2026 KGM Torres Hybrid review

KGM has launched another electrified offering in the Aussie market – and this one is arguably the most important yet.

Meet the KGM Torres Hybrid, a plug-free petrol-electric hybrid SUV with a powertrain that uses components from Chinese battery and EV giant, BYD.

The Torres is an eye-catching machine, with its, er, peculiar design cues giving it a real point of difference in the market. But is this a mid-size SUV worth considering? Read on to find out.

How much does the KGM Torres cost?

There are two versions of the KGM Torres Hybrid on sale in Australia – and both share the same front-wheel drive petrol-electric powertrain with battery tech co-developed with BYD.

We’re at an interesting impasse with electrified SUVs in Australia, with mainstream brands asking big money for ‘standard’ hybrid (HEV) models, while advanced plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are often coming in at a lower price point from ambitious players out of China.

As such, the KGM’s pricing puts it above Chinese rivals like the GWM Haval H6 Hybrid (and the H6 PHEV, too), the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid and the excellent BYD Sealion 6.

But it also strikes the middle-ground between those ex-China offerings and mainstream hybrid SUV choices like the Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage.

To see how the KGM Torres lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

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What is the KGM Torres like on the inside?

I’m a big fan of the fact that KGM hasn’t gone with a plain old black-on-black theme for the interior, but there is still a lot of dark textured material inside.

There’s a black headliner, and most of the plastics all around the cabin have shades of black, but the copper tones that are evident throughout make an important difference.

There’s copper stitching on the dashboard, doors and seats, and there’s also a panel that runs from coast to coast on the dash with a pinstripe finish to it. And it really does look great.

The twin 12.3-inch digital screen display is tidy in its application – but it also goes without any physical control buttons or dials, and that could be a problem for many customers who still prefer the tactile touch.

The media display doesn’t include wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. It’s plug-and-play only. And on a number of occasions during my time using CarPlay, the screen was laggy and slow to react.

Furthermore, the home menu panel is over to the left of the instrument cluster display area, meaning it is quite a reach for the driver.

Then of course, the fact that you don’t have any volume dial for the media system is annoying, but there is a toggle on the steering wheel, or a scroller on the drop-down menu.

That drop-down menu is an important one – more important than you might be expecting. It houses a number of different controls including your Auto Hold button (more detail on that in the driving section below), but also your drive mode selector and much more.

Beyond that and the phone mirroring, there’s not a whole lot more to see – apart from a hybrid screen that allows you to see what’s happening with your battery. There’s also a hybrid mode display on the driver info screen to show what’s happening with the different elements of this petrol-electric powertrain.

Back to the cabin treatment, and there’s ambient lighting across the dashboard, and some nice textures here and there, including on the speaker covers on the doors.

But the material is all of a cost-effective feeling, and there’s also some intriguing choices when it comes to spec. For instance, there’s no wireless phone charger in this electrified model, which is strange.

And also while there is a section in front of the gear selector to theoretically holster your phone (with a USB cable poking through to keep it connected and charging), your phone will tumble out very easily.

As for the other storage though, it’s actually pretty well managed.

Above the USB-C ports you will find a small shelf that you could probably pop a phone or a wallet in, and below there’s a textured rubber-matted storage section for loose items.

Above that you’ll find that phone-dock-that-isn’t, a pair of cupholders, and a centre console area as well, which does offer a soft padded armrest.

In the doors there are huge pockets with multiple different options for storing bottles and larger items, and the glove box is a reasonable size as well.

Overhead you don’t get a sunglasses holder, but you do get illuminated vanity mirrors on both sun visors.

In the back seat there is a good amount of space for a 6’0”/182cm-tall adult to sit behind their own driving position.

I managed it with space to spare in front of my knees, and above my toes. And headroom is exceptionally good, with inches above my head to the ceiling.

The overhead area also incorporates grab handles and hooks for storage, and there are lights for both sides through a centrally mounted assembly.

Rear occupants in the high-spec version get retractable manual sun blinds, which is a welcome addition for kids on warm days.

And in terms of rear storage there is plenty on offer. Big bottle holders in the doors, multiple pockets on the seatbacks, a flip-down armrest with cupholders, and a little storage tray in the rear of the centre console area.

You’ll also find a pair of USB-C ports and directional air vents, which is great for those warmer days or cooler mornings, and while there is a transmission tunnel to contend with if you are planning to put three across, it is a pretty wide cabin space. The window seats have ISOFIX child seat anchors and there are three top-tethers, too.

The rear seat also offers a level of recline in a 60:40 split, handy for road trips.

The boot offers a competitive amount of cargo capacity, and has a couple of neat little inclusions.

You get a retractable cargo cover, a pull-down shopping bag hook, a light to the side, and there is an electric tailgate button – very handy for those who are a bit shorter of stature who mightn’t be able to reach the button on the boot lid.

Underneath the boot floor, however, you will not find a spare wheel – instead you just get a tyre repair kit, which is a disappointment for an adventure-ish brand like this one.

To see how the KGM Torres lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

The KGM Torres Hybrid employs a turbocharged petrol engine combined with a “dedicated hybrid transmission” which controls whether the power should come from the battery pack and electric motor, or the petrol engine, or a combination of the two.

This hybrid system can run fully electric up to 100km/h, and when the BYD Blade battery’s charge is low, the engine automatically starts and functions as a generator to recharge it. In some situations – like hard acceleration or travelling uphill – the engine will power the wheels directly in parallel with the electric motor.

It works together pretty well, and the efficiency factor is very good. On test, across a mix of urban, highway, freeway and runaround driving, I saw a return of 6.3L/100km – better than what I saw in a Hyundai Tucson Hybrid at the same time, doing very similar driving.

There are some interesting elements to the hybrid drive setup, too… keep scrolling.

To see how the KGM Torres lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the KGM Torres drive?

The last time I drove a Torres, I wasn’t overly impressed with the driving manners. And this one? Well, it’s better. Sort of.

That’s largely thanks to the powertrain, but also due to the revised suspension the hybrid models get. The ‘Smart Frequency Damping’ shock absorbers are meant to improve ride comfort and handling stability, and it’s a job reasonably done in that regard.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as supple as a Kia Sportage or as handling-focused as a Hyundai Tucson, but it certainly managed things decently, if not perfectly, when it came to bump management and body control. The large wheels – 20s as standard, with lowish-profile tyres – make little sharp edges noticeable, particularly at urban speeds.

The steering is too slow to react, meaning you need to give it some twirling before you feel meaningful trajectory adjustment, and that is exacerbated by the weird shaped steering wheel, which looks and feels too big for this car. More assertive tyres might help.

The standard Nexen tyres, however, are okay for cornering grip, but terrible for power-down traction. I had multiple instances when the amount of torque from the powertrain overwhelmed the rubber, making for squealing starts in the dry and scrabbling shoot-aways in the wet.

The hybrid powertrain is terrific at pace. It knows what to do, shuffling between EV mode, hybrid mode and petrol mode depending on the situation. And it’s relatively refined and smooth in its operation, with little fuss, vibration or noise to worry about.

However, when you’re using the gear selector, you really need to engage the gear you want – otherwise you’ll end up in neutral, because the toggle shifter is a finicky one. Furthermore, the regenerative braking system – which can be altered using the paddle shifters – isn’t the most refined effort.

It’s okay at doing the regen braking thing, and there are different levels to pick from in terms of the assertiveness of that action. But like lots of other electrified vehicles, the physical brake pedal response isn’t smooth, and can be really hard to judge accurately.

You might think you’re about to stop smoothly, and it’ll halt faster than predicted. Or you might think you’re pushing the pedal with enough force, and you end up running too close to the car or obstacle ahead.

The low-speed behaviour is among the most problematic of any new hybrid SUV I’ve driven – and the tyre terror isn’t the only thing.

During my time in this vehicle, I gave CarExpert founder Alborz a lift to a meeting and when we got into the car it was parallel parked in Surry Hills with the nose facing downhill towards a government BMW iX… the sort of car you don’t want to nudge.

So as I tried to inch us out of this very tight, awkward parking spot, I was very embarrassed when the car wouldn’t reverse. Like, I was in reverse, and I was trying to make it go backwards, but it kept rolling forward.

I jammed my left foot down on the brake, right foot on the throttle, and it wouldn’t reverse. It rolled forward. And then again it rolled forward. At this point the parking sensors were screaming, and I could tell my bumper was literally millimetres from the car ahead.

Thankfully, the driver was in it, and after Alborz politely asked him to ‘move forward’, we got out of the space. I figured out after this that the Auto Hold system wasn’t on, and with it active it makes a HUGE difference. But there’s no physical button for it – instead, it’s on the drop-down menu on the screen.

There’s also the lack of a surround-view camera, which is fast becoming a cost of doing business in this segment, which may deter some potential buyers.

But in the positives column, there’s no bing-bong nonsense from driver monitoring cameras or speed-sign technology constantly misreading the road rules. There is a lane-keep assist feature, but you can long-press the button for it to go away.

Some finer tuning of most elements of the drive experience – faster steering, smoother suspension, better power-down (and perhaps better tyres), and improved brake pedal feel – would all make this more compelling for keen drivers.

To see how the KGM Torres lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

2026 KGM Torres Hybrid K30 equipment highlights:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• LED headlights
• Automatic high-beam
• Heated, power-folding exterior mirrors
• Rain-sensing wipers
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
• 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Black/grey cloth upholstery
• Ambient lighting

The Torres Hybrid K40 adds:

• 20-inch alloy wheels
• Power tailgate
• LED front fog lights
• Black fake leather upholstery
• Heated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Rear door sun blinds

The $3000 walk-up to the K40 makes a lot of sense, and it will undoubtedly fare better when it comes to resale values. It adds some extra safety kit, too…

To see how the KGM Torres lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the KGM Torres safe?

At this point, the KGM Torres doesn’t have a safety rating from ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

Based on the spec, it wouldn’t score five stars, because the Gods of ANCAP are hyper-focused on annoying safety technology – and this SUV doesn’t have that distracting nonsense!

Standard safety equipment includes:

• 8 airbags incl. front-centre
• Autonomous emergency braking
  • Vehicle and pedestrian detection
• Adaptive cruise control
• Driver attention alert
• Front Vehicle Start Alert
• Lane-keep assist
• Multi-collision braking
• Front and rear parking sensors

The Torres K40 adds:

• Blind-spot monitoring
• Rear cross-traffic alert

It’s a bit odd that KGM makes you pay extra for blind-spot and rear cross-traffic monitoring, which is standard in pretty much all of its rivals in this class from the base grade up.

Also note that there are some things missing which you could find in similarly priced models, including:

• Surround-view cameras
• Driver monitoring camera
• Speed sign recognition
• Connected services with e-Call

To see how the KGM Torres lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the KGM Torres cost to run?

KGM Australia is offering a pretty strong ownership promise for potential customers.

This model is backed by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty and a seven-year, 150,000km battery warranty.

But service intervals are short, at 12 months or 10,000km, so if you do a lot of distance driving, you might find yourself back at the workshop regularly.

There’s no traditional ‘capped-price’ servicing plan, but KGM offers a “service price menu” covering seven years or 70,000km of maintenance. Over that period, the average service cost – before some consumable items – is $394. Check out the KGM Australia site for more info.

Meanwhile, on the roadside assistance front, KGM offers five years of free ‘call for help’ peace of mind.

As with almost all new cars, though, the biggest cost of ownership is always the resale value… and, frankly, I’d expect this one to suffer more, given KGM’s new brand name and this SUV’s unconventional design.

To see how the KGM Torres lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the KGM Torres

This is an ‘almost’ car.

There are a number of ways in which it could be made better, and they’re not substantial changes – just subtle adjustments to the usability, drivability and technology on offer.

It’s still a fine mid-size hybrid SUV, and it certainly stands out from the crowd if that matters to you.

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MORE: Explore the KGM Torres showroom