The mid-size SUV car type is currently the best-selling car segment in the Irish market dominated by cars such as the Toyota RAV4 and the Hyundai Tucson with the Kia Sportage not too far behind. With the far-eastern domination of this market segment, this week we look at three Japanese brand SUVs all of which are hybrids of sorts, to provide you with a useful comparison.
The cars we have compared in this article are the relatively new Honda ZR-V, Nissan’s latest e-Power Qashqai and Toyota’s best-selling car in 2025, the RAV4. All three are Japanese brands while built at various locations around the world. Honda assembles the ZR-V in China, while Nissan manufactures the Qashqai nearer to home in Sunderland, England, and Toyota’s RAV4 for Europe is built in Japan.
The dash and controls layout of the Honda ZR-V is very simple, with easy-to-use tactile controls for the heating.
All three are hybrid cars, each with a different size petrol engine under the bonnet to support the hybrid drive. We are looking at hybrids in this comparison, not plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), so let’s briefly explain. Two of these three cars, the Honda ZR-V and the Toyota RAV4, come with a petrol engine that drives the car, produces electric energy and sends it to a large battery to drive the car in electric mode when in city traffic or if you opt to select electric drive mode only. The move between the petrol engine drive and the electric system is seamless and barely noticeable.
The Nissan Qashqai e-Power is different in that it uses a smaller petrol engine solely to generate electricity in a way that the car’s wheels are only ever driven directly by an electric motor. The car’s turbocharged three-cylinder engine generates electricity, which is sent via an inverter to either the 140kW electric motor or the 1.8kWh battery (or both, according to the driving scenario). Working quietly in the background this engine supplies the electricity to drive this impressive SUV.
None of these three SUVs are required to be plugged in for charging and all three are fuelled up at your local petrol station, with their respective drive systems doing the rest. So, there are no range anxiety issues across any of these three.
The Toyota RAV4 is the best-selling mid-size SUV on the market and comes with an entry price of €44,995, or £39,885 in N. Ireland.
The best-selling of the three, the Toyota RAV4 comes with the biggest engine, a 2.5 litre unit, while the Honda is powered by a 2.0 litre engine and the Nissan has a compact three-cylinder 1.5 litre engine. Out on the road, there is no noticeable difference in terms of acceleration, with the RAV4 being rated slightly slower.
And there is little to separate them in terms of fuel economy either, with the RAV4 rating showing a slightly lower economy figure. The economy of all modern hybrid cars benefits hugely from driving style, keeping the car’s engine under 2000rpm makes a significant difference and that converts to driving at not more than 100km/hr most of the time on motorways and longer journeys.
And these hybrid SUVs have much lower towing ratings than their diesel engine counterparts of the past. That means for farm families of the future, towing trailers will be restricted to 4x4 with diesel power or higher road speed tractors.
The dash and controls for the Nissan Qashqai as modern clear with heating system controls at hand, while the center screen does not dominate.
What separates these three Japanese hybrid SUV contenders is their styling inside and out, a range of automated features and their ease of use, and finally the pricing. Styling is a very subjective view, the new exterior styling on the Nissan Qashqai impressed me. I consider the Honda ZR-V to be more bland and that wasn’t just because of the white colour of the test car or the fact that it’s the longest of all three. Toyota’s RAV4 has sharper angles that need a softer touch, in my opinion.
On the inside they each use a different driving approach when it comes to using the transmission. The Honda ZR-V’s transmission is button operated, push and go. The Nissan Qashqai uses a small, neat and comfortable toggle unit, while the Toyota RAV4 has a more traditional engagement stick for the transmission. The other important difference relates to their respective boot spaces. The Toyota RAV4 four has the biggest boot with all seats in use, while the Nissan Qashqai has by far the largest load area when the second row of seats is folded. The table with this article provides all of the technical differences in an easily digestible format.
The Honda ZR-V is a new addition to the Honda hybrid range, with entry prices starting at €49,995, or £36,650 in N. Ireland.
Each of the three have their respective safety systems in place, with their unique offers whether it’s the Toyota Safety Sense, Nissan ProPilot Assist or Honda’s Sensing system. Dissecting the differences requires an article in itself. In summary, the Qashqai has the most recent Euro NCAP five-star safety rating, while Honda’s rating for the ZR-V is a 2023 rating and Toyota’s RAV4 is more historic as a 2019 rating.
Nissan’s new generation Qashqai with the e-Power electric drive system has an entry price of €42,000, or £34,430 in N. Ireland.
There are entry model pricing differences; while the Nissan Qashqai comes in as the most competitive option at €42,000 or £34,430 in N. Ireland, the Honda ZR-V is significantly more expensive with the popular RAV4 somewhere in between. In this comparison, taking all features into consideration, the new Nissan Qashqai e-Power comes out marginally ahead in terms of my overall choice.
The mid-size SUV car type is currently the best-selling car segment in the Irish market dominated by cars such as the Toyota RAV4 and the Hyundai Tucson with the Kia Sportage not too far behind. With the far-eastern domination of this market segment, this week we look at three Japanese brand SUVs all of which are hybrids of sorts, to provide you with a useful comparison.
The cars we have compared in this article are the relatively new Honda ZR-V, Nissan’s latest e-Power Qashqai and Toyota’s best-selling car in 2025, the RAV4. All three are Japanese brands while built at various locations around the world. Honda assembles the ZR-V in China, while Nissan manufactures the Qashqai nearer to home in Sunderland, England, and Toyota’s RAV4 for Europe is built in Japan.
The dash and controls layout of the Honda ZR-V is very simple, with easy-to-use tactile controls for the heating.
All three are hybrid cars, each with a different size petrol engine under the bonnet to support the hybrid drive. We are looking at hybrids in this comparison, not plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), so let’s briefly explain. Two of these three cars, the Honda ZR-V and the Toyota RAV4, come with a petrol engine that drives the car, produces electric energy and sends it to a large battery to drive the car in electric mode when in city traffic or if you opt to select electric drive mode only. The move between the petrol engine drive and the electric system is seamless and barely noticeable.
The Nissan Qashqai e-Power is different in that it uses a smaller petrol engine solely to generate electricity in a way that the car’s wheels are only ever driven directly by an electric motor. The car’s turbocharged three-cylinder engine generates electricity, which is sent via an inverter to either the 140kW electric motor or the 1.8kWh battery (or both, according to the driving scenario). Working quietly in the background this engine supplies the electricity to drive this impressive SUV.
None of these three SUVs are required to be plugged in for charging and all three are fuelled up at your local petrol station, with their respective drive systems doing the rest. So, there are no range anxiety issues across any of these three.
The Toyota RAV4 is the best-selling mid-size SUV on the market and comes with an entry price of €44,995, or £39,885 in N. Ireland.
The best-selling of the three, the Toyota RAV4 comes with the biggest engine, a 2.5 litre unit, while the Honda is powered by a 2.0 litre engine and the Nissan has a compact three-cylinder 1.5 litre engine. Out on the road, there is no noticeable difference in terms of acceleration, with the RAV4 being rated slightly slower.
And there is little to separate them in terms of fuel economy either, with the RAV4 rating showing a slightly lower economy figure. The economy of all modern hybrid cars benefits hugely from driving style, keeping the car’s engine under 2000rpm makes a significant difference and that converts to driving at not more than 100km/hr most of the time on motorways and longer journeys.
And these hybrid SUVs have much lower towing ratings than their diesel engine counterparts of the past. That means for farm families of the future, towing trailers will be restricted to 4x4 with diesel power or higher road speed tractors.
The dash and controls for the Nissan Qashqai as modern clear with heating system controls at hand, while the center screen does not dominate.
What separates these three Japanese hybrid SUV contenders is their styling inside and out, a range of automated features and their ease of use, and finally the pricing. Styling is a very subjective view, the new exterior styling on the Nissan Qashqai impressed me. I consider the Honda ZR-V to be more bland and that wasn’t just because of the white colour of the test car or the fact that it’s the longest of all three. Toyota’s RAV4 has sharper angles that need a softer touch, in my opinion.
On the inside they each use a different driving approach when it comes to using the transmission. The Honda ZR-V’s transmission is button operated, push and go. The Nissan Qashqai uses a small, neat and comfortable toggle unit, while the Toyota RAV4 has a more traditional engagement stick for the transmission. The other important difference relates to their respective boot spaces. The Toyota RAV4 four has the biggest boot with all seats in use, while the Nissan Qashqai has by far the largest load area when the second row of seats is folded. The table with this article provides all of the technical differences in an easily digestible format.
The Honda ZR-V is a new addition to the Honda hybrid range, with entry prices starting at €49,995, or £36,650 in N. Ireland.
Each of the three have their respective safety systems in place, with their unique offers whether it’s the Toyota Safety Sense, Nissan ProPilot Assist or Honda’s Sensing system. Dissecting the differences requires an article in itself. In summary, the Qashqai has the most recent Euro NCAP five-star safety rating, while Honda’s rating for the ZR-V is a 2023 rating and Toyota’s RAV4 is more historic as a 2019 rating.
Nissan’s new generation Qashqai with the e-Power electric drive system has an entry price of €42,000, or £34,430 in N. Ireland.
There are entry model pricing differences; while the Nissan Qashqai comes in as the most competitive option at €42,000 or £34,430 in N. Ireland, the Honda ZR-V is significantly more expensive with the popular RAV4 somewhere in between. In this comparison, taking all features into consideration, the new Nissan Qashqai e-Power comes out marginally ahead in terms of my overall choice.
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