When I drove a prototype Range Rover Electric at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, the message from JLR was surprisingly simple. They weren’t building an electric car and turning it into a Range Rover. They were building a Range Rover that happens to be electric.
Nearly a year later, with the production model finally here, it’s clear they meant it.
The first-ever Range Rover Electric is now officially available, marking one of the biggest moments in the brand’s 55-year history. Built in Solihull, England, the home of Range Rover since 1970, it represents the next chapter for the SUV that arguably created the luxury SUV segment, without trying to reinvent it.
In fact, that’s what makes it interesting. Aside from a cleaner grille, aerodynamic wheel designs and a few subtle tweaks underneath, this is unmistakably a Range Rover. The design remains familiar because, according to JLR, the mission was always to preserve everything owners already love about the vehicle and simply replace the powertrain. It is a philosophy that felt convincing behind the wheel of the prototype, and it appears to have carried through to production.
The real story lives underneath. Twin electric motors produce 542 horsepower and 627 lb ft of torque, making this the most powerful and responsive Range Rover ever built. With an EPA-estimated range of up to 535 kilometres and an 800-volt electrical architecture capable of charging from 10 to 80 percent in around 22 minutes on a compatible 350kW DC fast charger, the numbers are finally catching up to the luxury-experience buyers have expected from the badge.
More importantly, none of that comes at the expense of capability. The Range Rover Electric still wades through up to 900 millimetres of water, climbs slopes as steep as 45 degrees and benefits from a new traction management system that reacts up to 100 times faster than an equivalent combustion-powered setup. Those are more than headline specs. They reinforce the same message I heard at Goodwood. Capability came first. The electric powertrain came second.
After recently previewing the sleek new Range Rover GT, this production model makes the brand’s direction even clearer. JLR is not chasing trends or trying to redefine what a Range Rover should be. Instead, it is proving that the original luxury SUV can embrace electrification without losing the character that made it iconic in the first place.
