This isn’t the first time Range Rover have dabbled with electricity. In 2013, the British brand unveiled a hybrid electric model at the Frankfurt Motor Show – which worked by harvesting kinetic energy through regenerative braking. But this, the new Range Rover Sport P400e, will be the manufacturer’s first true plug-in electric car. So, where the first hybrid could travel only 1 mile on electric power (and at a speed of 30mph), this new luxury SUV will have a range and speed to rival even the most highly-engineering hybrids.
A 300 horsepower, 2.0 litre Ingenium petrol engine forms the basis of the new Sport, with an 85kW electric motor affording this latest model a much-improved electric-only range of 31. The inclusion of both rapid charge and full charge options – 2 hours 45 minutes and 7 hours 30 minutes, respectively – also does much to show that, when 2020 rolls around and all new Jaguar and Land Rover cars will be available as hybrids, the brand will be as customer-minded and practical as they have always been.
And the plug-in capability isn’t all that’s new. This is the fastest ever Range Rover, with a 0-60mph time of just 4.3 seconds. And, despite the battery sitting in the boot – the plug-in point is at the front of the car – Range Rover’s new Sport also boasts a re-engineered classic design, pixel-laser LED headlights, a gesture-controlled sun blind and all manner of other excitingly-named technical advancements.
Our favourite of these developments must be Blade. A Touch Duo Pro infotainment system, Blade has been described by its developers as “your twin high-definition touchscreen butler”. And who hasn’t always wanted one of those?
“These 2018 updates make the Range Rover Sport an even more attractive proposition,” says Jeremy Hicks, the UK Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover UK. “With CO2 emissions down to 64g/km and a 101mpg on the combined cycle coupled with new infotainment technology making life simpler.
“Our efficient diesel and petrol engines are our cleanest ever and remain utterly relevant today on our journey to electrification.”
Deliveries are expected to start in early 2018, with non-hybrid Sports going from £61,315, and the hybrid models starting at £70,800.
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