Town & Country
Driving the Range Rover SV Photos: NAOISE CULHANE
Inspired by its pioneering innovation and power to go any where, AVRIL KELLY CARTER takes the new Range Rover electric hybrid P550e SV on a road trip from the streets of the capital, to the long and winding roads of the Irish countryside, in an effort to explore places only a Range Rover could travel with confidence, composure, and comfort.
The original luxury SUV is now electric available as an extended range plug-in electric hybrid (PHEV),the new Range Rover P550e SV is powered by a3.0-litre6-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine with 160kW electric motor offering peerless refinement, uncompromising capability and design lineage in greater harmony than ever.
This exemplary machine has the power to go anywhere—with pioneering innovation at your fingertips, you’re free to explore places only a Range Rover could take you with confidence, composure, and comfort. A road trip beckoned.
With five days to spend getting acquainted with the new Range Rover PHEV P550e SV, long enough to live with it, rather than simply sample it —I opted to stretch its legs a little by departing the city and heading west along the road to the rugged boreens of County Sligo.
Providing an electric range of up to 113km and CO2 emissions of just 18g/km, it proposed a compelling mix of performance and sustainability, delivered with effortless confidence. For more than half a century, Range Rover has been quietly redefining luxury, innovation and all terrain capability. A road trip west felt like the right way to understand its character and there was one drive I’d long intended to do. It quickly became clear that this was the vehicle in which to do it. So, early on Easter Monday morning, we packed up and headed for Sligo. Our destination? The beautiful Gleniff Horseshoe, which is tucked discreetly beneath the Dartry Mountains in north County Sligo—a circular ribbon of road that feels blissfully removed from the hectic pace of city life.
Inside, the Range Rover PHEV P550e SV is quietly impressive. The cabin is calm and considered, with a layout that feels intuitive rather than overwhelming. Materials are exquisite but never ostentatious —this is luxury that whispers rather than shouts. The SV designation stands for Special Vehicle Operations, Jaguar Land Rover’s inhouse division dedicated to its most exclusive
