Car finder

Which car suits you best?

Tell us your budget and how you drive. We'll rule out cars that don't fit, then rank the rest by what they'll cost you to own.

Your needs

Budget, on the road ($)Leave blank for no limit.

Electric or hybrid?

Body type

Longest trip you do regularly (km, one way)We allow 30% extra for highway driving and a safety margin.

Where do you live?

How far do you drive each week?

Could you charge at home?

How long will you keep it?

Home charger for an EV

Do you need a wallbox?

Fine-tune the assumptions

Home electricity (c/kWh)

Public fast charger (c/kWh)

On-road costs ($)Added to prices quoted before on-roads. Varies by state.

EV tyre life (km)EV tyres usually last 20,000–40,000 km. Hybrids use 50,000 km.

Wallbox installed ($)Usually $1,000–$3,000.

Petrol price ($/L)Your capital's average. Used for hybrids and plug-ins.

Your top picks

Cost to own = price (plus about $4,000 on-road costs where the price is before on-roads) + a home wallbox for EVs (about $2,000, one-off) + charging or fuel + scheduled servicing + tyres. It leaves out insurance, registration and resale value, which vary too much by person and car to estimate fairly. Resale value is the biggest unknown, especially for newer brands.

How we work it out

Weekly cost is the car's claimed energy use (kWh per 100 km) × your distance × your electricity price. "Per week" figures on this site assume 250 km a week with 90% of charging at home. Petrol comparisons use the fuel use and price you choose. Prices are list prices at October 2026 and change often; check with the dealer.

Electricity: 2026–27 default or regulated flat rates from the AER Default Market Offer (NSW, SE QLD, SA), Victorian Default Offer, Aurora Energy (TAS), Jacana Energy (NT), Synergy (WA) and ActewAGL (ACT).
Public charging: Sydney survey of Chargefox, Evie, NRMA, Tesla and BP Pulse prices, July 2026.
Car specs and prices: manufacturer figures as published by CarExpert, AEVA EV fact sheets, Drive and EV Central's car guide. Some prices are the publisher's estimates; check with a dealer.
Servicing: published capped-price schedules (BYD Sealion 7, BYD Seal, Geely EX5, Jaecoo J5 EV, Kia EV5, Zeekr 7X). Tesla has no fixed service schedule and CarExpert's EV servicing comparison. Where a model's pricing isn't published yet we use the brand's nearest model and mark it as an estimate.
Tyres: RACV puts EV tyre life at 20,000–40,000 km; replacement set prices from Gridly's 2026 EV tyre cost guide.
Petrol: ACCC average retail unleaded prices in each capital city, week to 21 October 2026 (ACCC weekly fuel price monitoring).
Plug-in hybrids: prices, battery sizes and claimed electric range from CarExpert, Cars24, Zecar and The Beep. Real-world electric range is taken as 80% of the claim; plug-ins charged at home each night are assumed to do up to 85% of driving on electricity. Petrol use with a flat battery is our estimate from reviews where makers don't publish one.
Hybrids: claimed fuel use, prices and capped-price servicing as published by CarExpert and CarsGuide. Petrol and hybrid tyres usually last 40,000–60,000 km (RACV); we use 50,000 km.
Home chargers: typically $1,000–$3,000 installed, about $2,000 typical (What's the Damage, October 2026).
Novated lease rules: PwC summary of the May 2026 FBT changes.