2025 Range Rover Sport P550e Hybrid Review - Is this the benchmark luxury SUV?

Join Vicki Butler-Henderson as she gets behind the wheel of the Range Rover Sport Plug-in Hybrid in Autobiography trim – a luxury SUV with silent electric miles, serious off-road talent, and a price tag north of £114,000. 

With up to 74 miles of electric range, 550hp, and a cabin that feels more like a private lounge, the Autobiography blends performance and refinement in signature Range Rover style. From massage seats and illuminated belt buckles to 23-inch alloys and terrain-sensing tech, this plug-in hybrid is designed to impress – whether you’re cruising the motorway or gliding down a green lane in near silence.

But is this the ultimate guilt-free luxury SUV – or just a heavy hybrid trying to do too much?

Specifications
• Power: 550 bhp
• Acceleration: 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds
• Price: From approx. £114,000
• Engine Size: 3.0 Litre Twin Turbocharged Petrol PHEV
• EV Range: Up to approx. 72 miles
• Boot Space: Minimum of 647 litres up to 1,491 litres (rear seats folded)

Exterior Design & Boot Space

The Range Rover Sport has always been large in stature, but the latest version is massive. Vicki likens it to the whole front row of a rugby team, and she isn’t wrong. The high shoulder line of the car really brings out its size and you can’t refute it has serious road presence. As well as the mass of bodywork, the blue paint (which is an £8,000 option by the way) does nothing to hide its bulk. If you like to be looked at in your car, the Range Rover Sport Autobiography in this blue will certainly turn heads, especially around town.

Land Rover have obviously considered how they can improve the aerodynamics of a car this size, and this is reflected in the door handles which sit flush to the body when not in use. The Sport element of the Range Rover is revealed in plenty of black trim which can be seen on the roof (which comes as standard in the Autobiography trim), and if you get the black exterior pack which will cost you an additional £1,500, you will get extra black bits on the grille, Range Rover letters, and bonnet louvres.

There’s plenty of other additional options that you can select when specifying your own, including £200 worth of LED lighting, privacy glass for £500, and the convenience pack which will set you back £680 for the ability to open the boot hands free. Speaking of the boot, there are a host of smart features to make life easier. For instance, there is a net to stop your luggage from falling into a passenger’s lap and a floor partition which gives flexibility between loads or a supermarket shop. There’s plenty of space in the boot too with a minimum of 647 litres which will increase to 1,491 litres when those rear seats are folded.

Towing Capabilities

If you opt for the £1,000 electric tow bar, then you’ll be set to haul up to 3,000kg. That’s not as good as a non-plug-in hybrid Range Rover Sport which will tow an additional 500kg which is the same notably as the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid. If trailers play a big role in your car ownership, then it might be worth considering the Porsche and you can watch our review of it here.

If you need a little assistance towing in your Range Rover, then there’s a near £400 advanced tow assist function that allows you to reverse a trailer while the car takes care of the counter steering.

Wheels & Tyre Talk

The Range Rover Sport in our review video sits on a set of 23-inch glossy black alloys which are wrapped in Pirelli Scorpion MS tyres. They have been developed in close collaboration with Land Rover as denoted by the LR marking on the sidewall.

Interior Design & Tech

In a car which will set you back over six figures, you would expect the interior to be lavish, and the Range Rover Sport Autobiography delivers on that expectation. Vicki likens it to a pamper parlour and she immediately draws our attention to the seats which she describes as fluffy clouds as you sink into them. The seats are actually more complex than you might initially imagine as you can control them from the main screen and there are 22 ways you can tweak them with hot or cold air. You can have a massage, move the headrest to the perfect position and fold the rear seats (all from the screen) so that passengers can access all the available boot capacity.

Next, we move on to the dashboard which is just as premium as the seats in that it is clad with leather and suede, a combination usually reserved for high-end vehicles. As you look across the dashboard, your eyes will be fixed on the a-pillars which is quite an unusual aspect of an interior to give attention to. However, your eyes will tell your brain that you must touch the a-pillars as they are so aesthetically pleasing that you will just have to touch them. When you get to the top of the a-pillars, you’ll see a cover lining the roof which can be electronically pulled back to reveal a panoramic roof – which is standard in the Autobiography models – that can be opened above the two front passengers.

Storage is in abundance here and even this detail falls under the premium umbrella. There are not one, but two glove boxes as well as glossy edged door bins, a deep centre cubby, and cup holders which can be moved out of the way for access to even more storage. The bespoke feel to the interior doesn’t end there with wireless phone charging, Meridian 3D surround sound system, and an optional £440 Wi-Fi data plan.

Rear Seating Space & Features

Ever wanted the ability to watch films, play on your console, or catch up on the Netflix series you’re hooked on from the back of your car? You can do that through the £3,700 rear entertainment setup which can connect to a phone, tablet or games console via HDMI. It’ll feel much like a cinema in the back as the Sport shares the same platform as the full-sized Range Rover so space is on the generous side. The seats are split 60-40 and you can recline them or adjust the headrest from the door panel.

Passenger comfort has clearly been thought about in the Sport as there are sun blinds which are great for those longer journeys (and to reduce glare on those screens while you are trying to watch something). There are also illuminated seat belt buckles which are so handy for when the sun goes down as you avoid scratching around trying to find the buckle. The doors have a tactile mix of cloth, leather, and glossy bits and in the centre, there are a couple of dials for your rear passengers to control the temperature of the air they get as well as warm and cool the seats.

Engine Power

Helping to move the mass that is the Range Rover Sport is a 3-litre turbocharged engine paired with plug-in hybrid technology which produces 550 bhp. There is also a healthy amount of torque coming in at 800 Newton metres which is the same as in Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage. The 0-60 time is impressive given the weight of the car and it will happen in 4.9 seconds which isn’t far behind the Volkswagen Golf R. 

Handling, Suspension & Electric Miles

There’s plenty going on internally with the Dynamic-I setting at the forefront of proceedings offering a stopwatch, lap times, g-meter, and pedal graph to name a few of its features. With the set up in fully dynamic mode, engine, steering, gear shifts, and suspension, the suspension hunkers down into the tyres to help you navigate bends. It is quite hard to believe that the Range Rover Sport will effortlessly do 74 miles of electric range, and this might make the car an ideal solution for the school run or work commute.

You can even put the car into save mode which will maintain up to 50% of the battery for you to use later in your journey. Of course, it is a plug-in hybrid so you will need to plug it in to top up the electric battery. Recharging takes up to an hour on a fast charger but at home it should take about five hours so absolutely fine to leave it overnight.

Off-Roading, Terrain Modes & Brakes

There are seven terrain modes to choose from (you might never use all of them, mind). They are all accessed through the screen, including low traction launch. The configuration options do not end here though as you can raise the ride height if you need more ground clearance by 65 millimetres which will make the total ground clearance 273, which is one of the highest of any car. It is also good to note that if you need to wade through water with your Range Rover Sport then you can do so up to 900 millimetres of water.

When it comes to the brakes, Vicki reports that they have a lovely feel to the pedal. She goes on to tell us that when you press the brake pedal the brakes give a comfortable yet potent stop to the car at any speed. There’s also regenerative braking which claws back some of the energy and gives it you back in miles.

Vicki’s Verdict

“You don’t so much drive this car as you just ride in it”.

The Range Rover Sport Autobiography is certainly more expensive than some of its rivals, but if you are willing to spend the money then it’s not the car that you want but it’s the car that you need. Vicki reminds us that it has class-leading electric range in the SUV Plug-in Hybrid market which for a car that tips the scales at 2,700kg is rather impressive.

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