Behold: the new Range Rover Electric, and yes, this EV can wade through water
Lots of tech, lots of ability, lots of... Range Rover - can this big, luxury electric car succeed?
A vast amount of tech has been thrown at the electric Range Rover, with the simple aim of making it just a Range Rover. Or more accurately of making it the Range Rover that we all think existed before, but never really did.
A Range Rover, we think, has a fabulously refined powertrain. In reality of course even a well-muffled V8 engine and superbly calibrated eight-speed gearbox can never be as smooth, quiet or proportional to inputs as an EV, not even a decade-old Renault Zoe. By the same token, we all think a Range Rover has near-perfect off-road traction systems, but actually they're nowhere near as subtly effective at controlling wheelspin with a combustion engine as they can be with electric motors.
This explains the 'nothing to see here' visuals. The Range Rover Electric looks like what it is: a Range Rover. The grille is blanked off (but at a glance appears otherwise) and there are aero tweaks in the underbody and wheels – anti-drag measures that are good for 10 miles' motorway range. Oh and there are no exhaust pipes, but anyway in the petrol car they're coyly hidden behind the rear valance. So you might already have seen one – they've been testing for some years, with no camouflage.
Prices start at £154,070 in Autobiography spec, and head towards a quarter million. Before spluttering at that cost, you might like to check the money combustion Range Rovers command these days.