Range Rover Evoque plug-in hybrid
Range Rover’s supermodel Evoque goes PHEV – just a pretty face?
The sad thing is, nobody will care. I guess the more sanguine, level-headed and self-assured members of Land Rover’s engineering team will consider that evidence of a job well done. If a new technology’s invisible, that’s quiet confirmation that you’ve done a good job, right?
Call me insecure and needy, then, but if I were them I’d want every P300e Evoque and Disco Sport buyer (for the PHEV powertrain is available in both) to get an in-depth briefing on the quite brilliant package I’d put together, and to give a signature before they leave to say yes, they understand its splendour, and yes, they’re impressed and grateful.
Under the P300e’s bonnet you’ll find – if you bother to look – a three-cylinder petrol engine. Lighter than a four (to help offset the weight of the e-motor and battery), it’s also more ecient and more compact, leaving space in the engine bay for the PHEV system’s cooling circuits. It drives the front axle while the rear axle – with no mechanical connection to the front, saving further weight and making space for the 15kWh battery – is powered by a neat little module containing the 108bhp e-motor, its inverter and the requisite single-speed reduction gearset.
Like I say, you’ll barely notice. Tap EV mode on the touchscreen, get moving and you’ll experience that calming sense of contentment EVs do so well, only here with the bonus contentment only a finely appointed interior and majestically sculpted exterior wearing that badge can yield.
With the three-cylinder engine largely silent (when you do need its grunt, it comes in quickly and quietly – no CVT here, thankfully) the P300e isn’t fast but it is a pleasure to drive (rear-wheel drive in EV mode, remember) and ridiculously economical. Over one school run-esque 14-mile route, averaging 30mph on a mix of roads, we rarely feel under-gunned, see 127mpg and use roughly half the battery’s juice (93% to 48%).
The eight-speed ’box is glacial to kick down in D (pop the lever across to S; better) but really, if you’re after a hot hatch chaser, this isn’t your Evoque (the less expensive P300 might be). But for most everything else – and assuming you can stomach the list price – this cleverly engineered (cheers folks!) PHEV should be on your list.