Question of cost for Range Rover Hybrid

There is always a price to pay for your pleasure and with the range rover it’s fuel economy — or it was until the arrival of the hybrid model.

The Range Rover Hybrid is the first diesel-electric hybrid in its class and comes with the promise of 44.1 mpg average economy.

That’s pretty impressive for a car of this size and luxury, plus it retains all of the normal Range Rover’s extraordinary breadth of abilities.

Just as importantly, the Hybrid helps to lower the carbon dioxide emissions of the Range Rover to 169g/km, down from the standard 3.0V6 diesel’s 196g/km.

The Hybrid uses the same diesel engine as the 3.0 V6 model, but the electric motor ups total power to 335bhp. It’s enough to shift this greener Range Rover from 0 to 62mph in 6.9 seconds, which is 0.5 seconds quicker than the standard diesel.

An electric motor powers the wheels of the Hybrid and drive is through the same eight-speed automatic gearbox as the rest of the range.

The motor can recharge the batteries as the car slows and the battery pack is tucked up underneath the car, just below the rear passenger’s feet so the Hybrid can still negotiate the toughest terrain without the risk of damaging the watertight battery pack.

In electric-only mode, the Range Rover can cover up to one mile on battery power alone at speeds of up to 30mph. However, my drive of the car showed the realistic electric range was around half a mile at best.

While the Hybrid rides and handles in exactly the same way as its sister models, there are drawbacks.

One is the way the car takes up its drive at low speeds. Trying to trickle up to a junction and then pull away smoothly can easily result in a lurch.

Perhaps even more of a problem is the cost. The Range Rover Hybrid starts at a whopping £98,415, almost £30,000 more than the entry-point 3.0 V6 diesel.

Given this huge price discrepancy and the amount of fuel and road tax that price difference could fund, it’s impossible to see the Hybrid as anything other than an interesting technical diversion for Range Rover.

If you want to enjoy the pleasure of a new Range Rover, it’s better to pay a little more for fuel and lot less for the car.