It’s the heady odor of the hides that hits you first, a wealthy and aromatic leather-based aroma that envelops the Vary Rover cabin and stimulates your olfactory lobes. Like stepping right into a boutique leather-based store, it’s a dimensional high quality that British automakers like Bentley and Aston Martin all the time make a precedence, and is notably absent in Maybachs and Lamborghinis.
Nevertheless it’s the noise that will get you subsequent, slightly the dearth of it—full silence. Begin up the car, tickle the throttle, and hardly a whimper emerges from the… battery? That’s proper, this Vary Rover is a plug-in hybrid, not the primary of its type, however probably the most developed Landie to come back electrified.
This PHEV powertrain consists of a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six engine paired with a 38.2 kWh lithium-ion battery and electrical motor. It’s supplied in two outputs: P460e with 454 hp and a 0-100 km/h time of 5.7 seconds, and the P550e we’re testing with 543 hp and a 0-100 km/h time of 5.0 seconds. Land Rover claims an electrical vary of 85 km, whereas our driving yielded a good 82 km, sufficient to be genuinely usable, and making it greater than aggressive in opposition to the Volvo XC90 PHEV (53 km), BMW X5 xDrive50e (64 km), and Mercedes GLE450e (77 km). The Vary Rover additionally helps Degree 2 charging with one port on the motive force’s facet.
Notably, the PHEV is barely out there on the entry SE mannequin and in short-wheelbase spec solely. You can not equip it on the Autobiography, SV, or long-wheelbase variants. The SE remains to be well-equipped as normal with soft-close doorways, perforated Windsor leather-based seats, and a panoramic sunroof. Nonetheless, the huge choices record means that you can surpass the $200,000 ceiling and spec an SE that’s near an Autobiography, however with out key options just like the Meridian Signature sound system, leather-based headliner, or winged headrests.
Silent, electrical propulsion suits proper in with the Vary Rover ethos. The power to waft round with the mild however assured stillness of a nuclear submarine augments its inherent strengths of street isolation and cabin insulation. Transitions between modes of propulsion are seamless, and acceleration is respectable in EV mode, with temperate and progressive acceleration that doesn’t upset the journey. It’s solely when the battery is drained that the engine and gearbox unveil a scarcity of exact and constant stream, notably throughout average acceleration. Gear transitions are barely hesitant and inconsistent, and energy supply will not be as seamless as that of a BMW or Mercedes PHEV, which highlights the extent of fine-tuning that years of expertise deliver – is also the rationale why the absolutely electrical Vary Rover has but to be launched.
In any other case, when the battery is charged, the P550e powertrain delivers robust, sharp throttle response, backed by an instantaneous electrical push, making it nice and straightforward to drive, whereas sustaining a powerful tempo when requested. The six-cylinder will not be as extremely caffeinated because the BMW-sourced V8 P530 and lacks its free-revving character, mid-range grunt, and accompanying vocals to match. As an alternative, it emits a very bombastic and slightly embarrassing EV noise when in reverse gear, such as you’ve simply opened up the Queen’s regal celebration playlist on Spotify. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless an appropriate associate for PHEV duties and is simply as relaxed gliding at low speeds as it’s barreling down an empty left lane.
Regardless of weighing 100 kg greater than the V8-powered mannequin, the Vary Rover maintains a floatiness the place the wheels by no means really feel like they’re touching the bottom, as an alternative hovering just a few millimetres above it, the place solely the deepest divots unsettle its calculated rhythm and are barely extra pronounced in comparison with the non-PHEV fashions. In fact, these are relative phrases, and it’s nonetheless far more compliant and comfy than the Mercedes GLS 580 and BMW Alpina XB7.
The Vary Rover handles its momentum effectively due to a military of tech that maintains flat and glorious physique management, rotating with out an excessive amount of top-heavy lean. Mild and correct steering gives a measured response, giving it a way of agility. Whereas the steering is overboosted and overly fast for our liking, it does imply you possibly can maneuver it round parking tons with simply your index finger – a feat unsatisfying in sports activities automobiles however extremely wanted in luxurious SUVs the place minimal driver effort is essential. This Vary will not be an unhinged, sport-focused SUV like a Urus or Bentayga, however slightly a laid-back and mature character that prefers to cosset you to your vacation spot in utmost consolation and elegance.
Tall home windows and broad seats that reach proper to the door panel lend a way of airiness and spaciousness that makes the Mercedes G-Wagon and Bentley Bentayga really feel small and cramped by comparability. The Premium Improve Inside Bundle ($2,100) is very really helpful, because it provides leather-based to key areas, together with the door armrest and decrease sides of the middle console. Although it’s Windsor leather-based and never the softer and dearer semi-aniline, it’s nonetheless extremely supple to the contact with its pure aromatics circling the cabin.
This isn’t the Autobiography mannequin, so winged headrests and massaging seats aren’t on the menu, however the picket inlays, leather-based upholstery, and a suede-wrapped gear lever add to the anticipated visible drama of a six-figure SUV. The wooden and leather-based steering wheel is one other really helpful possibility for its elevated really feel. Be that as it could, the shifter is just too straightforward to knock unintentionally, and the Meridian speaker covers on the A-pillar look plasticky and misplaced in comparison with the metallic covers in Mercedes’ Burmesters and BMW’s Bowers & Wilkins.
The silent operation and easy acceleration of the P550e swimsuit and amplify the Vary Rover’s inherent on-road strengths, and whereas the general powertrain and journey high quality lack the polish of its gas-only variants, its usable electrical vary and uncompromisingly luxurious inside make it a simple suggestion to these looking for an SUV assertion piece with a little bit of a inexperienced conscience. In a market the place there have been seismic shifts in client tastes and the final realization that EVs aren’t probably the most fulfilling methodology of propulsion, this Vary Rover PHEV successfully splits the distinction and gives the most effective of each worlds.
Mannequin: 2025 Vary Rover P550e SE SWB (L460)
Paint Kind: Sundown Gold in Satin End
Base Value: $153,400
Value as Examined: $182,000
Wheelbase(mm): 2,997
Size/Width/Peak (mm): 5,052 / 2,047 / 1,867
Curb weight (kg): 2,732
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six, battery, 38.2 kWh lithium-ion battery, electrical motor
Horsepower: 543 hp @ 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 406 lb-ft @ 2,000-5,000 rpm
Transmission: 8-speed automated
Engine & Drive Configuration: Entrance engine, AWD
Noticed Electrical-Solely Vary: 82 km
Tires: Pirelli Scorpion Zero All-Seasons; 285/45R22
