I drove the Range Rover L460 for a week — and it boasts a feature every SUV should have

After the untimely demise of the Ford F-150 Lightning— one of my all-time favorite EVs— it seems we have another casualty explaining why the EV revolution has stalled. Consumers don’t appear convinced by all-electric vehicles. However, after driving the Range Rover L460 for a week, I’m convinced that car makers shouldn’t give up on electrification just yet.

That’s because the 2025 Range Rover L460 is a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), featuring a 38.2 kWh battery that delivers an EPA-estimated 50 miles of range. While this isn’t my first rodeo with a PHEV, I’ve never felt more strongly that we need more of them. Here’s why.

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2025 Range Rover L460: Specifications

It’ll save you on fuel costs

If you were to drive the Range Rover L460 exclusively on gas-hybrid power, you’d still save more in the long run on fuel costs over conventional ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles like the Chevrolet Tahoe I tested not long ago. However, since the Range Rover L460 is a PHEV, you’ll see even greater savings by consistently using its all-electric power.

There’s an 18.9-gallon gas tank in the Range Rover L460, which costs approximately $67.47 to fill based on the $3.57 per gallon price of premium gasoline in my area. Since it has a 38.2 kWh battery, I’ve chosen to charge it nightly to provide about 50 miles of daily range. This comes to about $8 per charge based on a $0.21 per kWh electricity rate.

This is important because the Range Rover has an EPA-estimated combined economy of 21 mpg; factoring this with its 18.9-gallon tank gives it a range of about 397 miles on a full tank. By choosing to charge nightly to gain 50 miles of range each day, you’ll save more money in the long run by refueling less.

Saving the battery for another time

One complaint I have with most PHEVs is that they force you to use up the battery power immediately, so you can’t "save" the charge for a later time. This is what I’ve experienced with other PHEVs like the Lexus TX550+ and Mazda CX-90. I ended up running on all-electric power right away with those vehicles, rather than being able to save the battery power for later.

Thankfully, that’s not the case with the 2025 Land Rover Range Rover L460 because I can specifically tell the vehicle when I want to use the all-electric power. All I need to do is to just press the corresponding save button in the EV drive mode menu with the touchscreen to activate this electric power saving feature. I think all PHEVs should follow this implementation because it gives drivers the choice to use the all-electric power now or save it for later.

You still get that EV-like driving performance

Another quality I love about the Range Rover L460 is that I can still enjoy the EV driving performance I’ve experienced while testing the best electric cars. When I put it into EV mode, the acceleration is smooth and lacks the gear shifting found in conventional ICE cars. For a full-size SUV, it makes for a fun ride overall because it’s so swift to get up to cruising speed and silent on the inside.

Sure, it’s one of the priciest vehicles I’ve tested this year at $122,300, but it does come with all the trimmings I expect from a luxury vehicle. From its spacious interior to one of the sharpest main touchscreen displays around — and including a reliable adaptive cruise control system — the Range Rover L460 doesn’t disappoint.

In fact, there aren’t many luxury brands that have PHEVs in their lineups, but this is one of them. At the end of the day, the extra convenience and cost savings that PHEVs offer can’t be overlooked.

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