The hardest part of loaning a Range Rover for review is returning it, and it’s not just the jarring reality of taking public transport again after spending two days in what is essentially a luxury yacht on wheels. The Range Rover might be faultless in many ways, but its biggest downfall is that it’s been a little slow in adopting proper electric tech in its fleet. Good thing then, that the marque has finally launched the Range Rover PHEV.
As expected of the badge, the Range Rover 3.0P PHEV Autobiography SWB is a very swanky car, and comes with all the bells and whistles you’d expect of an Autobiography variant. It can also go anywhere – quite literally – even though it looks like it was designed only for the poshest streets of London. This time, however, it has a battery pack that can power the car for up to 120km before the petrol engine takes over. In a city that’s still playing catch-up with EV infrastructure, the car is the perfect proposition.
Here’s our full review of the luxury SUV in Singapore.
The new Range Rover PHEV: Drive or ditch?
Like the latest generation Range Rover, the plug-in hybrid variant too has gone down the path of reductive design thanks to chief creative officer Gerry McGovern. All the best features of the archetype has been maintained – namely the falling roofline, pronounced waistline, the rising sill, clamshell bonnet and floating roof – only now modernised for today’s roads with smoother curves and an even more commanding presence.
So commanding, in fact that you’d never believe the car was capable of being completely green. The 31.8 kWh battery here works with a 160kW motor to power the over 2.7-tonne Range Rover around with ease, giving it up to 80 – 90km of real-world electric-only range. It might not sound like much, but most of us really only travel a fraction of that distance in Singapore everyday, so charging might turn out to only be a weekly affair – which isn’t very much at all. If you have a 7kW home charger or wall box, Range Rover claims charging the car to 100% only takes five hours, while a 50kW DC charger only takes 40 minutes to reach 80%. We tried this with the Charge+ chargers that have been popping up at HDB car parks and it managed to put around 28kWh into the car in 4 hours at a cost of S$17.
Those who want to be savvy about their electric usage will love the Save mode, which allows you to choose what percentage of EV power you want the car to keep. For example, choose to save 30% of the battery and the car will run as a hybrid until it’s left with that amount, and then switch to full petrol mode. The car starts up with EV mode as default as long as there’s juice in the battery, so you’ll always have an eco-friendly start to your day regardless.
For those who can’t bear to break up with their favourite petrol station, the car comes equipped with a three-litre, in-line six-cylinder twin-charged engine that’s primed for a combined output of 550hp and 800Nm of torque. Regardless of whether you use the powertrain with the electric motor, on its own, or not at all, the Range Rover promises a comfortable ride. Adaptive air suspension comes as standard and it leaves the car well planted, controlled, and smooth on Singapore’s roads.
Because it was designed to take on every type of road – from smooth asphalt and flooded ditches to uneven sand – the car is intelligent enough to deal with every type of situation – especially useful if you’re a bad driver. It might be a big boy but it’s surprisingly easy to manoeuvre around tight, twisty roads, thanks to the rear-wheel steering that’s standard on the P550e. On faster roads, the active anti-roll bar system helps you carry the pace through the corners while feeling planted.
If you could ever bear to take this chic cruiser off-road, we promise you’ll be in safe hands. Land Rover has fine-tuned all of its car’s off-roading capabilities using decades of experience, and in the Range Rover you’ll have help from the plethora of modes and off-road cameras, the latter of which will give you a very clear idea of what you’re going up against.
What’s most impressive though is how quiet the car is. You won’t hear the road nor the engine, although you’ll get some wind noise at faster speeds. If that still bothers you, there’s a noise cancelling feature that you can add to your upgraded sound system. The clever feature cancels out any external noise through microphones in the wheels and headrest-mounted speakers. It’s the next best thing to using actual ear plugs.
Inside, the SUV continues the same story of comfort and luxury with rich-feeling materials, and 24-way heated and cooled electric seats that can be programmed to hug your every curve while massaging it.
One key difference in the 2025 models is that the marque will do away with climate control knobs – or any knobs for that matter. What you’ll see instead is a Tesla-esque layout where an expansive 13.1” Pivi Pro infotainment screen takes centre stage. The cabin looks as clean and minimalist as its exterior, but we did found it made doing mundane car things like changing the cabin temperature and speaker volume cumbersome.
What was once a simple act of turning a knob now requires the careful jabbing of a screen while keeping eyes on the road. This is made worse with the fact that you can’t use two features on the Pivi Pro simultaneously (for example, quickly turning the volume down while accessing the sat-nav). Sure it’s just a matter of getting used to, but it also takes away from what we loved about Land Rover’s infotainment system the most: its accessibility and efficiency.
The driver gets a head-up display and 13.7” Interactive Driver Display, which can be customised to show the map, and/or essential driver info and media – depending on preference. All seats are swathed in soft buttery leather (perforated Semi-Aniline leather in the media car) that’s soft and decadent, with matching finishes across the dashboard with the SV Bespoke Full Extended Leather Upgrade. A sliding panoramic roof lets even in more natural light, and if it ever got too warm you only need to reach into the refrigerator between the front seats for a cold drink.
At the back, expect enough boot space to store luggage, golf bags, and baby strollers.
How much does the Range Rover PHEV cost?
The Range Rover PHEV 3.0 Autobiography SWB is available at a starting price of S$786,888 without COE.
Verdict
The Range Rover PHEV – like its other stablemates – might cost more than most HDB flats but there’s a reason for that. It’s an immensely enjoyable car through and through, and not just because it’s spacious and luxurious, which it is.
Every inch has been thoughtfully designed using years of experience, and then carefully embellished with leather, wood, or shiny chrome metal bits to make even the most mundane of nooks look important. Every aspect of your journey – from the seats and sound system to the ride and handling – has been carefully calibrated to ensure that you’ll never be satisfied with a regular car again.
The model has always had an immense presence on the road, so it’ll definitely turn heads if attention is what you’re after. It’s a fantastic car whether you’re doing short rides or long trips, or whether you’re cruising alone of ferrying a family. It’s a beautiful car to look at and just as glorious to drive, and that’s really all you can ask for in a car. But we’d like all the knobs back please.
(Hero and featured image credit: Jaguar Land Rover)
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Written by
Shatricia Nair
Managing Editor
Shatricia Nair has a passion for motoring, beauty, and wellness, and is perpetually knee-deep in the world of V8s, retinols, and latest fitness trends. She has nine years of experience writing for digital media, and her bylines have appeared in Prestige, and Augustman. She'll do (almost) anything for good chocolate chip cookies.