2022 Range Rover: Next-Gen Luxury Icon Readies for the Electric Age
A plug-in hybrid will be available for 2023 while an entirely electric Range Rover is due in 2024.
Even though the nameplate's been around for more than 50 years now, there have only ever been four generations of Range Rover. A new one, then, is undoubtedly a big deal. Say hello to the all-new 2022 Range Rover, a smoothed-out, refined truck that'll take the model into the electrified age. This fifth-generation SUV will debut with two internal combustion engines and be joined by a plug-in hybrid option for the 2023 model year as well as an entirely electric version come 2024.
That upcoming plug-in hybrid Range Rover will pair a straight-six gas engine with a floor-mounted, 38.2-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery and a 105-kW electric motor to produce 434 total horsepower. Running on electricity alone, the plug-in Rover will apparently travel as far as 62 miles and get to speeds of up to 87 miles per hour. For now, though, the 2022 Range Rover is available with either a 395-hp, mild hybrid 3.0-liter turbo straight-six or a new 523-hp, 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V8. The latter, a BMW-sourced motor, gets the big British family hauler to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds with launch control.
Riding on Land Rover's new MLA-Flex platform, the new Range Rover retains the model's iconic proportions but gains a futuristic skin, sporting deliberately clean lines all around and taillights that blend into the bodywork. It'll continue to be available in long and short wheelbases and four- or five-seat configurations but—for the first time—also come with seven seats if you so choose.
Beyond a new aesthetic and new powertrains, JLR says the 2022 Range has been crafted to make driving it even easier, quieter, and more stress-relieving than before. All 35 of the 1,600-watt Meridian sound system's speakers, for example, help out with Active Noise Cancelation, throwing out opposing soundwaves to combat tire and engine noise, in addition to wind noise. Fully independent air suspension that reads the road ahead, Dynamic Response Pro active 48-volt electronic roll control, as well as the brand's first five-link rear axle smooth out bumps, keeping the sugary lattes safe from Beverly Hills' most treacherous potholes.
Standard rear-wheel steering that moves the rear wheels up to seven degrees makes the 2022 Range Rover more agile at low speeds by moving in the opposite direction of the front wheels and more stable at high ones by moving in tandem with the fronts. As a result, this luxury SUV boasts a turning circle of just 36 feet, the tightest of any Land Rover product. A new Versatile Loadspace Floor and Auto-Folding Loadspace Cover make carrying things in your Range Rover less of a chore while the 2023 model year will introduce Power Assisted Doors.
On the inside, the design has been further cleaned up and now features a curved 13.1-inch center touchscreen running Amazon Alexa, wireless Apple CarPlay, and wireless Android Auto while being capable of over-the-air updates. That screen also doles out haptic feedback that's said to "Allow users to feel a positive confirmation without the need to glance at the screen, reducing the need to look away from the road." We'll be the judge of that, I think.
Starting in the 2023 model year, a hand-crafted, ceramic-badged Range Rover SV will become available featuring an awesome interior wood mosaic.
The 2022 Range Rover starts at $105,350 for the short-wheelbase, six-cylinder SE and can command up to $164,850 for a longboi V8 First Edition. It's available to order now and is scheduled to start delivering to customers in the spring of 2022.
Got a tip or question for the author about the new Range Rover? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com.
