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YOU wouldn’t expect Range Rover Sport drivers to give a damn about pollution.

Clearly the moron who parks his thuggish monster at my local railway station doesn’t because you’ll always find his Range Rover on an “electric cars only” bay.

Now that the 2018 model has gone on sale, with first deliveries in the New Year, Mr I’m More Important Than You will choose a 5.0-litre V8 SVR model with 575hp and 700Nm (518lb) of torque.

Its 22mpg at best fuel consumption won’t bother him, nor its £2,000-a-year CO2 emissions of 294g/km.

No, what will matter is the fact that spending £99,680 on a car shows how wealthy he is and that when he puts his foot down his 2,360kg dinosaurus demonstrates his power by hitting 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds on its way to 176mph.

That’s the impression left by the majority of Range Rover Sport owners, but the 2018 model at least offers an alternative.

It’s a plug-in hybrid electric and petrol (PHEV) model combining a 2.0-litre petrol engine with an 85kW electric motor and a 13.1kW high-voltage lithium-ion battery to produce 404hp.

The instant combined torque of 640Nm (474lb) takes the Sport with a difference from 0-62mph in 6.7s and on to a limited 155mph.

Land Rover claim a combined fuel consumption figure of 101mpg, CO2 emissions of 64g/km – free for the first year, then £140 a year – and an electric only range of 31 miles. Its high-speed home charger gets it back to full charge in 2hrs 45mins.

It’s all a bit too friendly for the type who’ll take a shotgun out of the boot if you dare to look at him but if you’re one of the rare breed of Range Rover Sport drivers who cares, PHEV versions start at £70,800, rising through £73,800 to £84,400 for an Autobiography Dynamic.