Land Rover Discovery Sport PHEV costs, insurance, warranty & tax
Low company-car tax and the ability to use very little fuel in day-to-day motoring count in the Discovery Sport P300e hybrid's favour here
| Insurance group | Warranty | Service interval | 2020/21 company-car tax cost (20%/40%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39-41 | 3yrs / 60,000 miles | 2yrs / 21,000 miles | From £1,033 / £2,066 |
Company-car tax is where the biggest running-costs savings can be achieved by choosing the P300e plug-in hybrid Discovery Sport over a purely petrol or diesel-engined alternative. Regular road tax, insurance and maintenance will be similar or slightly higher; combined with a higher list price, this means the car isn't a "no-brainer" for private buyers, but they're not expected to make up a large proportion of its customers.
There are potential savings on fuel to be made for anyone running a plug-in hybrid, of course, but it's those doing regular short urban journeys, with the ability to top up the car's batteries every evening at home, who'll see the most benefit. For regular long-distance motorway runs, the mild-hybrid diesel Discovery Sport is still a better bet.
Land Rover Discovery Sport PHEV insurance group
Insurance ratings for the Discovery Sport hybrid start at 39 for the entry-level R-Dynamic S model, rising slightly to 41 for the R-Dynamic SE and 42 for the range-topping R-Dynamic HSE. That's significantly more than for a non-premium rival like the Ford Kuga Plug-In Hybrid (groups 19-21), but about equivalent to the BMW X3 hybrid's group 38-39 ratings.
Warranty
A standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty applies to all new Land Rovers sold, which is similar to the level of cover you get on rival models from Volvo or any of the premium German brands.
Servicing
Modern Land Rovers have a pretty generous service interval of once every two years, or once every 21,000 miles, whichever arrives sooner. There's also the option to purchase a service plan – either for a one-off up-front cost or spread out over monthly payments – in order to manage your ongoing maintenance costs.
Road tax
As a plug-in hybrid, the Discovery Sport P300e qualifies for the £10 annual road-tax discount the government applies to everything it classifies as an 'alternative-fuel vehicle'. But while that takes the standard rate down from £155 to £145 a year, the Discovery is also slapped with a £335 surcharge the first five times you tax it, due to its over-£40,000 list price. So the total annual bill is £480 during that time.
