Since the mainstream rebirth of the electric car, a litany of automakers seem to have got it in their heads that everyone wants to drive around in a battery-powered spaceship for the road. That’s perfectly fine if your surname is Jetson, but many of us don’t want to commute in lozenge-shaped screenfests. We like gear levers that work more-or-less as expected, steering wheels that are more-or-less circular, and styling that’s good rather than merely different. It’s taken nearly five years for Solihull to roll out an electric Range Rover, and it looks nearly identical to the regular one. Good.
Of course, under the skin, the electric Range Rover sports some substantial differences to combustion-powered models. None of it sounds particularly groundbreaking on first glance, though. A dual-layer battery pack with 118.5 kWh of energy capacity and a nominal voltage of 800 sits beneath the floor, feeding an electric motor on each axle with enough juice to produce 542 horsepower and 627 lb.-ft. of torque. Certainly a sufficient number, but in a league with models from Rivian and Lucid that produce more than 1,000 horsepower, it’ll leave monocles firmly in position. A zero-to-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds isn’t earth-shattering, 350 kW DC fast charging is competitive but not enormously novel, and an estimated range of 333 miles doesn’t exactly stand out either. And guess what? Standing out doesn’t matter at all here.
As long as it’s quick enough and goes far enough on a charge, the one thing an electric Range Rover has to do above everything else is be a Range Rover. At first glance, they really haven’t messed it up here. Visually, you get different wheels, a marginally different grille on any trim other than the SV models, and that’s it. The NACS charge port hides underneath a door that looks like a fuel filler flap, the lack of visible exhaust tips is shared with the combustion models, and the rest of it is 100 percent pure Range Rover. Other than a presumed quietness to its low-speed maneuvering, which shouldn’t be truly unique as a plug-in hybrid Range Rover exists, no bystander will be able to tell the difference.
It’s much the same on the inside, too. You get the same dashboard, the same steering wheel, the same infotainment system and the same shifter and drive mode selection controls as in any other Range Rover. The only tell is a virtual power-and-battery gauge where a tachometer would normally go. The electric Range Rover even comes with a start button like a normal car. If you already drive a Range Rover and are curious about going electric, there shouldn’t be any learning necessary inside the EV. Just sit back on sumptuous seats, contemplate the selection of woods and textiles, and enjoy a commanding view of the tarmac ahead.
However, before you go thinking that this is some sort of compliance car, need I remind you that a Range Rover is a bit like an Omega Speedmaster? You’ll never take your wristwatch to the moon or your electric luxury 4×4 to the Serengeti, but it’s nice to know you could. With that in mind, the tech beyond the headline specs is more interesting than you’d probably expect. For instance, Range Rover can manage motor speed in half the time it takes to blink, resulting in traction management that’s 100 times quicker than in a typical combustion-powered SUV. In addition to climbing a 45-degree slope, Range Rover claims you can come to a dead stop on a 33-degree slope and set off again in the Range Rover Electric, no problem. It will wade through more than 35 inches of water, extend its air suspension by an additional 2.36 inches if it senses flotation, and comes with a magnificently complex thermal management system that’s designed to boost actual driving range in truly inhospitable temperatures. You know how -40 is the same whether measured in Celsius or Fahrenheit?
So, then. The Range Rover Electric. It’s been a long time coming, but it still has a split tailgate and individual armrests and claims of immense capability in both the arts of exploring and cosseting. At $140,450 to start, it’s priced the same as the V8 model, accelerates ever so slightly quicker than the V8 model, and looks almost identical to the V8 model, but it’ll almost certainly be cheaper to run, and there is something nice about never having to visit a gas station in the bitter cold of winter or the blazing sun of summer. A proper Range Rover? Sure seems like it.
Top graphic image: Land Rover
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