For this of you who own/have experience of the FF P400e, is how does the it drive once the battery is flat? Does it feel sluggish like you might expect of a 2.0L engine? Does it sound very un-FF like, maybe even to the point of being annoying? I understand it keeps a little spare charge for when acceleration is needed, but I assume that once the battery is flat, most of your journey would be accompanied by a very un FFRR-like sound.

My usage is mainly city with a total daily commute of 25 miles - but half of this could be nose to tail traffic. Once a month there will be a longer trip (2-4 hours each way)

I'm living overseas and the only option (due to tax breaks for the hybrid) I have is the P400e. I had placed a deposit on one, but am having second thoughts. I'm now looking at the BMW X7 M50D which is still affordable with a 3.0 engine. Its missing many of the extras that the P400e LWB AB has, but has an extra row of seats and an engine note that's pretty good. Tech is more up to date also.

Anyway, the main question remains - for those of you for whom engine note and performance is important, does the P400e cut it or not?

I realise I'm probably asking the wrong forum and deserve to be summarily ejected for even making such comments...

I haven’t ordered mine yet but plan to in July. In the meantime I have watching the forum with great interest and looking on YouTube from time to time. I would summarise forum feedback as extremely positive.

You might find these YouTube links interesting (some are a bit waffley but ultimately worth it):

Thanks iLard!

I can promise you I've watched every single one of these 5 times (or more). Still sat on the fence :-/

Oh, you have dilemmatitis worse than I realised.

For me the new GLS, X7, Q8 are not an option because I intend to keep my next car for 10 years (I took delivery of my current one 8.5 years ago and now it’s nearly run in its time to move on!). And whereas the RR will look good in a regal way long into the future the rivals cars tend to age terribly in my opinion. They’re always too “now” to stand the test of time. And in terms of “now” an X7... it’s not going to win a beauty contest. The Germans are also quite shouty. If they make their grilles any bigger they’ll turn into industrial cheese graters.

German leather is pretty horrid. I guess they offer nappa or something? You’ll need it. But hats off to them for their infotainment systems. But that is not enough of a plus to base the whole decision on.

Whilst your driving pattern would appear to suit a diesel, you’ll be topping up with ad-blue (processed urine) in between oil changes and you’ll be at the mercy of any future knee-jerk environmental government actions.

I will be speccing the 1700W hifi so whatever 4 cylinder noise makes it through the sound deadening will be offset a little by my wife’s terrible music.

Final thought: dunno what you are driving now? But chopped in a 2 year old Jaguar XKR when I switched. Was engine note and performance important to me back then? Damn right! But you can’t have everything and ultimately I made the right choice back then and for me now, in the real world as they say, I know my priorities (and it is not fuel economy either): they’re comfort, luxury, timeless good-taste, security.

To the OP, I understand your concerns very well. I had the same dilemma when I bought my P400e. My previous L405 had a V8 (okay it was a diesel, but still) and I always felt it was the only option for a RR.

However, the P400e is a wonderful example of engineering. Short weekend trips are a pleasure due to the sheer tranquility of zero engine noise. This last weekend, I found myself opening the sunroof and windows just to marvel at it. The only time you really notice the 2.0 litre turbocharged engine is when you put your foot down from standstill and keep it there. Then you will hear a little harshness at the top end. How many times have I done that? Probably once, and whilst I will concede that the sound doesn't quite have the aural excellence you might be used to, it certainly has the power that belies the size of the engine.

So definitely not sluggish, and remember that even when you have zero miles left on the battery, the car harvests the energy from braking, so for those moments when you need instant power - for example, to overtake - there always seems to be more than plenty enough power to make it happen. 2024 Range Rover P550e AB

The 400e is an amazing car, and as my 15th RR I can say that it is the best so far.
Mine is now 1 year old with 13k on the clock and just had its first service last week (no issues, £350).
It is a dream to drive, and in pure electric mode it truly wafts along. So your short commutes will be a joy, and if you are in London it is free from both ULEZ and Congestion charges. The silence when pulling away and driving in town more than makes up for the lack of V8 growl.
When the engine does kick in, it can be a bit thrashy from time to time, but the mid range pull (when it harnesses both petrol and electric) is stunning.
My plan is to run this car until the all-new FF arrives in 2021, and I wouldn't be saying that if it wasn't good.
HTH

Thanks all, very helpful.

I checked with the dealer today. She told me that my car is currently being painted and as such will take longer - normal deliveries are in May but the BRG metallic apparently takes 2 months longer. I suppose that gives me some more time to struggle with the decision in the meantime. I think it has pretty much every conceivable extra on the LWB - including the Executive comfort plus seats (not that I'll ever be in the back). They told me they couldn't add Apple Carplay even though it appears to be on all the UK models. They gave me Wade Sensing instead to make me feel better. Not sure how much I'll be using that...

A lot of what you guys said has made sense. Clearly the FFAB will still look the DB's in 10 years time in comparison to much anything else I could consider. Wafting around in silence definitely increases the pull factor. The performance figures appear to be more than enough for a car of this size. I still worry a little about reliability and the fact that there are only 2 dealers in the whole country (only 1 on the mainland) - so if something serious goes wrong I'm likely to have a long wait. I'm off to watch those 5 videos again. Mr Catchpole seemed to think it works - and who am I to argue with him?

You've chosen the right colour Khai_dow ........