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The P440e and P510e plug-in hybrid versions (PHEV) of the new Range Rover have a battery with a record capacity of 38.2 useful kWh, which is as much as some 100% electric cars.
While politicians are gradually hunting down the most oversized cars, manufacturers have managed to negotiate a way to continue to offer them: the rechargeable hybrid (PHEV).
The latest example, Land Rover is announcing two dual-fuel petrol/electric versions of the fifth generation of its Range Rover. This is the “very short” Range Rover, therefore the largest, but which, in the plug-in hybrid version, only officially releases from 18 g of CO2/km.
It thus avoids the ecological penalty on CO2, that on weight (rechargeable hybrids being exempted) and the tax on company vehicles (TVS); it is also exempt from tax on fiscal horsepower (the gray card is therefore almost free) and has a beneficial impact on the calculation of the average emissions of vehicles sold by Jaguar Land Rover under the CAFE standard. As a reminder, this regulation aims to penalize the manufacturers producing the most CO2-emitting cars. As a bonus, its high mass (the exact mass is not specified) even makes it possible to soften the emission targets granted by the European Union to the manufacturer, since they are weighted according to the average mass of the vehicles sold by each of them (the more heavy cars a manufacturer sells, the less stringent its CO2 emissions targets will be).
More than 100 km of electric range
To achieve such a tax feat, Land Rover has added to its Range Rover a battery with a record useful capacity for a plug-in hybrid model, namely 38.2 kWh. That’s more than some electric cars. Thus equipped, the large SUV announces a maximum electric range of 113 km in the WLTP cycle, although the manufacturer also communicates on a figure of 88 km in real conditions, certainly more realistic. This is also a record for a rechargeable hybrid vehicle, if we put aside the Polestar 1 and its 124 km of WLTP electric range, but which is not marketed in France.
As for recharging, for the few customers who actually plan to use it, it operates either in alternating current up to 7.2 kW, or in direct current up to 50 kW. In the first case, you will have to wait 5 hours to fill up on energy on a compatible wallbox. In the second, a charge from 0 to 80% on a fast terminal can be done in less than 1 hour according to Land Rover.
Both the P440e and P510e combine a 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine with a 105 kW electric motor. The first develops a maximum cumulative power of 440 hp and a torque of 620 Nm, while the second reaches 510 hp and 700 Nm.
Of course, while these plug-in hybrid versions can be criticized for artificially advantageous taxation, they also help to actually reduce emissions compared to an equivalent petrol model when used correctly. Indeed, it is always possible to approach the homologation values, but on condition of recharging as often as possible.
Like BMW’s eDrive Zone system, these plug-in hybrid Range Rovers will be able to optimize the use of the energy stored in their battery, in order to cross low-emission zones in electric mode.
The Range Rover P440e is already available to order from €134,100. The P510e engine, meanwhile, imposes the SV version and its entry ticket is set at €199,100.
Finally, Land Rover recalls that this new Range Rover has been designed to accommodate a 100% electric engine, which will be launched in 2024.