New 2021 Range Rover Velar plug-in hybrid SUV: specs, prices and details

Land Rover has updated the more style-conscious SUV in its range: the Range Rover Velar, with the hybrid ‘P400e’ powertrain still available as a rival to plug-in SUVs like the BMW X5, Audi Q5 Sportback TFSI e and Volvo XC60 Recharge.

For 2021, the Velar features Land Rover’s 'Cabin Air Purification Plus' system, which builds on the company’s previous 'Cabin Air Ionisation' systems to offer occupants improved air quality.  The Velar will also soon support wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto thanks to an over-the-air (OTA) software update, available later this year. Adaptive cruise control with steering assist and a reversing camera are also now standard, with a selection of exclusive, hand-finished paint options and sample-to-match services available for the Velar, too. 

The P400e powertrain in the plug-in Velar remains the same; it's capable of up to 33 miles of pure-electric driving, returns nearly 130mpg and has CO2 emissions of 50g/km. That translates to an 11% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company-car tax rating, like many of its plug-in hybrid SUV rivals.

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The setup consists of a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine coupled to an electric motor and eight-speed automatic gearbox that produce a combined 398bhp and 650Nm of torque. In the Velar, that power output translates to a 5.1-second 0-62mph time.

The car's 17.1kWh battery holds sufficient charge for that previously mentioned 33-mile electric range and takes 30 minutes to charge up to 80% capacity from a rapid charging point, or just over an hour from a standard 7kW home wallbox. Like the other plug-in hybrid models from Land Rover, you get a choice of electric-only, hybrid and charge-saving driving modes. 

The addition of hybrid power does nothing to diminish the Velar's considerable off-road ability; the P400e version comes with the full suite of technology to enable it to tackle adverse terrain, including all-wheel drive, hill-descent control, a low-traction launch-control system, all-terrain progress control, Land Rover's 'Terrain Response 2' system (which automatically sets up the car to deal with conditions ranging from grass to gravel, snow, mud, ruts and sand), as well as both 3D surround and 'ground view' cameras.

All Velar models still come as standard with 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, heated front seats and a 10-inch central touchscreen – plus another below it that runs the latest version of Range Rover’s ‘Pivi’ infotainment system.

Prices for the plug-in hybrid Velar start from £64,345, rising to over £71,000 if you go for the top-of-the-range R-Dynamic HSE specification. The updated Velar sits alongside similarly electrified variants of the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque, as well as the Land Rover Defender and Discovery Sport plug-in hybrids.