Man reveals why he's buying a diesel Range Rover after 2 years with an EV then 2 and a half years driving a PHEV as his family car
- UK-based car content creator turned his back on plug-in hybrids
- He had driven an EV and PHEV for over four years
- However, he made a return to the diesel Range Rover Sport
Published on Feb 15, 2025 at 3:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Feb 14, 2025 at 1:02 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A UK-based automotive content creator has decided to return to a diesel Range Rover Sport after a total of over four years of driving both an EV and a PHEV.
He says that his decision is down to a plug-in hybrid’s high cost and depreciation.
However, this isn’t the only issue that he ‘just couldn’t identify’ with an EV or PHEV.
So what would need to change for the motoring expert to switch back to electric?
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Cost of diesel Range Rover versus EV and PHEV
Harry Metcalfe of Harry’s Garage is a verified car expert but has explained why he’s decided to go back to an internal combustion engine (ICE) diesel Range Rover.
He had spent two years with an EV and 2.5 years driving a PHEV as his family car.
The high cost and depreciation of plug-in hybrid vehicles is one of the reasons.
The diesel option was nearly half the monthly cost of a hybrid, making it far more wallet-friendly – but, it’s still not cheap to run an electric car.
“At 60p ($0.75) per kWh, it’s not cheap. It’s just as expensive as petrol,” Metcalfe said.
This is in part due to the declining electric market and private buyer hesitation with EV sales in the UK dropping to 14.7 percent in January 2024, with private buyers making up only 35 percent of that figure.
Automakers shifted their focus to electric vehicles due to government policies and Euro 7 regulations, sidelining consumers who ‘aren’t coming along for the ride’.
Tax incentives encouraged businesses to buy high-end electric vehicles, creating a surplus of luxury electric cars that private buyers can’t afford and contributing to depreciation.
Other off-putting factors
Turns out that private buyers are put off by high costs, poor real-world range, and charging infrastructure challenges.
Cost challenges are at both ends with dealers and the used car market struggling with electric valuation due to battery health decline over time.
Manufacturers don’t provide clear battery condition reports and it varies wildly due to usage and climate.
What’s more, unlike the US the UK charging network remains unreliable and expensive – especially for public fast charging.
The UK climate doesn’t help either with electric range significantly impacted by cold weather by ‘up to 40 percent’, making them less practical for long-distance travel in winter.
In addition to the above, Metcalfe would like to see a broader approach to reducing CO2 emissions beyond just electric cars, including sustainable fuels and hydrogen.
“We’ve put all our eggs in the EV basket, but what about sustainable fuels? What about hydrogen? We need a plan B,” he said.
If these changes aren’t made?
“We’re going to see a lot of electric cars gathering dust in dealer lots,” he said ominously.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
