Sunday Drive: Range Rover Vogue SE P400e

Wednesday, 14 August 2019

**RANGE ROVER VOGUE SE P400E

Price:** $223,900.

Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four with 13kWh lithium-ion plug-in battery pack, 297kW/640Nm, AWD, fuel economy 2.8L100km, CO2 64g/km(Source: Rightcar), 0-100kmh 6.8 seconds.

It might be a big Ranger Rover, but the P400e doesn't have a big engine - a 2.0-litre four-cylinder and an electric motor do the trick here.

Vital statistics: 5000mm long, 1803/1869mm high, 2923mm wheelbase, 21-inch alloy wheels.

We like: Smooth, responsive powetrain. Superbly comfortable. Impressively frugal.

The door is a bit flimsy, but it the only part of the P400e that is.

We don't like: Lack of a V8 rumble. Towing capacity less than the V8.

Casually placing a Range Rover in a 'EVs only' parking bay would seem a red rag to green intention. Yet the Vogue had as just much right to be there as the Nissan Leaf alongside.

The only hint you get that it has a 2.0-litre in here is the lack of a V8 rumble.

You've surely twigged. The P400e edition is a plug-in electric vehicle. In England some call it the Chelsea tractor without guilt. And over here?

Mates Mark and Fiona are big brand fans, on their second Vogue and eyeing up a third. Their view? The tech impresses. They understand the green intent. But… well, their lifestyle favours diesel.

The P400e is still very much a Range Rover, superb ride quality, big luxury and all.

* Jaguar and Land Rover get electrified in NZ

* Now an electric Mitsubishi Outlander is much cheaper than a diesel one**

Jaguar Land Rover doesn't. At least, not as much. Compression ignition won't be killed off, yet higher taxes, restrictions on driving into city centres, resentment from VW's cheating and, beyond that, legislative requirement to reduce CO2 outputs. These factors demand an electric response that will only strengthen. This car's replacement, due in 2021, will utilise an advanced electric-capable modular platform, allowing not just another PHEV but also a full-electric option.

Are we ready for this? Weaning off diesel won't be easy: Land Rover's are impressive. Yet so, by and large, is the P400e. The wonky feel to the cover over the front grille recharging port is the sole slapdash; all else about the implementation suggests there's no need to think this is an experimental technology.

The more kilometres I covered, the more I grew to enjoy the powertrain; it's smooth and reactive and there are few occasions when you might question if a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with a lithium-ion battery pack is too small.

That it lacks the massive torque and deep soundtrack of the most obvious diesel alternate, the SDV8, doesn't make it weaker: In the 0-100kmh sprint and for overall pace, the PHEV has the edge and, as much as this setup is optimised for town driving, the electric influence on general road driving is such that, even on twisting country roads, it has no issue holding pace.

For all that, there are limitations and acceptances that you have to think will affect how accepted it is here.

Regardless that it has slightly more comfort features, and despite the obvious unavoidable costs associated with batteries, it'd have an easier road being cheaper than the SDV8, not $2000 more. It's not as easy to drive for thrift as a diesel and the 13kWh battery saps towing, keeps it from being a seven-seater and eats into boot space.

Land Rover cites equal strength to the orthodox variants when tackling the great outdoors, though operating in hard-core environments in pure EV mode is not advised and perhaps those driving to skifields need consider how lithium ion batteries are weakened by extreme cold.

Nonetheless, taking all in this account, and also that overnight replenishment off the mains is tedious, that the makers' claim of 51kms absolute EV range appears tenuous (we'd say it's more like 35-40km) and that even an ability to zip silently around town might not be enough to appease anti-SUV zealots who might remain annoyed by something so large being in their streets, it should still stand as a major achievement.

There's no range anxiety, the default parallel hybrid - where the computer juggles the two power sources to favour the clean stuff when it can – mode is solid logic and the 'save' function which keeps electric power in reserve so you can drive inter-city on petrol then switch to pure electric to make a wholly wowing Green imprint in town is brilliant.

As for fuel burn? 11.6 litres per 100km overall.

If you want a truly upper-crust trad Range Rover experience, the Vogue is the best choice by far. As it should be, admittedly, given the money they ask.

Driving a Vogue over long distance in poor conditions is an astounding experience; it simply shrugs everything off and leaves you in a cocoon of satisfaction. The PHEV does this well yet the SDV8 is even better. For now, at least.