and if you opt for the sloped back Coupe model, you get an even racier exterior.
Photo via Lexus
2025 Lexus LC Hybrid
As much as we adore the sonorous and powerful gas-powered V8 engine in the standard LC Coupe, the more efficient hybrid version is undeniably impressive. The slinky and ultra-sexy LC makes it on this list for its appearance alone. There’s not a single car on Planet Earth that looks like this, and it’s not a car you see rolling down the road every day, either.
Step inside, and the iconic lounge-like cabin appeals to at least three of your five senses, and the presence of a bigger infotainment screen makes performing operations that much easier. The powertrain under the long hood of this grand tourer is a 3.5-liter V6, two electric motors, a 1.1-kWh lithium-ion battery, and a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). It gets to 60 mph in a scant 4.7 seconds, so it’s no slouch. 33 mpg highway also means it’s no gas guzzler, either.
