It’s 2025. Let’s Have Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All Drivetrains

Whichever element of the car hobby is your particular passion, there has always been a most natural and healthy divide. Perhaps you feel that Hamilton is a better all-round driver than Schumacher, or that Senna could beat them both? Or maybe that it’s that the PDK is actually more of an enthusiast’s choice than the manual? The good news is, in your own way, you’re absolutely right, of course. And it’s the stuff that feeds many an evening of gentle pub banter and internet debate.

For some reason, though, despite the motorcar having gone through several other, potentially more divisive technological advances without too much bother, the latest point in our evolutionary timeline seems to have split us into two quite distinct and somewhat tribal camps. Two seemingly incompatible groups that, should you take a moment to read any internet comments or even mainstream media coverage, are the most vitriolic and emotional adversaries that motoring has ever encountered. 

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I am referring, of course, to those who prefer EVs. And those who favour ICE.

Now, I’m not here to debate the virtues and values of each platform. With a simple search, you will doubtless find a thousand other journos far more qualified than I to do just that. Besides, reading this, you will already have your own opinion as to which is superior – and why – and that’s just fine with me. Were we to go to a restaurant together, I would be most surprised if we ordered the exact same thing, so why should our choice of transport be any different? Where the experience differs, I would hope, is that, should I order something for myself that wasn’t quite to your taste, you wouldn’t sit there all evening telling me what a terrible person I was. It would make for somewhat of a testing dining experience, particularly when it came to split the bill . . .

As humans, we are seemingly quite capable of engaging in sensible and rational discussion on a whole range of topics upon which we philosophically differ. Religion, politics, football, even what constitutes a great television series can all create a rambunctious discourse, on which we may never agree, but are happy to listen to each other’s thoughts and preferences. (Unless it’s Mrs. Brown’s Boys, of course, which I think it’s fair to say is almost universal in its ability to draw people together in utter disdain.)

So why can’t EV and ICE owners seem to do the same? While it is entirely feasible to like something and advocate for it, like the sound and appeal of V8 engines, for example, that doesn’t mean you’re an EV hater. It simply means that I’ve gone for steak and chips, and you’ve chosen organic bean salad. I’ll do me – you do you.

And yet almost every social media post I read that’s written by an ICE champion is piled on by EV advocates, and of course, so is the exact opposite. Always with venom, always with emotion, and always with the unerring belief that the poster in question is absolutely wrong, the commenter absolutely right. I put it to you, as long as we’re all driving what we like, and that it’s road legal and within the regs, who are each of us hurting, really? 

Picture, if you will, the simply unchecked rise of the other “ICE” in automotive: In-Car Entertainment. Those early motoring pioneers became incredibly excited by the addition of the “wireless” in their car to improve the experience. Quickly, the record player was added, morphing through 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, and MiniDiscs to the technological marvels that are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto today. There is no doubt that the latter are technologically, sonically, and functionally better in every regard than their forebears, but that doesn’t mean the comforting warmth of a crackly wireless in a 1960s saloon, or even the joy of listening to an album, in its correct track order, on a Dolby-enhanced tape deck in an ‘80s coupe, isn’t just as wonderful an experience. We all like different media, they all do different things, but what I never see are car-audio forum threads of Apple CarPlay adopters berating 8-track owners for their poor life choices. Perhaps we could all learn something there.

You could argue that it all becomes more emotive when the very future of the planet comes into question. Perhaps that’s why tempers are running a little higher? But then, when you really start to drill down into the data, EVs are not really saving the planet and classic ICE cars really aren’t killing it, either. They’re just two different ways to get to work.

I’m happy to state for the record that my preference is ICE – in almost any usage case. I prefer the convenience, the tactility, the character, the smell, the sound, the involvement that it brings. But that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in EVs, or that I can’t see why someone else with a different usage model, or set of predilections, might prefer one. In the last week alone, I’ve done over 1500 miles, with never more than 10 minutes available to me to “recharge” my vehicle. As it stands, there isn’t really an EV that exists that can do what I need, or want, it to. When there is, maybe I’ll look again. 

As we all look to make ourselves better people with our New Year’s resolutions, why don’t we all agree to simply regard each other’s drivetrain choices with the same happy disinterest that our differing restaurant selections elicit? Imagine how much nicer the internet will be! Ultimately, whether it’s diesel, petrol, electric, manual, automatic, or any combination of the above, who cares? They’re all cars, and we’re all car people. Now is not the time to be fighting with other enthusiasts because of what powers our preferred rides. Let’s make 2025 a year we come together, no matter whether your car’s battery is 6, 12, or 400 volts.

To set things off on the right foot, I’m taking the Kofi Annan position in the middle. Now, who’s got a hybrid I can test drive?