There’s something very strange about plugging in a vehicle as imposing as a Land Rover Defender. It feels odd to entrust a relatively tiny battery and electric motor with the task of moving what is, really, a rather large vehicle and yet, here I am, doing just that.

I should explain. This week I am reviewing the plug-in hybrid variant of the new Defender which combines a 19.2kWh lithium-ion battery with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.

The engine produces a healthy 296bhp on its own but, when working in unison with its companion 105kW electric motor, that output rises to 398bhp and 472lbft of torque.

It’s fitted with the same eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox so changes should feel smooth and soothingly familiar to anyone who’s driven a traditionally-powered Defender and drive is sent to all four wheels all of the time, regardless of whether you’re in full electric mode, hybrid or running purely on fossil fuels.

It’s unique in that all-electric drive can be used in conjunction with the low-range ratios so off-road capabilities should be as strong as ever.

Performance, as you would expect with a significant slug of power and torque beneath your right foot, is impressive. Zero to 62mph takes only 5.6 seconds. That figure is even more impressive when you consider that, with batteries included, the P400e weighs in at a not insubstantial 2,525kg. Towing capacity is 500kg down on other models in the range at a still significant, and useful, 3,000kg.

Land Rover promises a range of up to 27 miles on electric power alone but, as we don’t all live in a test facility it’s actually closer to 20. You can, if you really want to, travel at up to 85mph in electric-only mode but you’ll almost certainly only be doing so for a few miles before the engine takes over the reins.

Charging the battery using a 50Kw rapid charger will give you 80 per cent in 30 minutes. A 7Kw wall box will achieve the same result in about two hours.

Land Rover quotes up to 85.3mpg and 76g/km of CO2. To achieve anything like those figures you’d have to avoid long-distance journeys so you can make the most of the battery power that’s available to you. Once those cells are depleted they’re just dead weight.

The car starts in hybrid mode – serving up all the power the driver might need to get going – but there’s a button that allows to switch to EV or SAVE. The first switched the powertrain to electric only while the latter saves all that juice for later.

The engine note can be a little more coarse-sounding compared to what you’d get from a higher-capacity engine but the switch between electric and petrol power is pretty seamless and the brake pedal offers decent feel despite the fact that it’s of the regenerative variety. The additional weight – no doubt due to it’s placement low in the car – has had no negative effects on either the Defender’s progressive steering or generally accommodating on-road manners either.

There’s very little inside to set the hybrid Defender apart from it’s traditionally-powered siblings apart from access to new displays on the infotainment screen that show things like charge and energy use. If you want to read more detail about the Defender’s interior click here. Land Rover Defender 110 D240 SE (kentonline.co.uk)

Because the P400e’s battery sits below the boot floor you can’t have the third row of seats. You do, though, still get a huge 853 litres of luggage space though and you can, at least, spec the front-row jump seat if you want extra space for a small one.

You can, then, do pretty much everything – carrying seven people being one of the few exceptions – in the plug-in Defender that you can in the standard car but while feeling slightly less guilty about what you might be doing to the environment. The privilege of going slightly greener doesn’t come cheap, and that’s before you start tucking into the options list, but with the right use case it could prove a worthwhile investment.

Land Rover Defender P400e

Price: £65, 915

As tested: £73, 755

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Max power: 404hp

Max torque: 640Nm @ 1,500 – 4,400rpm

Max speed: 119mph

0-62mph: 5.6sec

Combined (WLTP): 85.6 – 72.4mpg

Emissions (WLTP): 74 – 88g/km

Electric motor

Max speed: 87mph

EV range (WLTP combined): 27 – 25 miles

For more information visit www.landrover.co.uk

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