I have the phev 550e and love it but I don't drive much and charge at home....it works for my lifestyle of driving lower mileage. I have not filled up with gas this year thus far.

If you are going to be making longer road trips, stick with the v6 for the bigger gas tank.

 

What V6 are you considering? At least for my market area, it appears no V6 is offered, the six-cylinder in my market area is an inline-6.

 

The PHEV 550e is really a great option. It gives you 53 miles of pure electric range for your daily commutes and has the amazing v6 engine for eliminating range anxiety. Very happy with mine.

 

They're inline 6's not v6's but I have the p400, and I love it. It's amazing imo, but the P550e has a lot of issues I see on the forum unfortunately.

Also, the '26MY is right around the corner (May is usually when you can see them on the B&P) with July Production & September First Deliveries, at least that's how it's been. I would wait to order those new if I were you, not expecting any changes though tbh.

 

PHEVs will depreciate significantly more than I6

 

No issues whatsoever with my 2025 550e AB.

 

I do not think the PHEV will depreciate worse than the I6 but I guess it is too soon to tell. Most folks who have the PHEV love their vehicle for the decent range of 50+ miles in electric and the flexibility of the gas engine.

 

I have a '25 550e. I have posted two reviews - first road trip and 5K miles here with my impressions. I'll address your second and third questions (you can look up data on the first one easily).

• Is the hybrid (PHEV) option worth the extra investment compared to sticking with the traditional V6, particularly for extended road trips?

I think so.

I hesitated to buy the PHEV instead of the P400 because I wanted to do a lot of road trips, where the battery is generally flat. This has indeed been the case for me. The car has just hit 7000 miles in 3 months, 5000 miles are highway miles, and I have found usable chargers during these trips exactly 3 times.

Having said that, my city usage has used zero gas, I'm able to do all my city driving on electric. So my tradeoff has been giving up 120 miles of highway range to be able to drive 2000 miles without refueling, which is acceptable for me. During the road trips, there have been a few cases I have had to refuel twice where I might have been able to get by with a single fuel break with a P400 - but the old saying 'fuel range beyond bladder capacity is not useful' holds.

If you're looking only at the fuel cost savings to justify buying a PIH, don't bother. You would need to drive beyond 100,000 miles to recoup the savings (I did this math and posted a spreadsheet)

• How do you think depreciation and maintenance factors play out in these scenarios?

Can't speak for the RR because we have not had this very long. We have a 4 year old Porsche Cayenne Plug In Hybrid, with 40-something K miles and zero issues. It seems to have depreciated at the same rate as a Cayenne S.

 

I had a 2023 RR p400SE, and now a 2024 p550e.
Frankly, the "fun factor" or the drivability factor is almost the same between the P400SE (hybrid. you can barely hear the engine and it is fast enough for myself) and P550e is a "dream drive" in electic mode (slick and silent and fast enough for myself). You cant go wrong with either - go for a great deal in used (although, I dont think they are depreciating too much). CPO warranties are often for longer miles than new car warranties. I think that the best value for the money is the P400SE base - around $114k? It is all about personal preference. Even though my 2024 p550e is ATB, I see no superiority in it, as compared to my prior P400se. Personally, I am not a music listner; hence I dont appreciate the meridian signature sound. It is probably great but the regular audio system in the P400se was, to myself, just fine.
Bottom line: I would suggest you buying the least expensive 2025 P400se. You can always buy the extended warranty prior to the expiration of New car warranty. I would not want to own a RR without warranty. Although, I have to mention that I had extended warranties for my Jaguar 2012 XF (70k miles in 10 years) an2013 XJL (130k miles in 10 years) but I never had any major issues (only XJL needed a new a/c compressor at 130k miles) and never used the extended warranty! JLR seems to have a bad name for reliability but my two Jaguars were more reliable than some of my Lexuses.

 

I have personally found Land Rover products to be as reliable as any other luxury vehicle on the market. I have owned LR products since 1982, and I have been lucky with all the different models with the exception of one 2006 Range Rover that the dealer and LR bought back and replaced it with a 2007 Range Rover that I put over 200k miles on. It is a shame that LR products get such a bad reputation for reliability. Follow the OEM maintenance schedules as with any car, and you would have the least amount of issues. Extended warranties are great for peace of mind, and is highly recommended if you plan to keep the car for a long period.

 

I personally wouldn’t buy the first 2 years of any model change …they usually work out most kinks by year 3 so I would go 2025. I love the PHEV because I hate gas stations and only drive 10k miles a year primarily in town…it’s convenience based as I charge at home every other day or third day. All cars depreciate and are a waste of money so if a few thousand between the I6 or PHEV is concerning then don’t buy a RR, lease it. There really isn’t any savings in the PHEV operating cost either since the purchase price is higher. Bottom line is buy the one you want to drive for a few years and you won’t regret it…I always regretted the cars I bought for practicality or that were on the lot. I always order to my spec.