Land Rover has introduced plug-in hybrid versions of the Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport, both of which carry the “P300e” designation and feature an identical powertrain configuration.
The setup consists of a 1.5 litre turbocharged three-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine that has a belt-integrated starter generator to supply power to the high-voltage system via an inverter. On its own, the internal combustion engine makes 200 PS and 280 Nm of torque, with drive going to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Joining the engine is a rear-mounted electric motor, which the carmaker refers to as the Electric Rear Axle Drive (ERAD), that produces 109 PS and 260 Nm. Together, the overall system output is rated at 309 PS and 540 Nm.
Said electric motor draws power from a 15-kWh lithium-ion battery located below the rear seats, and this is made up of 84 prismatic cells that are arranged in seven 50-Ah modules of 12. Naturally, there are several ways to charge the vehicle, and both plug-in hybrid SUV models support AC and DC charging.
The former involves the car’s onboard 7-kW charger and a Type 2 connection, and when plugged into a conventional plug socket, a full charge is achieved in six hours and 42 minutes. With a higher output charger like a domestic wallbox or public charge point, it’ll take one hour and 24 minutes to get from a 0-80% state of charge (SoC).
As for DC charging, the SUVs use the Combined Charging System (CCS) DC plug – a variation of Type 2 – with support for up to 32 kW, where a 0-80% SoC is reached in just 30 minutes. The charge port flap is located on the rear fender on the opposite side of the vehicles’ fuel filler flap.
On a full charge, the Range Rover Evoque P300e will provide up to 66 km of range when running on just electricity, while it is 62 km for the Discovery Sport P300e. Both models have a top speed of 135 km/h when running in EV mode, and anything beyond will see the electric motor be decoupled to reduce drag and optimise efficiency.
As for other figures, the Evoque PHEV will get from zero to 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds, has a rated fuel consumption of 1.4 l/100 km and emits 32 g/km of CO2. The larger Discovery Sport PHEV takes 6.6 seconds to complete the century sprint and is rated at 1.6 l/km in terms of fuel consumption and 36 g/km for CO2 emissions – all figures are according to WLTP regulations.
Like most PHEV models, there are selectable drive modes made available to the driver, three in this case. They are Hybrid, EV and Save, with the last one serving to maintain a predetermined battery stage of charge, while the first two are self-explanatory.
The SUVs also sport a new brake-by-wire system that replaces the traditional brake vacuum servo, which seamlessly blends regenerative and friction braking to deliver up to 0.2 g of deceleration under regenerative braking.
The car’s infotainment system also displays PHEV-specific information such as the vehicle’s powertrain status and available range. Land Rover’s intelligent InControl Remote smartphone application also comes with telematics, support for scheduled charging and a pre-conditioning function.
GALLERY: Range Rover Evoque P300e
GALLERY: Land Rover Discovery Sport P300e
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