• All engines will be thirsty, including diesels
• P400e plug-in has best fuel economy claims
• You’ll need deep pockets to run a Sport

You don’t go into Range Rover Sport ownership expecting low running costs and high fuel economy claims, so it’s no surprise that – pretty much across the board – the Sport will be an expensive car to fuel.

If you want the Range Rover Sport with the highest claimed fuel economy, head straight for the P400e plug-in hybrid. However, you’ll need to be making full use of that electric motor to get anywhere near the claimed fuel economy figures. If you don’t, you’ll primarily be running on a powerful petrol engine that will struggle to see more than 30mpg.

During our time of testing, this plug-in hybrid with a fully charged battery achieved the same 28.6mpg figure as the previous SDV8 over a mixture of town and motorway roads. This could seem like a lot of effort in order to achieve the same level of fuel efficiency, but this will make more sense if you stick around town and city environments. The Save function hidden in the My EV menu on the touchscreen also failed to conserve battery power when driving on the motorway.

The petrol line-up is thirsty. The P400 3.0-litre engine is a mild-hybrid running 48v electrics that will allow it to coast and run more efficiently, but you’ll still be frequenting the petrol station regularly with one of these. We averaged 24.7mpg during our time of testing, reaching as high as 27mpg on the motorway. This is good for a range of 400 miles per tank.

MPG and CO2

• P400: 24.0-27.4mpg, 234-258g/km CO2
• P575: 19.3mpg, 331g/km CO2
• P400e: 73.0-88.3mpg, 72-87g/km CO2, EV-only range: 24-25 miles

The diesels fare better.

• D250: 31.0-34.2mpg, 217-239g/km CO2
• D300: 30.7-34.0mpg, 218-242g/km CO2
• D350: 29.2-31.2mpg, 238-254g/km CO2

Like we said, there’s no good option for running costs day to day. Servicing and maintenance will likely be costly as well, but it’s worth paying to make sure the car stays in good condition.

Reliability

• Several recalls for the Range Rover Sport
• Solid build, but quality can be patchy
• Ensure everything’s as it should be if buying used

While the Range Rover Sport certainly looks a premium product from the outside, and there are plenty of plush materials and a solid feel from behind the wheel, Land Rover suffers from a patchy reputation when it comes to the reliability of its cars, and the Sport has suffered a similar fate.

There have been several recalls issues for the car – admittedly in small numbers each time – but it’s worth checking any remedial work has been done on a car you might be buying on the used market.

Issues range from fuel leaks and fire risks to the indicators not working or issues with the autonomous emergency braking system. Whatever it is, it should have been carried out under the car’s warranty.