Land Rover have given their flagship a bit of a makeover for 2018, though you might be hard pushed to spot the changes but, as the very old and very much overused saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t meddle with it’. Or something along those lines.

So, what we have is a new grille and a revised bumper at the front and new lights and tailpipes at the rear and, well, that’s about it for the outside.

Inside the changes are a little more significant with the introduction of the dual-screen Touch Pro Duo infotainment set-up that debuted on the Velar.

As in the Velar there are two 10-inch displays, one in the upper part of the centre console, and the other where you might expect to find your car’s air con controls.

Unlike the Velar, where the uppermost screen rotates through 30 degrees when you start the car, in here its fixed in position but it’s function is the same, providing access to the car’s multimedia systems.

The lower screen is fitted with multifunction rotary dials that allow you to adjust the temperature of the heated/ventilated seats or change the drive mode as you flick through the settings using the touch-sensitive menu that runs across the screen just above those dials.

There are new, wider, seats that offer a greater amount of support so you can look down on other road users in even greater comfort. You also get a clever new blind for the panoramic roof that you operate simply by waving your hand under the rear view mirror.

My review car was equipped with airline-style individual rear seats with heated foot and calf rests but I found that, even with the front seats in their foremost position I wasn’t able to fully extend them. They’re best suited to the long wheelbase version where you can make the most of the additional rear legroom it provides.

Between the seats is an electrically operated centre console but deploying it is a tedious and shaky affair lacks the finesse to impress.

Land Rover have also seen fit to introduce a plug-in hybrid version, badged the P400e, that marries a 296bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine – under the bonnet, naturally – with a 13.1kWh battery pack under the boot floor.

There are two drive modes – parallel hybrid and pure EV – but, like the acronym implies, you have to plug the P440e in to charge the battery because you can’t use the petrol engine to do it.

Land Rover claims a battery-only range of 31 miles. In the real world you’re looking at closer to 20 so, even if you’ve got a relatively short commute, it’s likely that you’ll want to charge the Range Rover while you’re at work if you want to avoid falling back on petrol power.

By default it will switch between the petrol engine and electric motor, or combine the two when required, to provide the best compromise between power and efficiency. The company claims a combined cycle figure of 101mpg but, like the EV-only range, that figure is highly optimistic.

There’s a ‘Save’ mode that prevents the battery pack discharging until a time of your choosing and a Predictive Energy Optimisation mode that uses GPS to optimise fuel efficiency along the route that you’ve programmed into the sat nav.

Start the engine and, well, the engine doesn’t start. Instead you pull away in eerie silence using the magic of electricity. As the pace increases and the demands on the powertrain grow, the petrol engine will kick in. Engineers have done a commendable job of integrating the two systems and the transition between the two falls into the barely noticeable category.

One thing that disappoints is the amount of engine noise that permeates the cabin under heavy acceleration. It’s made worse by the fact the four-cylinder sounds unrefined, giving the impression that it’s having to work much harder than it would like. However, all that effort does bring results, and the P400e is actually quicker than the V8 diesel.

The Range Rover has always been an impressive luxury limousine, whatever the configuration but we’re moving ever more rapidly into a brave new world that’s going to be powered by something other than fossil fuels.

The P400e isn’t the company’s first hybrid and it’s certainly a marked improvement over the diesel version but, as with all cars that need to be plugged in, there’s a caveat. Or three.

First, you really need a drive. Now, if you can afford to splash out more than a hundred grand on a car, chances are that’s not going to be an issue, but there are plenty of hybrids with a much lower price tag than the Range Rover and having to run a cable out to a car parked on a public road is far from ideal.

Second, there’s the amount of time it takes to charge the battery. It takes a little under three hours from a 32amp wall box – considerably longer from a standard mains socket – so it’s always something that needs to be planned into your day. You can’t just ‘top it up’.

Third, it only really makes sense around the city, or on short commutes where you can charge it up again while you’re at work, or a quick urban runs because, once the battery is depleted, you’re suddenly asking that 2.0-litre petrol unit to not only haul around a rather hefty Range Rover, but also the battery pack, which is nothing more than a lead weight.

If you’re the type of driver who covers hundreds of miles a week and you’re heart is set on a Range Rover than diesel is still the best option. At least for the time being.

Range Rover Si4 P400e PHEV Autobiography

Price: £105,865

As tested: £112,280

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Max power (combined): 404hp

Max power (motor): 85kw

Max torque (combined): 640Nm @ 1,500 – 4,000 rpm

Max torque (motor): 275Nm

Max speed: 137mph

Acceleration (0-62mph): 6.4 seconds

Combined: 101mpg

Emissions (CO2): 64g/km

For more information visit www.landrover.co.uk