Katie Morley Personal Account

The middle class must accept they can’t afford Range Rovers – they’re only for rich people

For the current middle- aged, middle- class generation, there are three main signs that you’ve “made it”, according to one observant Telegraph reader: a house with bifold doors, a Rolex on your wrist and a Range Rover parked on the drive.

But tiny violins at the ready: the heated leather-seat dream may be over for many of the “Rangie” set before it’s even begun; because in some parts of the country, they’re becoming too expensive for many owners to keep. It always used to be the case that Range

Rovers were the preserve of the wealthy upper classes, but the introduction around a decade ago of smaller and cheaper Evoques on £400-a- month PCP arrangements changed all that.

It meant the bifold door- loving, Rolex-wearing “mass affluent” crowd, who definitely couldn’t afford a £100k Range Rover Sport, were offered a realistic entry point to the brand.

They lapped it up. Range Rover sales boomed and there are now three times more registered Range Rovers in the UK than there were before the launch of the Evoque. With more than 415,000 registered vehicles on the road (up from 50,000 at the turn of the millennium), we became a nation of Range Rover lovers. Yet the brand is divisive, and whether these 4x4s are “in” or “out”, greatly depends upon which circle you mix in. And the brand’s stratospheric success has not been appreciated by all.

Although I can appreciate some Range Rovers, they have never been for me. I knew a boyfriend in secondary school wasn’t “the one” when one day he came round for tea and announced that his goal in life was to own a black Range Rover Sport. At the time, my dad drove a sky blue Citroën Picasso with picnic tables in the back which, to me, was the best car of all time. An inverted snob in the making, you might say, but fast forward two decades and, ironically, I’ve ended up driving a black SUV, albeit from a mid-market brand.

You may have guessed, but my lack of love for Range Rovers remains, not that I could afford one anyway. And that’s lucky for me because they are, it seems, a victim of their own success. Range Rovers are now Britain’s most stolen vehicle, with the brand accounting for six of the top 10 most targeted car models overall. As a result, they are becoming almost impossible to insure in London. Annual premiums have soared to five-figure sums in some cases.

One 35- year- old woman living in London’s suburbs, with six years of driving experience and no claims, was reportedly told her Range Rover Velar would cost £22,515 a year to insure, and all but two insurers refused cover at all. And it’s not just the insurance which could seriously hurt owners in the pocket. The brand was named the least reliable manufacturer in Warrantywise’s 2022 Reliability Index rates due to the frequency and cost of repairs. Subsequently Land Rover was also named as the second least reliable brand in What Car?’s index last year.

So where does all this leave the bifold door brigade? Those who sell may face a double blow, as the insurance drama has sent used vehicle prices downwards. But there is good news. I hear the second-hand watch market is booming, so you might still get a good price for that Rolex.

‘In some parts of the country, the car brand is becoming too expensive for many owners to keep’