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• Auto123 gets in a first drive of the 2023 Land Rover Range Rover PHEV.
• The SUV is based on the British brand's new electrified powertrain.
• This variant loses none of the model’s style, power or off-road capabilities.
Madrid, Spain - Our last visit to the Range Rover brand was a first-drive review of the all-new-for-2023 Sport version. This time there’s electricity in the air. In fact, the Range Rover model has a number of powertrains including both a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid. Thanks to which, the model lands in the thick of the conversation in the mid-size luxury SUV segment.
Note that the Sport is the newcomer in the Range Rover universe, having debuted some 35 years or so, after the original Range Rover did. Since then, the Range Rover has soldiered on, and even received a redesign of its own for the 2022 model-year. The PHEV version was not part of that, however.
Now, in part because the automaker now has a PHEV platform to use, the full-size Range Rover – now with three rows of seating, like the Sport – gets its electrified badge for 2023.
The versions
In addition to the P440e PHEV version ($135,450 CAD), there’s also a mild-hybrid P400 version ($126,550) and a V8 ($143,900). The P440e, P400 and P530 come standard with the short wheelbase, while V8-powred P530 can be had in either short- or long-wheelbase forms.
Inside, it should come as very little surprise that all the stops have been pulled out, especially in the SV version seen here.
This SUV from Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) department really stand out. The semi-aniline leather is mixed with a touch of sustainable synthetic material that you’d think would look out of place in such a version, but doesn’t. There’s thick carpeting, reclining back seat with footrest and digitized seat controls, etc. All of it comes together in a vehicle that kind of defines luxury.
We’ll have to wait a little longer for the plug-in version of the SV to arrive on our shores. But if top-flight luxury is what you’re after, Range Rover is obliging with the V8-powered P530 SV for North America right now. As well, the Range Rover can be had with V8 power (523 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque) in the entry-level SE trim.
The interior
In all Range Rovers, the dash aesthetic is, shall we say, minimalistic. By using a mix of touch displays and traditional knobs and buttons, designers gave the Range Rover an uncluttered dash, but not so full of touch displays to cause a blooming of fingerprints all over. Indeed, if you’re a Range Rover owner who happens to pay a driver (or you’re a limousine company with these in your fleet, say), you don’t want a bunch of bright screens and flashy dash jewelry serving as distractions.
To this end, the lower digital climate control touchscreen display makes way for a pair of dials and a few choice buttons. By pressing either dial, you can have it control your climate control or your seat heater control. Indeed, time spent inside a Range Rover (especially if you opt for that reclining rear seat) is properly zen-like for occupants.
Notable features include a low-profile shift lever and drive mode select knob that retracts when not in use, a single-spoke steering wheel and low-profile HVAC vents. At 13.1 inches, the main touchscreen display is the biggest ever seen in a Range Rover, but its convex surface and hi-res graphics help keep everything tight and controlled, and the display is responsive to touch commands.
Of course, you can always activate wireless CarPlay instead, but this is such a slick system that I wasn’t in a hurry to do so.
On the road
The Range Rover PHEV is no lightweight – this is a lot of truck, carrying a lot of battery – but the way it deals with that weight is impressive. The adaptive dampers and air suspension are so quick to react that body roll is beautifully countered through long sweepers.
More impressive still is how those dampers come into play under braking and acceleration. Typically, braking a big vehicle like this – or any vehicle, for that matter – will get you into a bit of dive as the weight flows forward. That’s just physics. But Range Rover has those dampers and air suspension firm up a little under braking so there’s almost no dive. It’s an uncanny feeling: you know when you’re slowing down, but mainly because the scenery around you is slowing down as opposed to your frame being thrust forward.
It’s the opposite under acceleration, so you don’t have that squat when you hit the go pedal. Just a neutral, low inertia body. Top marks.
Power-wise, you’ve got good ol’ gas power doing the lion’s share of the work. That EV motor steps in to help you jump off the line that much more quickly and also to reduce power delivery lag in-between shifts. It smooths everything out and makes for some serious motive force, with maybe a little growl on throttle tip-in, but mostly with a gentle purr. This is a luxury cruiser through and through.
And with the EV backup, this SUV can cruise for about 50 km on EV power alone and be charged at a DC fast charger. That will get you from 0 to 80 percent of charge in less than 60 minutes. After that, just let the smoothly delivered 434 hp and 457 lb-ft of torque and 104-kW EV motor whisk you to the ball in a cone of calmness.
Amazingly, Range Rover is claiming the same range for similarly equipped versions of the Sport model, even though the Range Rover is obviously the larger vehicle.
It's a great powertrain, so it’s a shame that for now the PHEV is available only on the SE trim in Canada. More will be on the way to be sure, but considering supply shortages et al, we could be waiting for a while here.
I called this a luxury cruiser, but it’s also a Range Rover. It needs to be able to handle itself off the road as well. To answer that bell, the Range Rover can wade in up to 900 mm of water, and with drive modes like rock crawl or mud and rut, it as the chops to take on the loosest and most gnarly surfaces Mother Nature can throw at it. Add a smart hill-descent control system that handles braking, throttle and the transmission while you focus on steering, and you have a truck as comfortable on the gravel as it is on the strip.
The final word
Bottom line is, this model covers all the most important Range Rover bases in spades. It has the styling, it has the power, it has the off-road chops and now it has that PHEV boost to really put it over the top. None of its competition from Mercedes, or Bentley or even Rolls Royce can make that claim, putting this vehicle steeped in SUV tradition right at the front of the modern SUV pack.
We like
Ostentatious in all the right ways
Three-row option
We like less
Long-wheelbase version available only with V8 engine
Would be nice if PHEV were available across more trims
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