Jaguar Land Rover has introduced its first commercially-available plug-in vehicle, the Range Rover Sport PHEV. Starting at $78,300, the plug-in hybrid variant of the 2018 Range Rover Sport, which will be labeled P400e, is far from a compromise.
The 85 kW electric motor joins forces with a 2.0-liter petrol engine to produce a total of 398 horsepower and 472 foot-pounds of torque. It gets an all-electric range of 31 miles and the 13.1 kWh lithium-ion battery has a rapid charging time of 2 hours and 45 minutes. A mobile app will allow you to check the charging status of your Range Rover Sport P400e while it’s plugged in. It should all make for a capable, high-tech SUV that’s worthy of its Range Rover name. The Range Rover Sport P400e's closest competitor is probably the BMW X5 xDrive40e iPerformance plug-in hybrid which starts at $63,200. The BMW is a similar size, packs 308 horsepower, and has an all-electric range of only 14 miles.
In addition to adding the plug-in hybrid variant, every Range Rover Sport is getting a facelift. The base 2018 Range Rover Sport starts at $66,750. Revised styling continues a sporty, yet rugged look with new LED headlights. The interior is upgraded with the new Touch Pro Duo infotainment system. According to Land Rover, it’s not just an infotainment system, it’s a “twin high-definition touchscreen digital butler.” Fancy, no?
There’s also a potent new Range Rover Sport SVR performance variant which will set you back $113,600. The SVR will pack 567 horsepower and sprint from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 4.3 seconds. It makes the most out of the fresh facelift with a sportier appearance and some generous use of carbon fiber highlighting the SUV’s respectable performance.
So whether you’re hitting the track or going off-road, there’s a Range Rover Sport for you. As a bonus, they’re pretty good for just driving on normal roads, too.