Range

The P400e’s 13kW battery gives a pure electric range of around 25 miles which is par for the course for an SUV with a battery of this size; the Volvo XC90 T8 and Porsche Cayenne e-Hybrid have similarly sized batteries and offer more or less the same range. Around 25 miles is reasonable but remember that’s the figure you will get in perfect weather conditions. In cold weather it will slump to around 15 miles, so it’s essential you make the most of preconditioning the cabin via the touchscreen or smartphone app, and charge the car at the start and at the end of your journey. Helpfully the P400e does have a couple of EV-specific driving modes – ‘Save’ holds the battery’s charge while ‘Predictive Energy Optimisation (PEO)’ intelligently uses the sat-nav data (when a destination is entered) to switch between petrol and electric power and maximise fuel economy. 

Battery

The 13kWh battery pack is about average for this size of SUV, and like most other car makers have done with their SUVs, Land Rover has installed the battery at the back of the car under the boot floor. For owners of the regular Range Rover Sport and who opted for one with five seats, the only real difference they’ll notice is the P400e’s boot floor is slightly higher (47mm to be exact). However, for those considering switching between a seven-seat Range Rover Sport to a P400e, they will have to forgo the two pop-up seats in the boot because the P400e only comes as a five-seater. The BMW X5 xDrive 45e suffers from the same problem but this car does have a larger battery and has a better electric drive range – an impressive 51 miles from a 24kW battery pack. 

Charging

Land Rover has neatly installed the charging port behind a flap that sits flush within the car’s front grille. Use a domestic three-pin socket and a full top up from empty will take seven and a half hours, so it’s probably best to do this overnight. If you have a 7kW home wallbox fitted or want to use public charging points, this will take just two and a half hours but you will need an appropriate cable. Land Rover charges a pretty hefty £229 for it which seems a little mean-spirited. Also, if your wallbox packs 3.6kW rather than 7kW, the charging time will take four hours.