All-Electric Range Rover: A Review

The Range Rover has always been regarded as the pinnacle of the SUV family, with its engineering and design at the forefront of automotive excellence. There have been rumors and musings as to why they have not brought out their own version of an electric vehicle, as so many brands have. But fans do not have to worry anymore. Finally, a fully electric Range Rover is here, and we have got the lowdown.  

All Charged Up: A First Look at the All-Electric Range Rover

The original Range Rover sells up to 70,000 models every year with an average price of £136,000, so it is incredibly successful and of these sales, one third of these sales are shipped to the US. So, one would ask, is there any need for an electric Range Rover? Well, Jaguar Land Rover says that there is. They have disclosed that they have received over 60,000 “expressions of interest,” which means that it could be just as successful as its predecessor. 

Image source: rr-bev-t-d-28112024-10-1-copy-674df911a584c.jpg  

This is luxury at its finest, even surpassing the Mercedes S-Class, due to its domineering manner and excellent driving position. At first look, it is nearly identical to the newest Range Rover that is on the market right now. This is believed to be a deliberate move on Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) part, as it proves to skeptical customers that having an electric car does not require reducing the quality or opulence that they are willing to pay for. JLR wants to deliver the iconic SUV but better, and they have done just that.

It has a lower centre of gravity, excellent weight distribution between the axles, and it weighs the same as the original Range Rover. So these features are the same but have even better precision. A two-motor setup, mounted on each axle and paired with a silicon carbide inverter, powers this SUV. It runs on a double-stack 117kWh battery. This battery contains 344 prismatic cells, and it uses 800V, which means it can support chargers with up to 350 kW. 

A Custom-Built Battery for Precision

Unlike many other brands, Jaguar Land Rover has produced the battery itself, which is a slow, long process, but they have stated that they couldn’t find anything that matched their needs on the market, so they designed it themselves. 

It will be able to produce 542 horsepower and 627 foot-pounds of torque. To create a mechanical link between the front and rear, they have developed a new system called Independent Driveline Distribution and an Integrated Traction Management system, both of which manage traction and torque, and balance the flow of each feature around the car. JLR claims that its slip management is 100 times faster than its conventional equivalent, and to many fans’ delight, it will still be able to do off-roading. 

Innovations You’ve Never Seen Before

As exciting as the performance is, it gets better. JLR went all-in with this release, filing 67 patents for the new electric Range Rover. Among them is “Thermassist,” a proprietary system that regulates battery temperature using hundreds of parameters, among several other luxury features. 

Driving Range Expectations 

So what will the driving range be? Jaguar Land Rover has not disclosed any definitive numbers but experts believe it will be around 330 miles, which is excellent for its size. 

It is silky-smooth to drive with world-class handling and very similar interiors to the original Range Rover SUV. Overall, when it comes to electric vehicles, this is the vehicle everyone has been waiting for, and it seems like Jaguar Range Rover has not only managed to replicate the uber successful Range Rover, but they have actually made it better. Bravo!