For Americans, there was a time when choosing a new SUV was simple. You wanted petrol, you bought petrol. You wanted to save the planet, you bought an electric one and immediately started discussing charging infrastructure with complete strangers.

Now there is a third option, and Americans appear to rather like it: the hybrid.

Kelley Blue Book’s latest Brand Watch data shows that 22 per cent of shoppers are considering a hybrid, compared with just 10 per cent seriously considering an EV. That is quite a gap, and it comes at a time when the SUV has become less of a vehicle choice and more of a national architectural style.

Non-luxury SUVs now account for a record 71 per cent of shopper consideration, while sedans have slumped to just 25 per cent. Apparently, nobody wants a car anymore unless it can swallow a bicycle, a dog and half a garden shed.

And hybrids fit this SUV obsession rather neatly.

They offer better fuel economy without asking drivers to rethink their lives around charging. No hunt for a charger in the rain. No frantic calculations about whether the motorway service station has working plugs. Just fill up and carry on.

Price is helping too. Hybrids can undercut comparable EVs while still delivering the sort of efficiency that makes conventional petrol SUVs look rather thirsty.

Toyota is particularly well placed, with five hybrids appearing in the top 10 most-considered electrified vehicles. The RAV4 and Honda CR-V are also leading the mainstream SUV pack, showing that buyers are increasingly choosing the body style first and worrying about the powertrain afterwards.

That may be the real story here. EVs aren’t necessarily losing because people dislike electric cars. Hybrids are winning because they offer most of the efficiency benefits without demanding much behavioural change.

For 2026’s SUV shopper, then, the hybrid isn’t the boring middle ground anymore.

It may actually be the sensible choice everyone was trying to avoid admitting they wanted.