Land Rover has spilled the beans on its highly anticipated plug-in hybrid 2022 model Range Rover, available in two power options: P440e ‘Extended Range’, and P510e.
The P510e petrol hybrid boasts a distinctly rapid 0-60mph time of only 5.6 seconds – noticeably quicker than many of today’s hot hatches – but more significantly, the two PHEVs have much greener credentials than ever before. They're the lowest-emission Land Rovers to date, by some margin.
In fact, it seems Land Rover under-estimated how efficient the PHEV would be. When the 2022 Range Rover was announced last year, we were told to expect a 62-mile range on battery power alone (before the engine would need to kick in) but JLR now boasts 70 miles for the Extended-Range P400e. That 13% increase will apparently be enough for 75% of Range Rover journeys, Land Rover tells us.
The lowest-emission powertrain available in the new Range Rover emits a remarkably tiny 18g/km (new P440e). Previous announcements only led us to expect ‘under 30g/km CO2’.
The 2022 PHEVs offer a significant boost in both power and efficiency compared with the previous L405 Range Rover, whose plug-in hybrid version went on sale in the UK in 2018. The old model used an 85kW motor and 13kWh battery, enabling emissions of 64g/km – over three times higher than the new P440e.
In comparison, the new P510e feeds power from a 38kWh lithium-ion battery to a single 105kW electric motor, mated to a 3.0-litre six-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine (the old model only used a four-pot). Charging the battery via a 50kW DC rapid charger will get you to 80% charge in less than an hour.
Prices for plug-in hybrid Range Rovers in the UK start from £103,485 (OTR).
But everyone wants the V8s, right?
Not really – this is a highly anticipated and important model. With CO2 emissions well under 50g/km, UK road tax for the PHEV Range Rover is only 10 quid… if you discount the £335 that all cars over £40k incur for their first five years. (If concerns over road tax seem nonsense with a car as expensive as this, consider that VED for a new V8 Range Rover is now £2245 per year.)
Land Rover is under pressure to reduce carbon emissions across its range, if only to prevent having to purchase more carbon ‘credits’ from Tesla (something which cost JLR €35m in 2020) in return for permission from the EU to sell its cars there.
Investment in reducing emissions was a central focus of the firm’s ‘Reimagine’ strategy announced a year ago by then-new boss Thierry Bolloré. But the global shortage of semi-conductors brought on by Covid has been a fly in the ointment for Reimagine, disproportionately effecting JLR’s ability to build its lower-emission drivetrains. Land Rover plans for the Range Rover to be its first fully-electric model, available from 2024, with the entirety of its range available as EVs by 2030.
The slow-selling Discovery 5 is now the only vehicle in the line-up that is not offered with a PHEV option. In the new Defender, Land Rover has been testing hydrogen fuel cells in the UK – believed to be the strongest option for various long-range utility vehicle applications. But for the luxurious flagship, the P440e hybrid Range Rover will be the greenest option for the next couple of years.