Jaguar’s I-Pace may have won the Scottish Car of the Year title but sister-company Land Rover is getting in on the electrification act as well.
Its icons of luxury, the Range Rover Vogue and Range Rover Sport, have been launched in hybrid petrol-electric versions.
Both combine Jaguar Land Rover’s 2.0 turbo Ingenium petrol engine with an electric motor and a battery pack hidden beneath the boot.
Purists might grumble about having a paltry 2.0 litre engine in a Range Rover but combined power is a hefty 400bhp.
It’s also capable of travelling up to 31 miles on battery power alone, at speeds of up to 85mph.
That might not seem a great distance but it’s enough for the majority of journeys for most people.
Cleverly, on a long journey you can press a “save” button which ring-fences the battery charge so you can be fully electric around town when you get close to your destination.
Land Rover brought up a fleet of Range Rover and Range Rover Sport PHEVs (Vital Stats are for the full fat Vogue version) for Scottish motoring hacks to try. We drove through rural Stirlingshire and Fife, ending up at Rosyth Dockyard for a tour of HMS Prince of Wales.
Like the PHEV Range Rovers, the under-construction aircraft carrier is a hybrid, with power coming from huge diesel generators and a pair of gas turbines.
JLR supports the Royal Navy – a Jaguar F-Type is onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth and a Range Rover Evoque will be on the Prince of Wales.
One very fascinating tour later, we’re back in our trusty steeds. Having driven out in the Range Rover Sport I’m now in the larger Vogue.
The Sport has a more agile feel and sharper handling whereas the Vogue is roomier inside. Both have magnificent levels of quality and refinement.
Hybrid power suits the Range Rover, which has always been about luxury. In recent years its big V6 and V8 diesels have become ever more refined, but petrol-hybrid power is on another level. In fully electric mode it is, of course, completely silent, and even with the petrol engine in play there’s barely a hum from under the bonnet.
Of course you pay for such privilege – the hybrid Sport costs more than £70,000 and the Vogue £93,000.
If you can afford them, they’re both magnificent cars.
Price:
£93,465
0-62mph:
6.8 seconds
Top speed:
137mph
Economy:
88.3mpg
CO2 emissions:
72g/km