Range Rover Sport PHEV

FIRST UK DRIVE Plug-in hybrid SUV has already impressed. Does it add up in Britain?

- Richard Ingram

JAGUAR Land Rover’s push towards an electrified future is in full swing. The I-Pace is an EV champ, having been crowned our Car of the Year 2018, and the firm has already been spied testing CO2-reducing mild-hybrid technology for its next-generation saloons and SUVs.

It is also forging ahead with plug-in hybrids, so both the full-fat Range Rover and the smaller Range Rover Sport are now available in P400e guise. Matching a four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor, each is capable of up to 31 miles on electric power alone.

We first drove the Sport PHEV in Los Angeles earlier this year (Issue 1,506), and were impressed by its mix of luxury and refinement. Does it fare as well on UK roads as on smooth California tarmac?

At low speeds at least, the plug-in power train is a perfect fit. Pulling away in EV mode is beautifully befitting of the brand, building on the level of luxury so often associated with a Range Rover. There’s just enough zip around town; you can glide effortlessly between traffic lights before parking in total silence.