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Would an older hybrid car suit a 500-mile weekly commute?

I'm about to go from 100% home-based to a 400/500-mile per week commute. Currently, I have a 2009 Land Rover Freelander 2 with 144,000 miles on it, going strong. I've put 130,000 miles on it myself over 10 years and serviced it every 5,000 or so miles, but that is still a lot of mileage to be piling 500 or so per week onto. The Freelander will become car number 2 in the household and I need a car for work. I prefer SUV as I've been driving Land Rovers for 25 years and don't enjoy the lower-down position of saloon cars at all. I don't do depreciation or PCPs - my income is too intermittent for that kind of commitment to be comfortable, so £40K+ new cars are out for me. Instead, I take my time and find very low mileage cars where the age has helped depreciation reduce - as was the case with my Freelander - and I look more at mileage than the registration date, as I put a private plate on it anyway.

I've been looking at lower mileage Freelander 2s, which are carrying premium prices still, or at low mileage Range Rover Vogue Diesels of 2012-2016 vintage, which are looking good value and well in budget. And...up has popped a Lexus RX450h - registered 2011, under 42,000 miles and at a great price with FSH from Lexus main dealer. I would buy it immediately, but are hybrid batteries of this age (albeit low mileage) bound to have some issues? Short of buying the thing and finding out the hard way that this is the reason for the great price, what can I actually look for or check out? Thanks.

Asked on 7 July 2021 by Roy Rodford

Answered by Dan Powell
A commute of 500 miles is a lot. I would avoid buying an old, worn-out premium SUV that will give you a long list of running costs and headaches. I think you'd be better off buying a diesel hatchback. The old shape Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC has a good reputation for reliability and returns up to 65mpg: www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/honda/civic-2012
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