The fifth generation Range Rover is arguably at its most sensible in this P460e Plug-in Hybrid form. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Review

The Range Rover's been many things since we first saw it in 1970 but this P460e variant is the best all-round Plug-in Hybrid version we've yet seen. There's a six-figure sum for ownership, but with up to 75 miles of EV range, that's now a little easier to justify.

Background

We've had Plug-in Hybrid Range Rovers since 2018. The problem is that the early ones weren't very good. Land Rover claimed you could go 31 miles on battery power with the first L405-series model - though that wasn't much to write home about and it was actually way less in the real world. But slowly, JLR's PHEV tech has got better. Just how much better, we going to find out with our review of this L460-series Plug-in Hybrid Range Rover, launched in 2022. This is the fifth generation Range Rover model, a car designed around the need for the option of a full-EV drivetrain. So you'd hope it would have space for a bigger PHEV battery - which was indeed what this model (originally badged 'P440e') got at its introduction, providing for a far better all-round end-user package. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience

This 460PS P460e model is the more accessible of the two Range Rover Plug-in hybrid options. Both use the brand's usual 3.0-litre petrol turbo unit paired with a 38.2kWh battery offering an impressive all-electric range of up to 75 miles. Drive less sedately and 62mph is 5.5s away en route to 140mph. If you can stretch to top 'Autobiography' trim, you can get the same powertrain with more speed with the faster P550e version (total output 550PS). This improves the performance figures to 5.0s for the 0-62mph sprint and top speed rises to 150mph. Both the engines available are paired with an 8-speed auto gearbox with 4WD, low range capability and the brand's usual 'Terrain Response 2' tech offering different drive modes for challenging surfaces. Despite its electrification, the car can drive through water as deep as 900mm and the 295mm ground clearance can be raised further 145mm in the highest air suspension setting. On tarmac, a 48V anti-roll system counters cornering body roll. And standard four-wheel steering turns the rear wheels by up to 7-degrees in the opposite direction to the fronts at low speeds, reducing the turning circle to a family hatch-like 10.95 metres.

Design and Build

From a front or profile cursory glance, you might dismiss this fifth generation Range Rover design as merely a gentle evolution of what went before. That's intentional. The stylists wanted traditional Range Rover styling cues - the 'floating' roof, the clamshell bonnet, the short overhangs and the rising shoulder line - to stay intact on both short and long wheelbase versions of this design. But both are very different at the back, which gains a large gloss black panel incorporating vertical brake lights at the side and indicators in a bar across the top, all of it invisible when not in use. Expect this to become a signature look for smaller models in the line-up. Up front, each headlight contains 1.2 million individual mirrors reflecting light from a rear mounted mirror. At the side, there are the pop-out door handles we first saw on the Velar. It's all different inside too, the front of cabin dominated by a 13.1-inch 'floating' 'Pivi Pro' central infotainment screen with haptic feedback that gives access to 90% of functions in a couple of presses. While smartphone-mirroring, Amazon Alexa speech recognition and capacity for over-the-air updates are all built in. This is complemented by 13.7-inch instrument monitor and an uprated head-up display. In the rear, more screens can be fitted - a pair of 11.4-inch touchscreens for media and an 8.0-inch touch control panel for ventilation. The long wheelbase version has 200mm of extra length between its axles and can offer over a metre of legroom. With this PHEV model, you can't have it though, with a third row seating option - because of the PHEV battery beneath the floor. Boot capacity in Short Wheelbase model is 818-litres to the window line, rising to 1841-litres with the seats folded in the Short Wheelbase model or 2176-litres with the seats folded in the Long Wheelbase model.

Market and Model

The P460e can be had with either Short or Long Wheelbase Range Rover body styles; what you can't have is a Long Wheelbase Seven seat version - thank the battery under the boot floor for that. For P460e customers, there's a choice of three trim levels - 'SE', 'HSE' and (if you opt for a Long Wheelbase version) plush 'Autobiography'. Prices with base 'SE' trim for a Short Wheelbase variant started at the time of this Review in Autumn 2024 from just under £116,000 - which is around £12,000 more than the conventionally-engined diesel D300 version. Prices for the P460e rise to around £137,500 for the top 'Autobiography' LWB-spec variant. At 'Autobiography level (and if you stretch on to top 'SV' trim), you'll also be offered the option of the faster P550e version of this powertrain, but that costs nearly £4,000 more and gives you very little extra real-world performance. As with other Range Rovers, key options include Digital LED headlights, a black contrast roof, ventilated front seats, 24-way powered front seats with a massaging function, 4-Zone climate control and Land Rover's clever Activity key, which you wear like a watch, allowing you to lock or unlock the vehicle without use the ordinary key. Boardroom buyers will want to add the 11.4-inch rear seat entertainment system and there's a thumping Meridian Signature sound set-up option too. Key extra cost features are grouped together in various packs.

Cost of Ownership

This might be the most economical Range Rover line-up ever made but buying one still won't get you installed on the Greenpeace Christmas card list. Add on a few options and it could easily end up weighing over two and a half tonnes for a start - though in the current era of EVs, that's now hardly unusual. As we told you in our 'Driving' section, the 38.2kWh battery (31.8kWh of which is usable) can manage up to 75 miles on each charge - real world range is more like 60 miles. Rapid charging capability of up to 50kW is included, which means an 80% charge will occupy 40 minutes. Use a home 7.4kW wallbox and a full charge will take around five hours. It'd be a yawning 15 hours from a domestic plug. There's a choice of full-electric mode, plus a default Hybrid setting and a 'Save' option, which defers electric charge for when you might need it later in your trip. The combined cycle fuel figure is quoted at up to 448.4mpg (expect more like 35mpg in the real world), with a CO2 emissions figure of up to 17g/km (which means a most un-Range Rover-like BiK tax rating). All these figures, by the way, are the same are the same for the faster P550e model.

Summary

Who's to say the Range Rover isn't at its best in this P460e form? There's none of the ultimate EV range restriction that might beset a full-EV model on longer trips. Yet this PHEV model still offers enough electric mileage capability to ensure you'll rarely have to engage the thirsty petrol powertrain if all you use this car for is to cruise around suburbia. That's a pretty pleasant thing to do in any sort of Range Rover but you'll be reassured that this one is just as capable as a conventionally-engineered version should you wish to take on Snowdon rather than the North Circular. A Range Rover was the right car for its time at its original launch back in 1970. Arguably this one still is.