Land Rover Debuts 1.5L 3-Cylinder Plug-in Hybrid Evoque And Discovery Sport

Jaguar Land Rover has just announced a new plug-in hybrid system and revealed it will be introduced with the latest Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport with other models to follow.

The powertrain packages together a small 1.5-liter three-cylinder petrol engine delivering 197 hp with a 107 hp electric motor and a 15 kWh battery. All up, this results in 304 hp and 398 lb-ft (540 Nm) of torque.

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The Range Rover Evoque P300e is able to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.4 seconds while the Land Rover Discovery Sport P300e reaches the same mark in 6.6 seconds. Both models are capable of having their batteries recharged from zero to 80 per cent in 30 minutes through 50 kW and 100 kW DC Rapid chargers (the SUVs cap charging to 32 kW). All-electric range for the Evoque P300e is rated at 41 miles (66 km) while the Discovery Sport P300e can drive for 38 miles (62 km) on battery power alone.

Not only do the new hybrid Evoque and Discovery Sport models offer respectable performance but they are also both very fuel-efficient over the combined WLTP cycle with the Range Rover rated at 1.4 l/100 km (168 U.S. mpg) and the Land Rover rated at 1.6 l/100 (147 U.S. mpg). Coupled to the hybrid unit is an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Buyers of the two models will receive a Mode 2 Home Charging Cable that allows for the battery to be charged up in 6 hours and 42 minutes through a normal household socket.

There are three different driving modes offered. In the default Hybrid mode, the engine and electric motor work in harmony and adapt to driving conditions and the remaining charge in the battery. EV mode is also offered where the electric motor solely powers the SUVs. Last but not least is the SAVE mode that prioritizes the combustion engine as its main power source and maintains battery State of Charge at a specific level.

The British car manufacturer hadn’t announced the launch date of both models in all markets they will be sold in at the time of writing. However, we do know that it accepting orders in the UK now while both will arrive on Australian shores during the second quarter of 2021.