2026 Land Rover Range Rover SE PHEV Review

Plug-in electrification suits Land Rover’s stately Range Rover just fine.

With more than 80 km of electric range to cover your daily drives, this already sybaritic SUV becomes even more of an expert at wafting along unperturbed. Factor in the quiet, creamy ride, imperious driving position, and legitimate off-road capability of the 2025 Range Rover P550e plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and you arrive at what is one of the most luxurious sport utility experiences available today.

Styling 9.5 / 10

Dipped in a pricey Sunset Gold satin finish ($13,200), this 2026 Range Rover SE is a stunner. The fifth-generation model is a remarkable melding of form and function, showing an evolution of design that looks to the future while keeping an eye on the past. Its classic profile and styling cues immediately signal that it’s a Range Rover — clamshell hood, side “vents,” gently tapered roofline — yet its chic, smooth, and pared-down elegance is distinctly modern. The upgraded 22-inch wheels ($1,600) fill this tester’s arches nicely, and “hidden” vertical taillights that only appear when illuminated complete a sleek rear end design.

Safety 9 / 10

A hallmark of Range Rover is an elevated driving position with excellent outward visibility, which is a good start on the safety front. The SE trim comes with a long list of advanced safety and driver-assist systems — surround-view cameras, blind-spot monitoring and avoidance, adaptive cruise with steering assist, driver condition response, lane-keep assist, self-parking, emergency braking assist, and more. Optional on this tester was a $1,400 head-up display and a $650 camera-based rearview mirror.

Practicality 8.5 / 10

There’s lots of interior space in this Range Rover. The clever split tailgate opens to reveal 857 L liters with the rear seats in use and 2,050 L with them folded. You can also lower the vehicle’s ride height using buttons in the back for easier loading. The PHEV doesn’t lose any cargo capacity when compared with the gas-only model

Of course, this Range Rover is blessed with all the legitimate off-road capability expected of this storied British brand. Helping it along are air suspension, low-range transfer case gearing, an electronic locking differential, and the ability to wade through a meter of water, should you feel the need.

Up front we find plenty of useful storage — large door pockets with bottle holders, a storage/phone charge cubbie ahead of the gear selector, and a generous bin between the seats. Rear-seat riders get a large fold centre armrest with a storage compartment and flip-out cup holders.

User-Friendliness 6 / 10

Somewhere between this fifth-generation Range Rover’s launch in 2022 and now the demons of digitization have swept through its lovely cabin, taking nearly all vestiges of physical controls with them. Yes, there are some hard buttons on the steering wheel for many functions, but the dash and console are bare. It’s too bad, because I really liked the former super-slick multi-function HVAC rotary dials that cleverly handled cabin temperature, fan speed, and seat heat/ventilation settings. Now all that stuff is buried in screen menus, including some dash vent settings. Dialing up drive modes used to be a lot easier, too.

During this test, I found the screen response time to be slightly laggy as well. On the plus side, the voice recognition is generally quick and obedient, responding accurately to most requests, be they related to navigation, HVAC, or audio.

Features 8.5 / 10

This tester’s SE trim is entry level for Range Rover, but there’s a lot here. Perforated leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, a power panoramic sunroof, soft-close doors, adaptive air suspension, rear-wheel steering, two-speed transfer case, electronic locking differential with brake-based torque vectoring, driveline disconnect, navigation, voice control, air quality sensing, a heated steering wheel, heated windshield, and power reclining rear seats.

Upping the experience with this specimen is a surround-sound system ($2,000), digital rearview mirror ($750), a wood and leather steering wheel ($600), and head-up display ($1,400). The $1,300 Convenience package adds a hands-free tailgate and extra load space configurations. At $2100, the Premium Upgrade pack could be considered a necessity with its extended leather upgrade, laminated front and rear side glass, bespoke floor mats, and solar attenuation windscreen. 

Power 8.5 / 10

The combined output of this turbocharged 3.0L inline six-cylinder and electric motor is a robust 542 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque, and when all systems are punching this behemoth moves out smartly despite its crushing 2,735-kg (6,030-lb) curb weight. Passing power is prodigious and instant, and beware — the Range Rover’s serene demeanor disguises its speed very well. When in electric mode, the 141-hp motor provides sufficient urge for most traffic situations and has the vehicle cruising effortlessly on the highway.

Comfort 9 / 10

Specced as it is, this Range Rover SE PHEV is the very definition of comfortable motoring. The big rig’s ride is creamy smooth over all but the roughest surfaces, and the front seats are supremely comfortable. When in electric mode, the cabin is preternaturally quiet; you could hear a mouse hiccup in here. For such a large and upright vehicle, there’s barely a whisper of wind noise at speed. You’ll be wanting the $2,500 Comfort pack that bestows four-zone climate control, cabin air purification system, a refrigerated console bin, and powered rear side window shades. 

Driving Feel 7.5 / 10

This vehicle is tuned for passenger comfort, and as such the big beast is prone to leaning a tad in the corners. But this is expected of Range Rovers. Even in dynamic mode, where body control tightens a smidge, the Range Rover doesn’t dare sacrifice ride quality in the name of sporty driving. Even so, there’s nothing sloppy about the way it goes down the road, and the steering shows some natural heft. The turning circle is tight, too. When the gas engine comes online, you can hear the hum from under the hood, but otherwise the transition is seamless. 

Fuel Economy 9 / 10

As will be the case with most urban or suburban buyers of this status symbol PHEV that has a usable electric range of about 85 km, I barely burned a whiff of gas during my time of stewardship. Keeping it plugged in (day and night) on a 110-volt charger whenever I wasn’t driving was enough to feed the 31.8-kWh battery. With its 7.2-kW onboard charger, charge time on a Level 2 home charger would be five hours versus 15 hours on 110-volt hookup. Official fuel economy numbers are 11.4 L/100 km in the city, 10.6 on the highway, and 11.0 combined.

Value 7.5 / 10

It’s hard to call any vehicle breaching $200,000 with the federal luxury tax good value, but for those shopping in this snack bracket, it’s not hard to justify the Range Rover PHEV’s price tag. And bonus, this vehicle saw a price drop of about $20,000 for 2026. Sure, it’s more common than a Rolls-Royce Cullinen, but it’s also less than half the price, and when it comes to supreme comfort, sumptuous appointments, and effortless wafting, there’s not a whole lot separating the two. And the Range Rover is much better looking to these eyes.

The Verdict

This legacy British brand is totally unique in the way it blends luxury, chic style, and beautifully appointed cabins with legitimate off-road capability. The fact that the PHEV offers useful amounts of serene electric driving to the equation only adds to its allure.