“Land Rover's Range Rover Sport may not be as sporty as it could be, but it's still luxurious, comfortable, and powerful.”
- Very luxurious
- Stylish build
- Solid range in higher-end model
- Comfortable and minimalistic interior
- Not that sporty
- Lower-end PHEV has low range
“Why you can trust Digital Trends – We have a 20-year history of testing, reviewing, and rating products, services and apps to help you make a sound buying decision. Find out more about how we test and score products.“
Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport has been available as a plug-in hybrid for a few years now, and those PHEV models have made for a compelling option. Sure, they’re expensive, but if you want a plug-in hybrid in a luxurious SUV that still retains some oomph, the Range Rover Sport PHEV has been a solid option for a few years.
At its core, of course, the Range Rover Sport is still a luxury SUV, though. At the top of the plug-in hybrid lineup is the Range Rover Sport P550e Autobiography, which has a longer range than the base model, faster performance, and extra luxury features that make driving it even better of an experience.
To be sure, there are plenty of plug-in hybrid SUVs on the market, and many of them cost a whole lot less than the Range Rover Sport. But if you’re looking for that Range Rover luxury and have cash to burn, then this vehicle might be worth considering.
Note, in this review I’ll predominantly be discussing the plug-in hybrid models of the Range Rover Sport, and I drove the Range Rover Sport P550e Autobiography. All six variants of the Range Rover Sort are technically hybrids, but the others can’t run exclusively on battery power, instead using their electric battery solely to improve performance and efficiency in conjunction with the gasoline engine.
Design
It may incorporate a futuristic part-electric powertrain, but the Land Rover Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid looks much like other Range Rover models on the road. That’s certainly not a bad thing, but if you’re expecting some redesign, you might be a little disappointed.
That said, I quite like the look of the Range Rover Sport, with its sleek and stylish body shape. Door handles sit flush on the doors for a more futuristic and modern look. The front of the vehicle looks well organized with a slim grille that sits between the headlights atop other intake grilles that complete the look.
The Range Rover Sport gets its name from being a little more nimble than the full-size Range Rover, which, of course, means being a little smaller. It’s not a small vehicle, though, and unless you really need lots of room, most will still find it to be more than large enough. Perhaps the biggest difference is the fact that the Range Rover Sport only offers two rows of seating, so there’s no third row for those who need it.
It certainly still looks like a Range Rover though, so if you like the design of other modern Range Rovers, you’ll like what’s on offer here. Perhaps it’s somewhat boring, but our review model had the Carpathian Grey paint, which I think looks fantastic. The vehicle is available in other, more unique colors though.
Interior and tech
The interior of the vehicle, of course, is perhaps more important than how it looks on the outside. Thankfully, the interior of the Range Rover Sport is ultra-luxurious, adorned with highly premium materials throughout, plush seating, and more.
In the front row, you’ll get access to luxury features like seat heating, cooling, and massaging, while second-row passengers will get their own zone of climate controls, plus seat heating.
One thing that I quite like about the interior of the Range Rover Sport is how minimalistic it is. It doesn’t go full Tesla, but Range Rover has removed a lot of the unneeded bells and whistles from the inside of the vehicle to give it a more modern look.
That said, it has also removed some things that some might find necessary, including physical climate controls. Range Rover has done a good job at ensuring that digital controls are always present on the screen. However, you’ll still have to dive into some menus on a regular basis to control more advanced aspects of climate, like selecting which fans you want active.
Between the two front seats, you’ll find a 13.1-inch curved touch display, which is coupled with a 13.7-inch instrument display for the driver. The software interface isn’t bad, and as mentioned, some thought has gone into what kinds of controls are always on the screen. That said, the software still isn’t incredible, and it certainly doesn’t approach the likes of Tesla and Rivian. Thankfully, the vehicle supports wireless CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s also a wireless charging pad right under the infotainment display. However, I had a really hard time getting my iPhone 16 Pro to line up with the charging coil.
Generally speaking, most will probably want to stick to using CarPlay and Android Auto. Aside from the software, the interior of the Range Rover Sport is stunning. It’s comfortable, spacious, and luxurious.
Range and charging
As mentioned, the Range Rover Sport is available in two different plug-in hybrid models, and their range is one of the biggest differentiators. While our review model, the P550e Autobiography, had an electric range of 51 miles, the lower-end P460e Dynamic SE only has an electric range of 21 miles. If you intend to use the electric battery as often as possible, like in day-to-day around-town driving, you’ll probably need to upgrade to the much more expensive model.
That’s a bit frustrating. Even the lower-end P460e Dynamic SE is a very expensive vehicle, and much cheaper plug-in hybrids come with a much longer range. Around 50 miles is a decent range for a plug-in hybrid vehicle, but 20 miles really won’t get you very far, even when you’re just driving around town running errands.
You’ll want to be able to charge at home or at your workplace over longer periods of time to keep the vehicle juiced up.
Driving experience
Driving the Range Rover Sport is a dream. The vehicle offers a few different driving modes depending on what kind of energy you want to use. There’s a hybrid mode, which will draw on both the gasoline engine and the electric battery to maximize fuel efficiency, and there’s a save mode, which will predominantly use the gasoline engine and charge the battery with regenerative braking.
The two plug-in hybrid models don’t just offer differences in electric range; they also come in slightly different powertrains. The lower-end P460e Dynamic SE offers 454 horsepower and 487 pound-feet of torque. It can accelerate to 60mph in 5.3 seconds. Our review model, the P550e Autobiography, has 542 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, reaching 60mph in 4.7 seconds.
Generally speaking, the Range Rover Sport feels relatively quick. While the steering is decently responsive, it isn’t quite as sporty as its namesake might have you believe. It certainly wasn’t mushy or overly soft, but the vehicle is designed for comfort more than it’s designed necessarily for the ultimate driving experience.
That’s certainly not a bad thing. Again, it’s a powerful vehicle with plenty of oomph — but it’s still a luxury car that takes a comfort-first approach.
How DT would configure this car
If you’re buying a Range Rover, you may as well go all out. Just kidding, but if you are buying a plug-in hybrid SUV, there’s no real use in buying one that doesn’t have a range that can actually get you around town. The 21-mile range of the lower-end Range Rover Sport P460e Dynamic SE simply isn’t enough for many drivers, meaning that if you want a Range Rover Sport with enough range to drive in electric-only mode on a day-to-day basis, you’ll need to upgrade to the P550e Autobiography. Of course, you may not necessarily care about using the vehicle in electric-only mode and don’t mind trading the need to plug in on a regular basis for a more fuel-efficient drive. In that case, it may be worth considering one of the mild hybrid models instead, considering the fact that they don’t have to be plugged in the time for charging.
Other things to think about are mostly aesthetic. It’s really up to you if you want to spend the extra cash on different seat coverings, larger wheels, and so on.
That said, it’s also worth considering other plug-in hybrid SUVs. There are plenty of plug-in hybrid SUVs that are a whole lot cheaper than this, but if you want that Range Rover vibe, you’ll love what the Range Rover Sport P550e Autography offers.
