For more than 20 years, the Range Rover Sport has been the extrovert of the family, the one more interested in the driver than the passenger, particularly when there happened to be a V8 under the bonnet. So, can electricity really deliver the same emotional appeal?
Range Rover certainly thinks so. The new Range Rover Sport Electric has been developed alongside the larger Range Rover Electric, but with a distinctly different brief. Its 118.5kWh battery feeds two 260kW motors, producing 550PS and a mighty 850Nm of torque – more than any previous Range Rover Sport. Engage Dynamic Launch Mode and it will reach 60mph in 4.3 seconds, matching the P540 V8-powered model.
But straight-line speed is not going to get it a medal. Electric cars are hardly short of that these days. More interesting is what Range Rover has done with all that weight sitting beneath the floor. The body is 61 percent stiffer than any previous Sport and its centre of gravity 73mm lower. Electronic Active Roll Control, adaptive dynamics, twin-valve dampers and all-wheel steering are employed to make this sizeable SUV feel considerably less sizeable from behind the wheel. Torque also arrives 50 percent faster than in the Range Rover Electric.
The new Range Rover Sport Electric features its signature slim LED headlights and aerodynamically optimised wheels with a minimalist, technology-rich cabin, preserving the familiar Sport design while subtly adapting it for the electric age.
Range anxiety shouldn’t make you sweat either. Official WLTP range is up to 374 miles, with Range Rover estimating up to 333 miles in real-world driving (maybe 300 if it is me at the wheel). Its 800V architecture can add as much as 136 miles in ten minutes at a suitably powerful charger, while 10 to 80 percent takes around 22 minutes.
The best news for Range Rover is that its customers appear ready for the change. When the waiting list for the first Range Rover Electric opened in late 2023, 13,000 people registered within 28 days. By the end of FY2024/25 that figure had reached 59,867; today it stands at 76,976. At the same time, Range Rover plug-in hybrid sales rose 38.2 percent during FY2024/25.
It shouldn’t surprise though that electricity and Range Rover make such good bedfellows. Instant torque, near-silent progress and smooth power delivery suit a marque whose customers have long paid handsomely for refinement. The Sport, however, needs something more. Range Rover has even developed its own acoustic signature to give the car character as the revs disappear.
And should anyone fear electrification has made it soft, it will still wade through 900mm of water and climb a 45-degree incline. Range Rover proved the latter by sending it up the Carrara marble quarries in Italy. Because apparently a trip to Waitrose wasn’t challenging enough.
Built in Solihull alongside petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid models, the Range Rover Sport Electric is available to order now from £109,810.
Author: Julia Pasarón
If you are a fan of Range Rover you may enjoy reading our review of the Overfinch One-of-One Range Rover SV.
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