Range Rover turns a shade of green

This is the new Range Rover Hybrid, which is claimed to deliver similar levels of performance to the conventional models, but with a decently improved fuel efficiency, says Steve Cropley in Autocar. And it's hard not to be impressed by the figures: Range Rover claims an average of 44.1mpg and carbon dioxide emissions of 169g/km. That's a 17% reduction in fuel consumption when compared to the TDV6 model.

The new hybrid system combines the Range Rover's TDV6 diesel with a 35kW electric motor. There is a system that harvests kinetic energy to recharge the battery when the car is coasting or braking. But there is "no compromise" in off-road performance, says Cropley, and, with V6 diesel and electric motor "at full tilt", it can sprint from 0 to 62mph in 6.9 seconds and go on to a top speed of 135mph. "Brisk enough and it feels it." This is a car that is very much still "all Range Rover, in the best possible sense".

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The only downsides are the limited range when running purely on electric (it can only go for about a mile at 30mph) and the huge price tag (prices have yet to be announced, but expect to pay £98,000 when it goes on sale in September that's a good £20,000 premium over the models on which it's based). But if you have the cash, you won't be disappointed with this "well engineered and executed technology showcase".