Small but perfectly formed reviews. The best of this month’s drives

TOYOTA HILUX 48V HYBRID £40,437 (exc VAT)

WELL, HYBRID IN THE MILDEST possible sense: Toyota’s fitted a piddly battery for enhanced stop/start and better mpg. Claims it’s smoother too, but you’ll barely notice. What will turn your head is Multi-Terrain Select, with modes for sand, mud, rock, dirt and deep snow. It gives the Hilux a bigger toolkit to go with that LSD and low range box. Soon to be seen on a farm track near you.

JH

BYD SEALION 7 EXCELLENCE £58,990

BYD DID SOMETHING UNUSUAL with the Seal – a slinky saloon with the vibe of a supermarket own brand Taycan. The Sealion is not at all unusual. It’s a biggish crossover. The cabin’s fine, nicely finished with some good detailing and lots of rear room. Cornering and stability look after you but don’t draw you in, so why would you want the 530bhp twin motor version? It only hits efficiency.

PH

VOLKSWAGEN TAY RON £48,055

FOR As quiet as a cathedral hosting a sponsored silence

AGAINST The Skoda Kodiaq exists

BY OUR RECKONING THIS IS VW’S EIGHTH (!) SUV, PRONOUNCED TIE-RON like a forgotten Roman emperor and not Teigh-ron like a TikTok princess. It’s barged into the gap between the Tiguan and the Touareg, VW believing its seven-seater deserves more than just the ‘Allspace’ tag.

It gets six powertrains – petrols, a diesel, a hybrid and two flavours of PHEV. Gosh. Except in the latter you can only have five seats, because of the big battery. VW expects those to be the most popular.