Range Rover P400e 2018 UK first drive

The takeaway here is that an electric drive mode, accessed with the simple press of a button on the centre console, fits the Range Rover’s character like a glove.

Our test route involved travelling through many a Cotswold village, and the ability to waft on through in massive comfort and in total silence - save for the smallest amount of road roar from the large 21in alloys - never got tiresome. The electric motor’s instantly available torque means there’s no hanging about when pulling away from the lights, while air suspension irons out imperfections in the road’s surface to give a low-speed ride that’s approaching sublime.

Couple all of that with the fact the Range Rover is easily placeable on the road thanks to its excellent forward and rear visibility and you’ve got yourself a seriously impressive vehicle for trundling around town in. Not bad when you remember that even the short wheelbase version is five metres long and 2.22 metres wide.

Put your foot down as you move out of town and that theme of refinement remains largely intact. The transition between electric and petrol power is for the most part seamless, and while the four-cylinder Ingenium engine might have felt out of its depth were it the sole source of power in a car as large and heavy as this, coupled with the electric motor there’s no shortage of poke. Combined, the two powerplants make for a total output of 398bhp and 472lb ft of torque, which translates to a claimed 0-60mph time of 6.4sec, while flat out the Range Rover will hit 137mph. To put that in perspective, Land Rover says the P400e is the second-quickest Range Rover after the petrol V8 model.

Under hard acceleration, the four-cylinder engine doesn’t sound as smooth or refined - not to mention as aurally pleasing - as the larger six- and eight-cylinder petrol and diesel powerplants, but it’s far from being coarse or unpleasant. Settle down to a cruise and engine noise fades away into the background.

On the faster, undulating back roads that made up the vast majority of our test route, the Range Rover’s air springs lend it a rather floaty, spongy ride, while faster corners give way to a large amount of body roll. Combined with a slower steering rack that’s obviously been set up with comfortable, laid-back motoring in mind, it leaves you with the sense that if you could actually see the car’s response to being told to drive with any enthusiasm, you’d be met with something resembling a reluctant eye-roll. It’s not that this Range Rover can’t be hustled down a challenging road, it’s just that such behaviour isn’t particularly becoming of a big, comfortable, luxury SUV - and that’s just fine.

It would seem, then, that Jaguar Land Rover has created quite a compelling package with the new Range Rover P400e PHEV. Here is a luxurious, comfortable, handsome and refined SUV that also happens to be economical at the same time.

Only, that last part isn’t quite accurate. Although the P400e boasts a claimed economy figure of 101mpg, in reality that was always going to be a bit of a stretch. Limit yourself to driving short distances on all-electric mode, and yes, it’ll be cheap to run. Embark on longer, more demanding trips similar to that of our test route, though, and you’ll find yourself paying a heavy price at the pumps. We managed to average just 23mpg during our time with the car.

Interestingly, then, despite all of its hugely capable off-road technology, this is a Range Rover that’s most at home within the city limits, being driven for short periods of time on electricity alone. That might seem to go against the reputation that Land Rover was built on, but if you’re happy with that, you’re unlikely to be disappointed with the P400e.