Electric dreams

The Range Rover plug-in hybrid brings silent electric motoring to this iconic luxury car

- Chris Pickering

The Range Rover is a British institution. It’s just about the only car that you might see parked up in the mud at a pheasant shoot one day and then gleaming outside a swanky London nightclub the next. Whatever environment it finds itself in, however, it’s the Range Rover’s luxury and refinement that sets it apart.

And that’s what makes this plug-in hybrid version such a fascinating prospect. It can run for up to 25 miles on electricity alone, emitting barely a whisper, yet it can still sprint from 0 to 62mph in a sports car-bating 6.4 seconds. According to the official figures, it will also return up to 83.2mpg. So does that make this the ultimate go-anywhere luxury express?

UNDER THE BONNET

At just under two litres, the four-cylinder petrol engine in the PHEV is the smallest ever fitted to a Range Rover. Don’t let that deceive you, though, because it’s paired with a powerful electric motor to give a total of 404PS.