Hot stuff: Orders open for 2025 Range Rover Electric as luxury SUV enters final testing phase

December 2, 2024December 2, 2024 John Mahoney 3265 Views 0 Comments ev, Range Rover

For those in the market for a go-anywhere EV you won’t have to wait much longer until the arrival of the 2025 Range Rover Electric.

The British luxury brand has revealed the full-size electric SUV has begun final testing ahead of its launch next year.

Releasing pics and a short vid of the battery-powered Range Rover enduring the 50-degree (Celsius) heat and 90 per cent humidity of the United Arab Emirates, the desert shakedown follows testing in the Artic Circle we reported previously.

This time, Land Rover has released pics of a completely undisguised version of the electric SUV that looks almost identical to the combustion-powered Range Rover launched back in 2022.

Look closely and there are some minor differences, the new Range Rover Electric has a more enclosed upper front grille, new copper-coloured trim and EV-branded centre caps for the alloy wheels.

During the testing in Sharjah’s Al Badayer desert, the battery-powered Rangie successfully tackled the infamous 90-metre-tall Big Red sand dune five times as part of its testing regime to ensure its new torque management system expertly shuffles torque between each wheel.

The new tech replicates the firm’s ABS-driven Terrain Response tech and is said to be faster and even more efficient than current mechanical torque vectoring, with the all-electric Range Rover reacting to changing surfaces below in a single millisecond – a fraction of the 100 milliseconds it takes for other Land Rovers.

If the sand wasn’t tough enough, Land Rover engineers said that the high temperatures were also a huge challenge for the new EV that has to both keep the cabin cool and optimise the battery performance at all times to ensure maximum power is only a toe-curl away.

Battery durability and thermal de-rating was also constantly evaluated in the extreme conditions as well as how the underbody stood up against the constant sand blasting and rock strikes.

Based on the same Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform as the current petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid Range Rovers, the luxury SUV brand has yet to announce how powerful the new EV is.

Instead, it’s promised the new battery-powered alternative to the all-electric Mercedes G-wagen will “deliver performance comparable to a flagship V8”.

We’re predicting around 500kW with epic levels of torque that should ensure a sub-five-second 0-100km/h dash.

Set to be as capable both on- and off-road as the regular SUV, the new Range Rover EV will almost certainly be able to wade water up to 850mm –the same capability as the current coil-sprung Defender.

Land Rover has confirmed is its advanced Range Rover Electric will come with an 800-volt electrical architecture that should allow for fast DC charging of between 270-350kW.

With a battery size of around 100kWh or more, expect a 20-80 per cent top up in around 25 minutes.

“Our tests have shown that in this climate, repeatedly driving the equivalent of 100 metres uphill on fine sand, Range Rover Electric matches the performance of its ICE equivalents; in some instances, even surpassing them,” engineering boss Thomas Muller said.

“We are on target to create the quietest and most refined Range Rover ever. The ingredients that underpin the success of Range Rover are unchanged – now with zero emissions.”

Land Rover has confirmed that the order book is now open for the 2025 Range Rover Electric but full details, pricing and full specification is expected next year as well as yet more inevitable teases.