Range Rover Electric’s 500km gambit

KEY Range Rover executives say that battery-electric propulsion is an ideal match for its flagship luxury SUV model but adds it has deliberately resisted joining an escalating EV range arms-race because about 500km of real-world driving is sufficient for its customers.

GoAuto’s first drive of a near-production Range Rover Electric at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)’s Gaydon proving ground in the British Midlands suggested the first half of that equation has real substance.

Built from the same Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform and styled nearly identically to the combustion version, the 450kW/850Nm dual-motor AWD SUV is exceptionally quiet and smooth, demonstrating particularly fine calibration of its accelerator and regenerative braking response.

Integration of a 118.5kWh nickel manganese cobalt battery has boosted torsional stiffness by 61 per cent while lowering the full-size Range Rover’s centre of gravity by 88mm, necessitating a bespoke twin-chamber air suspension and adaptive damper tune.

The reworking of the existing chassis has delivered a noticeably more compliant ride quality than combustion Range Rovers sampled on the same day with superb bump absorption through standard 22-inch alloys.

The Electric remains unmistakably a Range Rover.

Exterior changes are limited to subtle grille, wheel and bumper changes while the cabin carries over the now-familiar minimal dash shape and a rich mix of leather, timber, and metal. Physical volume and Terrain Response controls return for 2027.

Electrification improves some of this 4WD’s traditional off-road strengths. The instantaneous (but precisely metered) torque makes it easier to regulate speed over steep climbs and particularly crests. Engineers say the Electric is superior to the V8 on sand thanks to the removal of engine speed and gear change interruptions.

Range Rover Electric program chief Simon Fairbrother told GoAuto that customer research had pushed the marque towards preserving as many attributes of the combustion vehicle as possible rather than pursuing a reinvention.

“I have worked on every single generation of Range Rover, in one way, shape or form … over the years, the message has been consistent from our customer base. Don’t change it. Just make it better,” he said.

“It’s a case of giving (customers) choice with another propulsion system, in my view, the best propulsion system that Range Rover deserves.”

But there has been no bid by JLR to claim the longest possible driving range.

The Range Rover Electric is rated for 578-600km (WLTP), but the brand is setting expectations at about 500k in real-world use after analysis of 360 million anonymised trips of ICE variants suggested 97 per cent could have been completed by the BEV without recharging.

“We shouldn’t just focus on range,” added Mr Fairbrother.

“We should also focus on the fact that we’ve put a huge amount of time, effort, and energy in developing our own bespoke, unique battery energy module that allows us to go from 10 to 80 per cent charge in 21 minutes.”

The program chief said his own motorway stops during long-distance family travel in a combustion Range Rover typically took 15 to 20 minutes – a period that would replenish about 400km of real-world range into the battery of the BEV model.

Part of the reason the driving range is moderate is because the Range Rover’s 118kWh battery is not oversize, especially when compared with large American electric SUVs such as the Rivian R1S with Max Pack (149kWh) or General Motors’ GMC Hummer EV (249kWh gross).

The 800-volt system used in the Range Rover can accept up to 350kW DC charging speeds and a pack-splitting function allows drivers to take up to 250kW speed from more common 400-volt chargers, such as those found on the Tesla Supercharger network.

For Australia, customer deliveries are due to commence in the first quarter of 2027, initially in 5052mm-long Standard Wheelbase format.

Standing as the entry grade is the HSE ($317,718 + ORC), followed by the $357,718 + ORC Autobiography, and $417,418 + ORC SV. Local specifications are yet to be released in detail, but the level of seating opulence, high-end finishes, audio quality, and headlight tech is set to advance up the range.

Pricing of the Range Rover Electric for Australia is essentially pegged to the cost of the P530 V8 models, which will continue to be offered alongside a sub-$300K six-cylinder diesel.

A Range Rover Australia spokesperson told GoAuto that the brand already holds orders for both the SWB and forthcoming LWB versions of the Electric, while JLR said about 80,000 expressions of interest in the EV had been received globally – 30 per cent of them from existing Range Rover owners.

There is no talk of combustion or hybrid options being reduced for the time being, but Range Rover global managing director Martin Limpert said the British brand remained convinced of the gradual direction of travel even as EV adoption rates regionally diverge.

“We are, at the moment, in a transition period. I personally believe electrification will be the dominant powertrain of the future, especially fully electrified vehicles,” he said.

“The question is the timing and the journey and the regions … we still need to continue (having) flexibility, and we will keep (that) for a few more years,” he added, pointing to faster European BEV uptake and depressed interest in electrification in the brand’s key US and Middle Eastern markets.

2027 Range Rover pricing*:

*Pricing excludes on-road costs.