DeneGOLD- Free

The big test hybrid SUVs
Top Gear|February 2023
Want a luxury sporting SUV with plug-in capability to limit the guilt? Not ready for full electric? Time for a heavyweight contest
The big test hybrid SUVs

A luxury SUV you can charge up at home and use to trundle about silently is not a new thing. Porsche's first plug-in Cayenne arrived back in 2015, a Range Rover Sport fed by cable as well as pump was only two years later.

Others are available from Audi, Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Bentl... you get the picture. Hybrids are now the biggest sellers in the range. They're low tax and - if used properly - cheap on petrol.

These two also pitch a curveball: they're sporty. Porsche genuinely believes buyers want the Cayenne to handle like a sports car. Range Rover believes different; that the appearance of sportiness is what they actually want, so what matters is attitude. The Sport is the Range Rover that hints the shotguns in the back are sawn-off.

Or it did. The edges, as we shall see, have been somewhat chamfered. And not just the visible ones. This all-new version is based on the same underpinnings as the new Range Rover. Same chassis, same running gear for this P440e that teams a 3.0 straight-six with an electric motor that draws power from a 31.8kWh usable battery.

The claim is 70 miles of EV range. The Porsche's 14.3kWh battery promises just 25 miles.

Porsche is waiting for its next big technological leap. Mercedes has brilliantly integrated hybrids with great range, and so now does Range Rover. The Cayenne must wait its turn while Porsche is busy with the Taycan, plus the electric Macan and Cayman.

Make your own mind up, but for us the Sport isn't as successful a piece of design as the Range Rover. It's anonymous and the fake vents jar. Both have what LR calls 'reductive' design treatment. It's a good line and accurately describes the clean, modernist appearance. But it doesn't reflect what's going on underneath.

Reductive design, meet additive engineering. This Range Rover Sport weighs 2,860kg.

Bu hikaye Top Gear dergisinin February 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Top Gear dergisinin February 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

TOP GEAR DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
BBC Top Gear UK

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

The Octa is the biggest, baddest version of the Defender yet - conquering the South African wilderness should be a walk in the park...

time-read
8 dak  |
March 2025
ROUTE ONE
BBC Top Gear UK

ROUTE ONE

All you need for a roadtrip is a car, a destination and an excuse. Over to our man in Japan to stretch that brief to its limit...

time-read
7 dak  |
March 2025
RETRO
BBC Top Gear UK

RETRO

BECAUSE THEY DON'T MAKE M LIKE THEY USED TO

time-read
7 dak  |
March 2025
END OF DAYS
BBC Top Gear UK

END OF DAYS

If the hot hatch's halcyon days really are numbered, what better send-off than thrashing our top five on an icy Welsh B-road...

time-read
8 dak  |
March 2025
DIARY OF A CES
BBC Top Gear UK

DIARY OF A CES

The death knell has sounded for the traditional motor show, and carmakers are turning to the world's biggest tech show for launches. We take on the biggest of them all

time-read
9 dak  |
March 2025
A maxed out Volkswagen Golf GTI MKVIII
BBC Top Gear UK

A maxed out Volkswagen Golf GTI MKVIII

We head to Texas to check out BMP Tuning's Pomelo Yellow GTI...

time-read
1 min  |
March 2025
4X4 RISING
BBC Top Gear UK

4X4 RISING

When it comes to off roaders, the Japanese don't do things by the book...

time-read
5 dak  |
March 2025
E Honda
BBC Top Gear UK

E Honda

Honda's new retro-futuristic O Series SUV and Saloon are here to make EVs interesting

time-read
1 min  |
March 2025
THE HOT HATCH IS DEAD.
BBC Top Gear UK

THE HOT HATCH IS DEAD.

The hot hatch is at a crossroads, with the old guard being run out and the new electrified era only just being ushered in. Is there hope left?

time-read
8 dak  |
March 2025
The OG Japanese tuner
BBC Top Gear UK

The OG Japanese tuner

From kitchen hand to one of the founding fathers of the Japanese tuning industry. Meet VeilSide founder Hironao Yokomaku

time-read
3 dak  |
March 2025

Hizmetlerimizi sunmak ve geliştirmek için çerezler kullanıyoruz. Sitemizi kullanarak çerezlere izin vermiş olursun. Learn more