The more powerful version of the PHEV has 543 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The plug-in hybrid version of the Range Rover Sport has almost the longest official electric range of any PHEV in Canada. It claims to be able to drive up to 82 kilometres just on electricity, and only the Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e can travel farther – just an extra five kilometres.
There’s no magic to this. The Range Rover Sport has a huge 38.2-kilowatt-hour battery attached to its electric motor and six-cylinder engine. That’s twice the size of the basic battery that was in the original all-electric Nissan Leaf, and just below the 40-kilowatt-hour battery fitted to last year’s basic Leaf. That 2025 Nissan, however, could travel up to 240 kilometres on a single charge, which suggests the battery of the much heavier Range Rover Sport is nowhere near as efficient.
Another comparison could be made to the current generation of the Toyota RAV4 PHEV. It has an 18.1-kilowatt-hour battery that’s less than half the size of the battery in the Range Rover Sport PHEV, yet it can travel 68 kilometres solely on electricity. You get the idea.
When I collected the Range Rover Sport tester in February from Mississauga, the SUV’s instrumentation actually estimated its all-electric range at 84 kilometres. I pushed the button to lock on the electric motor (so it would not activate the gas engine at all) and drove straight onto Highway 401, where I stayed at the speed of traffic until the battery ran dry after 72 kilometres.
The Range Rover Sport has a huge 38.2-kilowatt-hour battery to provide up to 82 kilometres or range.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The front seats and dash of the Range Rover Sport.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
That was an impressive distance, if shy of the optimistic forecast, because I was travelling at around 110 kilometres an hour and the temperature was -8C. A battery’s efficiency is usually affected far more greatly by higher speeds and cold temperatures.
When the battery was fully drained, I locked the powertrain into using only its gasoline engine, which also put extra dynamic energy into recharging the battery. This time, still on Highway 401 for the next 60 kilometres, I saw a fuel consumption of 13.9 litres per 100 kilometres, but that also created enough battery charge for an extra 15 kilometres of all-electric driving.
Finally, I drove for a couple of hundred kilometres with an empty battery but on hybrid mode, so I was not creating and storing additional charge. This time, I saw a fuel consumption of 11.3 litres per 100 kilometres. This would be typical of the mileage if you keep forgetting to plug in the Range Rover Sport at night.
Of course, such shenanigans are not normal usage. If you spent around $175,000 to buy this vehicle, you’d probably do the same thing in the first week and then just flip it to Hybrid mode and leave it there forever. (If not, nobody wants to be cornered by you at a cocktail party.) Hybrid is when the computer decides how much electricity and how much gasoline to use at any given moment, and it’s likely much smarter than you. It’s certainly much smarter than me.
The rear seats with screens for passengers on the Range Rover Sport.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The electric motor is not just about saving fuel, of course – it’s about adding torque and smoothness to the dynamics of the drive. At slower speeds, you have an electric vehicle with instant torque, and at higher speeds, you have a well-tuned gasoline engine. The combined performance makes for a satisfying drive.
There are various different trim levels of the non-PHEV Range Rover Sport, starting at just more than $100,000 if you’re looking for the nameplate without the many optional extras, and rising to more than double that for all the bells and whistles. If you want the plug-in hybrid powertrain, there’s the P460e and P550e. Both share the same battery and 141-horsepower electric motor, and the P460e starts at around $134,000 before taxes. The P550e comes in the better-featured Autobiography trim and its engine is tuned for more power, accelerating a half-second more swiftly.
Let the computer do the thinking, and you’ll start driving every time in all-electric mode, kicking in the gas engine only when more power is needed. This may be frequently because the electric motor is relatively sluggish for accelerating the 2,812-kilogram SUV, of which 363 kilograms is the battery and motor itself. Lock in to electric mode and you’ll reach 100 kilometres an hour from a standstill in about 12 seconds; lock in to the gas engine and you’ll do it in 5.5 seconds; switch it to hybrid to use both, and you’ll shave an extra half-second off that. I know – I did many test runs in the name of research.
(Jog the transmission lever into Sport and the SUV will go directly into Hybrid mode, but this is a waste of gas if you’re just pootling around town. Not that you probably care about your gas usage if you paid $175,000 for this vehicle, of which $13,200 was the gorgeous Velocity Blue Satin paint.)
That’s the thing about the Range Rover Sport PHEV. It’s extraordinarily capable, but it’s not very efficient. It just throws resources at the challenge to come out ahead every time. Need to tow 3,000 kilograms? No problem. Want to fast charge at a Level 3 charger? Just plug it in. (But don’t block an all-electric car that needs a charge, or there will be guaranteed charging rage.)
There’s a cost to this, though. When engineers at Tesla and Lucid critique other car companies for just loading up more heavy and costly batteries to create range instead of making the batteries they already have lighter and more effective, they’re not just referencing their Detroit competition – they’re talking about Range Rover.
The trunk on the Range Rover Sport.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Tech specs
2026 Range Rover Sport P550e PHEV
- Base price/as tested: $158,000/$188,865 including freight and PDI and luxury tax, plus taxes
- Engine: Three-litre inline six, with 160-kilowatt motor
- Horsepower/torque (lb-ft): P460e: 454/457; P550e: 543/590
- Transmission/drive: Eight-speed automatic/All-wheel drive
- Fuel consumption (litres per 100 kilometres): 11. 3 (observed)
- Electric range: 82 kilometres (claimed)
- Alternatives: Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz GLE 450e, BMW X5 50e, Volvo XC90 PHEV
Shopping for a new car? Check out the new Globe Drive Build and Price Tool to see the latest discounts, rebates and rates on new cars, trucks and SUVs. Click here to get your price.