Me too Jocko. There was a write-up on it in the Yorkshire Post motoring section last weekend. I was surprised just how much more affordable it is than other PHEVs. I have made three journeys today in my RAV4 Hybrid and have one more to do. All four would have been possible within the range of a PHEV like the Grandland on a single charge.
I carried out a test, in the RAV4, which has an older generation hybrid system and uses a 2.5l petrol engine on the Atkinson cycle. I turned off all unnecessary electrics (a/c, heated seats, etc.) and drove 4 miles up into the hills to a farm shop. The dash registered 21mpg for that journey. The exact same journey in reverse registered 94.5mpg. So an average of 58mpg. Not bad. But a PHEV would have done it all on electric. So I would really love a PHEV but most start at over £40k, which is just too much for me to justify on a car.
I want my next car to be minimal on gadgets as I want to have it a long time. This RAV4 was 1 year old when I bought it and is 6 years old now. The longest I have owned a single vehicle (apart from our Jazz, which my sons use, and we have had over 8 years now). There is nothing wrong with the RAV4, it was top spec at the time and so has all the gadgets that mid spec cars come with these days. Being a Toyota, the warranty will last to ten years old, so long as they service it each year.
So why change?
Well it is full of things to go wrong eventually, like, say, a power rear door. And that is a little worry at the back of my mind, that it will become expensive to maintain. It's also not as economic in general as I would like. It's a little bigger than I need right now.
Also, having bought it for £26,000 in 2017, it is worth £19,000 as a trade in against a Suzuki S-Cross Ultimate with interest free finance on the £11k shortfall! The S-Cross is essentially like my car but a bit smaller and more economical!
So my list now includes the Grandland, but also include Honda's new HRV, the Toyota RAV4 Cross AWD, the Suzuki Vitara and the S-Cross, and, from left field, the Dacia Duster.
Why the Duster? Well have you seen the pictures from Ukraine? They are everywhere and being used for everything. They are basic but solid, and half the price of my car if it was new! Once you start looking, you see them everywhere! It has heated seats (a must), 4WD, the space I need and no frills I don't need.
So now I am conflicted. In a nice way. I need to do some test driving once I retire in 4 weeks time.
I still believe full electric is too soon, I would prefer a PHEV, but a new Hybrid would also be OK. But I am also not averse to a cheaper petrol vehicle and running it forever.