Range Rover Sport PHEV (2018-2022) Review
The Range Rover Sport P400e plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is a luxury SUV that uses electric assistance to save fuel. Here’s all you need to know
Strengths & weaknesses
- Good to drive, with genuine off-road ability
- Luxurious interior with lots of tech
- Ultra-quiet low-speed driving
- Expensive to buy
- Limited electric range
- Poor fuel economy on longer trips
The Range Rover Sport P400e is the plug-in hybrid version of this popular luxury SUV. It’s a spacious model with a small 2.0-litre petrol engine plus an electric motor that can drive the wheels without the engine needing to be on.
You can plug in at home or at a public charger to refill the batteries, and you can travel for up to around 25 miles on electric power alone. Official fuel economy is more than 88mpg, but you won’t achieve that without making full use of the batteries. Regular charging and lots of short journeys could result in better fuel economy than that, while doing lots of long journeys and failing to charge often could end up with you getting a fraction of the quoted economy figure.
You’ll often see the Range Rover Sport P400e referred to as a PHEV - this stands for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle. In this article we’ll be looking at this model in detail, rather than the entire Range Rover Sport lineup, which also includes normal petrol and diesel engines.
The P400e model is part of that lineup and it’s been on sale for a number of years now - so there are a good number of used models available. It’s something you might consider alongside other plug-in hybrid SUVs such as the Volvo XC90 T8, Audi Q7 e-tron/TFSI e, and BMW X5 xDrive40e.
All of these models offer electric power alongside their petrol engines, just like the Range Rover Sport, though some of them have more potential for driving on electric power alone, because they have larger battery packs.
Read on to find out why you might consider a Range Rover Sport PHEV, plus all you need to know about the trim range and more.
Should I get a Range Rover Sport PHEV?
✔ Good to drive, with genuine off-road ability
✔ Luxurious interior with lots of tech
✔ Ultra-quiet low-speed driving
✘ Expensive to buy
✘ Limited electric range
✘ Poor fuel economy on longer trips
The Range Rover Sport PHEV is a great choice for some buyers, but a poor one for many others. If you really want a large SUV and have a big budget then the Range Rover Sport is a very appealing car, but the diesel models will suit most people best. However, if you can charge at home and often travel less than 25 miles in a day, the P400e model could be ideal.
If you often drive more than that then you won’t be able to make the most of the car’s electric driving range and benefit from lower running costs and ultra-quiet driving. It’s still a great car for many other reasons, though: there’s loads of space inside, it’s comfortable and good to drive, the in-car tech is great and the cabin feels very upmarket.
- Models explained
- Trim levels
- Engine
- Best P400e for...
- Rivals
- Dimensions
- Boot space
- Reliability
- Warranty
- Should I buy used?
- Deals
Range Rover Sport PHEV (2018-2022): models explained
Range Rover Sport P400e
The Range Rover Sport PHEV is called the P400e. It uses a 2.0-litre petrol engine and an electric motor for a combined total of 404hp. It’s four-wheel-drive and has an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard.
The P400e is the only four-cylinder car in the Range Rover Sport lineup, with the others having larger engines, but it has extra power from the electric motor to put it alongside the larger six-cylinder engines in terms of performance.
Which Range Rover Sport PHEV to buy: trim levels
| Trim | Equipment | Deals |
| HSE/HSE Silver | From £29,499: HSE is the base trim, and is very well equipped. It comes with LED lights, 20-inch alloy wheels, leather seats, climate control, sat-nav with a large touchscreen display, smartphone connectivity, a reversing camera and cruise control. Newer P400e models have a base trim called HSE Silver instead, which has larger 21-inch alloys but is largely the same in terms of kit. | |
| HSE Dynamic | From £31,950: This version is sportier looking than the base model and has different 21-inch alloy wheels, body coloured lower trim and an upgraded stereo. It’s not really worth the upgrade as it hardly adds any extra kit. | |
| HSE Dynamic Black | Limited stock: This version is also mostly a cosmetic upgrade, and has extra black trim and 22-inch alloy wheels. It does have a heated steering wheel and a food/drink cooler, though. | |
| Autobiography Dynamic | From £20,495: The top-spec model comes with loads of added equipment but is rather expensive to buy. It has 22-inch alloys, a panoramic sunroof, upgraded soft leather trim and more driver assistance features. |
Best Range Rover Sport PHEV engine
There’s only one engine in the Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid, the P400e. It’s a 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor, and makes 404hp in total. It can go from 0-60mph in just 5.9 seconds, so performance is strong, yet Land Rover claims it’s possible to achieve fuel economy of more than 88mpg.
To achieve that you’ll need to be able to plug in every night and recharge the battery, then use the 25 miles or so of electric range, saving the petrol engine for long trips. If you run the car without using the electric assistance, expect poor fuel economy (below 30mpg at best) and to face far higher petrol bills than necessary.
Best Range Rover Sport PHEV model for…
There aren’t too many options in the Range Rover Sport PHEV range - there’s only one engine, the P400e, and four main trim levels. Our overall top pick is the HSE version, simply because it’s the best value option, but if you prefer the look of the more expensive models then you may want to treat yourself.
As a used purchase, though, buy on condition rather than trim level. It’s better to own a well-loved car that’s missing a tiny bit of equipment rather than a fully-loaded model that’s not been treated well.
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Range Rover Sport P400e HSE: The HSE model comes with all the equipment you really need - more expensive trim levels are generally not worth the money because they tend to add cosmetic bits rather than anything of substance. | |
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Range Rover Sport P400e HSE Silver: Newer P400e models are only available in HSE Silver as a base trim, so if you are buying a family car and want a newer version then the HSE Silver trim level will be your best bet. | |
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Range Rover Sport P400e: All versions of the P400e have the same performance - 0-60mph takes 5.9 seconds and the top speed is 137mph. It doesn’t matter which trim level you choose if you want maximum performance. | |
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Range Rover Sport P400e HSE Dynamic: The jump in price from HSE trim to HSE Dynamic is quite a lot, but you hardly get any extra kit for the money, so we’d stay clear of this version. |
Range Rover Sport PHEV rivals
The Range Rover Sport P400e has quite a few rivals. If you’re thinking of buying one, you should also consider the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine or the Audi Q7 TFSI e or BMW X5 xDrive45e.
Of these rivals, the BMW is the most impressive as a plug-in, since it offers nearly 50 miles of range on electric power alone - so if you will charge the car regularly, you'll get far more zero-emission range from the BMW. However, along with the Range Rover Sport, it’s only a five-seater, so if you need seven seats then the Volvo XC90 is the main alternative.
Range Rover Sport PHEV practicality: dimensions and boot space
*Model pictured is the regular Range Rover Sport, PHEV models have a smaller boot
Range Rover Sport PHEV dimensions
The Range Rover Sport P400e is the same size as the normal Range Rover Sport, so it’s around 4.9m long, 2m wide and 1.8m tall. That’s similar to the BMW X5, which is also 4.9m tall and 2m wide, though it’s 1.7m tall, so not quite as high as the Sport.
There’s loads of room inside as a result of the car’s large dimensions - even tall adults will have no trouble sitting in the back seats. The car is a little tricky to park, though, as it’s huge, but there are parking sensors and cameras as standard which improves things.
You can read more about the Range Rover Sport’s dimensions and boot space in our dedicated article.
CLICK TO READ OUR FULL STORY ON RANGE ROVER SPORT DIMENSIONS
| Length 4,879mm | Width 2,073mm |
| Height 1,803mm | Weight 2,539kg |
Range Rover Sport PHEV boot space
The standard Range Rover Sport has a huge amount of space inside for luggage as well. Its boot with all seven seats in use is 162 litres, which is tiny, but if you fold down the rearmost seats then this expands to 623 litres. This is a little less than the BMW X5’s 650-litre space, but it’s still very roomy.
With all the rear seats folded, there’s 1,463 litres of space, which is quite far behind the BMW’s total volume of 1,870 litres.
However, the plug-in hybrid version of the Range Rover Sport has slightly less boot space than the normal model - it drops by around 80 litres, regardless of whether the rear seats are in use or not. It also isn’t available with seven seats like the normal model.
CLICK TO READ OUR FULL STORY ON RANGE ROVER SPORT BOOT SPACE
| Seats up 543 litres* | Seats down 1,383 litres* |
*estimated
Range Rover Sport PHEV reliability
The Range Rover Sport P400e is still a fairly new car, so there’s not a great deal of reliability information available yet. Land Rover’s cars have a reputation for being rather unreliable, but it’s impossible to confidently say that the P400e model will be any more or less reliable than other versions of the Range Rover Sport. In any case, if something does go wrong, it will be expensive to fix, as this is an upmarket and complex machine.
Land Rover consistently scores poorly in reliability surveys. For example, in the 2021 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, Land Rover came in 22nd place out of 29 car makers. This was just behind BMW and just one place ahead of Audi, so all luxury car makers had a tough time in the poll.
Range Rover Sport PHEV warranty
The Range Rover Sport gets a three-year warranty from the factory, which is the same as what you get with almost every other large plug-in hybrid SUV. For example, BMW, Audi and Mercedes all have the same level of cover.
You can pay for an extended warranty to cover the car for up to 10 years, although rival Lexus offers this amount of warranty without having to pay anything extra (provided you get the car serviced every year by Lexus).
The model you might consider from that brand is the RX, but that’s not a plug-in hybrid, it’s just a normal hybrid car that uses the engine to charge the smaller battery pack. As a result, the Lexus is likely to be less economical than a regularly charged P400e, but more economical than one that isn't charged often.
| 3 years | Unlimited miles |
AVERAGE REPAIR COST PAID BY WARRANTYWISE: £623
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON USED CAR WARRANTIES
Used Range Rover Sport PHEV: should I buy one?
The Range Rover Sport P400e plug-in hybrid is an excellent choice if you want a large, luxurious SUV but don’t often travel much more than 25 miles per day. A huge car like this is hardly ideal for that kind of usage, but the PHEV format means that people like that can drive almost all the time on electric power, which is better for the wallet and the environment.
The rest of the car is as good as all other versions of the Range Rover Sport, bar in the boot space stakes - it’s incredibly roomy inside, good to drive, comfortable, packed with tech, feels very upmarket and is fast and powerful. The four-cylinder engine in this model isn’t the smoothest, nor is it good for people who travel long distances regularly, but the ultra-quiet electric mode is great for traffic jams. You'll just need to remember to charge regularly to get the best from the car.
Best Range Rover Sport PHEV deals
The lowest trim level available on the Range Rover Sport PHEV is the HSE model, which is really well equipped - we reckon there’s no point going any further than this if you want to get the most for your money. It has all the tech you could need, plus it has a luxury leather interior and all the important comforts found on higher-spec models.
If you’re buying a newer P400e then you’ll find that there aren’t any HSE versions, because the HSE Silver model replaced it in the trim range. This version is still the best value for this age of car, but as it has larger alloy wheels than the HSE, it might be even more appealing to you.
The top-spec Autobiography Dynamic model is very expensive indeed, but it’s fully-loaded with equipment and looks flashier than other versions in the range. It might be worth the money for some people who absolutely have to have the most high-tech P400e possible.
*Representative PCP finance - 2018 Ford Fiesta 1.0 ST-Line Hatchback:
| PCP representative example | APR rates available | |||||
| Cash price £12,000 | APR 7.90% | Value of loan | From | |||
| Fixed monthly payment £218.12 | Annual mileage of 8,000pa | £25,000+ | 6.9% | |||
| Total cost of credit £2,755.55 | Term 48 months | £12,000-£24,999 | 7.9% | |||
| Optional final payment £4,285.79 | Loan value £12,000 | £8,000-£11,999 | 8.9% | |||
| Total amount payable £14,755.55 | Deposit £0 | <8,000 | 9.9% |
BuyaCar is a credit broker, not a lender. Our rates start from 6.9% APR. The rate you are offered will depend on your individual circumstances.
Other Editions
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Range Rover Sport (2013 – 2022)
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