Trying to make a decision between a hybrid and a Petrol V8 (Non-SVR), but can't seem to make my mind up.

I do 10-15 miles per day with a couple of long European journeys each year, so annual mileage about 7k

The 5.0 V8 is a 2015 with 45,000mls. Pre-facelift is a negative, but from my understanding it's the least troublesome of the engines, which is obviously a positive.

The P400e is a 2020 with 35,000mls. Post-facelift and much lower day to day running costs, but seemingly the potential for more things to go wrong compared to the V8.

Price wise there's not a great deal of difference.

Unfortunately a facelifted 5.0 V8 is out of budget.

Worried about going for the older, more dated V8 but also worried about the potential problems a Hybrid could throw up!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Personally I wouldn't touch a hybrid from JLR, V8 all the way! --
2010 Defender Puma 90 + BAS remap + Alive IC + Slickshift + Ashcroft ATB rear
2015 Range Rover Sport Supercharged V8 HSE Dynamic



Defender Puma Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zZ1en9
Discovery 4 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zXrtKO
Range Rover/Sport L320/L322/L494 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zc58JQ

My choice was between the P400E and the D300MHEV - so couldn't avoid some electrical tech.

Right now, I made the wrong choice. When I bought it, I was between jobs and wasn't sure whether my next commute would be 120 miles a day or much less. As it turned out, I don't have a commute as I'm based from home 99% of the time for at least the next 6 months so it just sits there until I pop out to the post office or supermarket. So with a P400E I'd have filled up maybe twice since I bought it and done 98% of my driving on electric, and instead I'm looking at lots of 17mpg interspersed with the odd 35 when i do go farther afield. So it's cost me maybe £300 more than it needed.
Insurance on the P400 is more but not by a relevant amount.

But - I plan to have the car for 10 years - JLR electronics aren't exactly at Honda levels of reliability so can I trust it to be impeccably reliable for that period?
Probably not if I'm honest, and I was concerned that if I did long commutes, how is a P400 once the battery is depleted and then would I be willing to give up the low revving nature of a diesel. So I bottled and bought another diesel. 2021 L494 D300MHEV Autobiography
2019 Discovery Sport D180 HSE

IMHO, there’s a reason why the P400e, newer with lower miles, is valued lower than the v8. The market is rarely wrong. Hybrid tech may have horrendous costs if something goes wrong. People here maybe able to offer specific advice and experience. Cheers,

Stuart.
RRS 2012 HSE 5.0 S/C Zermatt Silver.
RRS 2005 4.2 S/C First Edition Rimini Red- Gone but not forgotten
Defender 2005 TD5 XS Black - Gone
Freelander 2006 HSE Blue - Gone

P400e not getting much love

Shame as it really does suit my needs perfectly, but i don't want that nervousness of impending doom, i already have a D4 to cover that angle !!

Yeah - if I had to make the same decision now, with hindsight, would I?
I really don't know.
The P400E makes a hell of a lot of sense. If I was 'normal' and leased for 3 years then probably I would have taken the punt. After all, you get 2 years warranty from the dealer so an additional year isn't going to break the bank, and the idea of an electric RRS is compelling. 10-15 miles a day means your fuel costs will be £0. Which as against a V8 means over a week that's £0 vs £40 - quite an argument.
In your case, you get the later tech which is very nice too.
I'd say it greatly depends on how long you intend to keep it.
Not sure I'd want one that's 10 years old but a 5 year old one is quite an appealing proposition. 2021 L494 D300MHEV Autobiography
2019 Discovery Sport D180 HSE

We've a customer with a 2018 P400e L405. Owned from new
Average fuel economy is usually 50+mpg

0 issues with the battery or hybrid system
1 engine management fault, due to faulty VVT solenoids (common issue)
2 failed rear shocks, due to corrosion (understandable, given the salt we put on our roads )
The rest has been servicing, or wear/tear


BUT! It's not a V8

SuperC wrote:

The market is rarely wrong.

Lack of data is key, but equally so is the immaturity of the technology. It's not asif there are lots of 10 year old LR hybrids running around so the fear is, nobody truly knows what the lifespan is.

We can be pretty sure that diesel engines will do 200k+ if looked after. Exceptions are rare, so whilst the IL6 in my D300 is effectively brand new, I can rely on years of experience generally and the fact that the basic Ingenium platform has been around for 10 years and early issues like timing chains are sorted.

Early EVs like the leaf have horror stores, added to by stories of £20k bills for teslas. Additionally the lack of after market repair services and expertise is worrying. We know things are vastly better today but it's still not exactly bedded in.
There was one of the usual youtube suspects with a P400E not working. He took it to some other youtuber who spent a couple of days figuring out what was wrong, disproving the official JLR instructions and sorting it for minimal cost in the end. But I don't know anyone who could do that for me in the same circumstances. In a few years I suspect I'll know many people but right now, I'd be facing main dealers and their parts cannons. A terrifying prospect given the cost of EV components. 2021 L494 D300MHEV Autobiography
2019 Discovery Sport D180 HSE

Thanks everyone, some really useful input there.

As 41jules1967 says, some of the fear is down to lack of data.

I guess as a day to day proposition the P400e makes a lot of sense and seemingly the only recurring 'negative data' out there is that HV Heaters can be prone to failure, which obviously isn't ideal but in the grand scheme of things isn't at the level of a snapped crank.

I live in Jersey and they are hitting imported vehicles with huge duties based on CO2 emissions, which is skewing the used car market over here.

A P400e would cost £300 emissions duty.
A 5.0 SC V8 would cost £10k emissions duty (rising to £12k from 1st Jan)

The P400e in my original post was a UK based VAT qualifying car, which i could get landed in Jersey for about £32k.

The 5.0 V8 is a local car and up for £27k.

As you can see, this poses a bit of a dilemma, the 2021, 29,000mile car is only £5k more than the 2015, 45,000mile car.

Frankly, if I lived on Jersey I don't think I'd be buying a RRS of any sort. I'd buy a EV and then rent something interesting for my couple of driving holidays. Even if the battery life drops away, it's still going to give you the required daily mileage for many years to come. And the money saved on emissions taxes and fuel would pay for some nice holiday loan cars.

And an EV is incredibly nippy which is useful in places where high speeds are not the order of the day - like small islands off the coast of France. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

A larger car suits our needs with a family, dog and occasionally having to lug bits and pieces around for work.
Even when we take a car off island I still need/want the size and something more interesting probably wouldn’t work for us.
As mentioned a P400e would fit the bill quite well. EV for when on island, petrol for when off island. But I have concerns over reliability and wondering whether the V8 is the safer bet.

If I lived on Jersey the 400E is almost a no brainer. Not asif you could do that many miles if you wanted to and even with poorer MPG on longer runs, your 100+ local mpg will more than compensate. Your biggest problem I suspect would be the fuel in the tank going off!
Not sure how emissions duty works (is that on import?) but if that affects you, then another big reason.
There is a risk to the EV but to be fair, it's not asif this forum is full of people complaining so may well be worth a punt.
Certainly there is a part of me that regrets not getting one. 2021 L494 D300MHEV Autobiography
2019 Discovery Sport D180 HSE

All the negative advice you get here is from people who have never had one. Or a friend of mine's dads pal uncles brother etc had one. I have a 2021 P400E Range Rover Fifty, bought last year to replace my Sport (the one that eats crankshafts) I must have been lucky as mine was fine.
I think its great car, I usually let the car decide whether its petrol or leccy. you cannot tell when it swaps over. Full charge says 30/31miles but it probably gives you 22 to 25miles. I don't do big miles & have my electric on EV tariff which give me it cheap between midnight & 5am. I use the granny cable & usually charge it when it get down to around 10miles. Cost from 10 miles to 31miles is approx £0.60p
Get advice from people who actually have or had one
My analogy is like when Mr Mercedes built his first car, the people who ran around in their horse driven carriages, would be saying that will never catch on, never see me in one of them Range Rover Sport (gone): Mercedes S63 AMG Coupe: 992 Porsche Carrera 4S: Range Rover Fifty P400e

I have had a P400e for 4years and is a brilliant car if it meets your needs, averaging 75+ mpg to date and still increasing!
So pleased with it that I have ordered a new P460e this month for delivery in January hopefully. 2026 P460e Autobiography on order

2022 HSE Dynamic P400e

2017 Discovery 3.0 HSE Silicon Silver Nimbus interior and a few extra toys SOLD

2013 HSE Black, Orkney Grey, Ebony Seats and Ivory Interior SOLD

2006 HSE

Plus a few other cars inbetween!