Range Rover Spor t P510e

The smaller Rangie is now available with a 503bhp hybrid powertrain. Still want that V8?

APETROL ENGINE IN A CAR WEIGHING 2.7 tons sounds like a recipe for financial ruin and an unhealthy relationship with fuel station staff. And a lot of Twix Xtras. But we live in a world where batteries command more budget resource than internal combustion engines as an industry races to fit a plug socket to as many of its cars as possible. Including Range Rover, which has done just so with its Sport P510e.

Its battery is a 38.2kwh item, which in a vehicle a quarter of the size would make for a decent EV city car, but in one weighing perilously close to 3000kg results in a claimed 69 miles of electric driving, after which you’re calling upon the 400+ mile potential range of its 3-litre, turbocharged straight-six engine. Combined the two deliver 503bhp and 516lb ft of torque.

Healthy numbers in a saloon car, less so in an SUV. But while the P510e doesn’t have the getup-and-go of the 4.4-litre V8 Sport, it doesn’t leave you languishing. What the battery pack adds in kilos, the motor it powers compensates for with an instant slug of torque before the straight-six steps in. With its eight-speed auto delivering almost seamless shifts, the Sport PHEV avoids the rough edges of the diesel model Range Rover also offers – still the only choice for those who cover mammoth miles on a regular basis, tow heavy loads frequently and/or have an aversion to fuel station forecourts – and delivers just enough performance that many might question the need to go for the V8.

Plug in at home and you’ll need around five hours on a 7kw charger to get a full battery, which with a brimmed tank of petrol gives a healthy combined range of around 500 miles. In cold weather during our test the electric-only range remained in the low 60s with the battery fully charged. Precise calibration means the Sport will run on electric power as frequently and as often as possible, and neither is its pace glacial when running silently. It’s another example of a plug-in hybrid providing a solution to the many who want to reduce their reliance on petrol without having to commit to the uncertainty of running an EV.

It’s not, by the very nature of what it’s designed to do, a car you’re going to leap out of bed to go for a drive in when the sparrows begin their morning routine. However, if your needs require a car of this type the latest Sport adds the luxury of the current Range Rover without its gargantuan size. Yes, it’s still a vast car to position on the road and there’s little to feel through any of the controls, but it rides with a pliancy and level of comfort that’s often lost in such cars to unyielding unsprung masses and air-suspension systems straining at their limits to keep body and occupants composed. But Range Rover has overcome these issues by an impressive margin.

Cars such as the Range Rover Sport are not either/or cars. You don’t pick one over a 911 Carrera GTS; chances are you have both – or a Caterham that needs towing and a family that demands space and near unrivalled luxury, in which case these are tasks the P510e completes with aplomb. Although we’d still opt for the V8 and a grab bag of cheese & onion to go with that Twix.

Engine Straight-six, 2996cc, turbocharged, plus electric motor Power 503bhp Torque 516lb ft Weight 2735kg (187bhp/ton) 0-62mph 5.4sec Top speed 150mph Basic price £112,040

+ Hybrid powertrain provides a genuine benefit; luxury

- Feels big and heavy because it is

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