The plug-in hybrid SUV segment is exploding, with new models popping up left and right. Plug-in hybrid SUVs occupy a middle ground between normal gasoline-powered SUVs and all-electric SUVs, and improve on regular hybrids by allowing you to recharge them from an outlet. The idea is that if you drive carefully and stay within the vehicle’s all-electric range, your gas will last long enough to make it worth investing in some fuel stabilizer.

To make the all-electric range useful, however, means large and heavy battery packs, so if most of your trips are longer, a regular hybrid or a traditional gas or diesel-powered vehicle might be more cost effective. Audi’s Q7 e-tron is a plug-in hybrid SUV with a difference. Instead of the gasoline engine found in most hybrids, the Audi Q7 e-tron was designed to use a diesel engine.

The combustion engine and the electric motor work together to create 368 horsepower (and an impressive 516 lb-ft of torque), and Volkswagen estimates a range of around 35 miles using the electric motors alone. The Q7 e-tron also uses a heat pump to recover waste heat from the hybrid, which is then used to heat the interior, using less precious battery power than an electric system. We hope that Volkswagen’s emissions problems are resolved soon so that the Q7 e-tron can go on sale.

The BMW X5 xDrive40e is a plugin hybrid version of BMW’s largest SUV that uses a TwinPower turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and an electric motor to produce a combined 308 horsepower. All-electric range is around 14 miles and can be used at speeds of up to 75 miles per hour. Like many hybrids, the extra batteries mean that curb weight is significantly higher than other models in the range and cargo space is reduced.

If you take many short trips with enough time in between to recharge the battery, the xDrive40e might be the perfect X5 for you, but if most of your journeys are longer, you might want to consider the diesel xDrive35d. The upcoming Kia Niro SUV is a dedicated hybrid model (like the Prius and Insight, in that it isn’t offered with a traditional powertrain), but one that doesn’t follow the typical super-aerodynamic kammback-rear design. The regular hybrid uses a 4-cylinder Atkinston-cycle engine and an electric motor that combine to make 146 horsepower.

A plug-in hybrid model will follow, and while Kia hasn’t released much information specific to that version, we expect it to use a larger battery than the standard hybrid’s relatively tiny unit. If the Optima plug-in hybrid is anything to go by, expect all-electric range to be about 30 to 40 miles.

The aggressive-looking Levante is Maserati’s first entrant in the SUV segment, and it should eventually be appearing as a plug-in hybrid (another first for the brand), reusing the system found in Chrysler’s new Pacifica. We’re not sure yet whether it will use the same Atkinson-cycle V6 as the Pacifica or (we hope) a Ferrari-sourced engine like Maserati’s other models, but expect an all-electric range of around 30 miles.

As you’d expect from the Italian brand, the interior is beautifully crafted, and we hope that the battery can be grafted in without taking up too much interior space (it sits under the under the second-row seats in the Pacifica). The Mercedes-Benz GLC350e is a plug-in hybrid SUV, which, according to the brand’s new naming scheme, means that it will be related to the C-Class sedan. Combined, the turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and the electric motor make an impressive 316 horsepower that can get the smallish SUV moving quickly.

The GLC has an all-electric top speed of 87 miles per hour and what Mercedes estimates to be a 21-mile range (but probably less in EPA numbers). The battery pack reduces cargo space, but it’s well placed and shouldn’t reduce the SUV’s functional capacity all that much. If you do lots of longer trips, a diesel version should be coming soon, as well. The GLE550e is the plug-in hybrid version of Mercedes-Benz’s midsize SUV. It uses a twin-turbocharged V6 motor and an electric motor that work together to generate a total of 436 horsepower.

The GLC has a small battery, which does have the benefits of weighing less, taking less space, and recharging faster. The downside to the compact battery is an electric range that is a meager 12 miles as per the EPA, though top speed in all-electric mode is a respectable 80 miles per hour.