Starting from this fall, Land Rover added hybrid versions for the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport to its range. The first ever hybrid models in the history of Land Rover combine a 3.0-liter SDV6 turbodiesel engine linked to an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission with a 35kW (47hp) electric motor/generator.
With a total system output of 335hp (340PS) and 700 Nm (516 lb-ft) of torque, the Range Rover Hybrid sprints from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in under 7 seconds and has an average fuel economy of 44.1 mpg UK (36.7 mpg US, 6.4 l/100 km).
XCar took the Range Rover Hybrid for a spin and found that it’s exactly like any other Range Rover (which is good), only more economical.
However, as the hybrid model is only offered on the top-spec Autobiography model, there’s a big problem: it costs £98,400 in the UK, the same as the 510hp V8-powered Range Rover . The question is: will fuel costs really matter for customers who can afford to spend that much on a car in the first place?
By Dan Mihalascu
